[Thomas Jordan worked at Usworth colliery from the age of fourteen to twenty, leaving after the 1912 National Miners Strike. Earlier he recalled the effect on pit boys’ leisure time when in 1910 their working day was limited from ten to eight hours]

Gay and light hearted was the mood of many of my wide circle of friends—earning up to £2 per week—sometimes more if you were a track putter lad. My mother gave me half a sovereign for my pocket and she bought me good style suits and shoes. The weekends found us in the city of Newcastle where we found entertainment in its theatres and music halls […] Harry Lauder, Wilfie Barr [sic], Gertie Getahner [sic], Marie Lloyd brought us into the music hall; Charlie Chaplain [sic] was just being heard of. Usworth Colliery was a booming place—it had the best working conditions in all the Durham minefield and its work people were earning good wages […] Usworth railway station at the weekend was full of people waiting for the train to Newcastle.