Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in coal mines between December 1943 and March 1948, [1] to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of World War II. [2]

Feb 4, 2025 · The Bevin Boys scheme was introduced in 1942 by the then Minister for Labour and National Service, Ernest Bevin. The scheme ran between 1942 and 1948 and involved recruiting men to work in coal mines during and immediately following World War 2.

May 6, 2018 · Here are five facts about the miners who became known as the Bevin Boys… In 1943, four years into WW2, the British government faced a terrible predicament – it was estimated that there were only three weeks of vital coal supply left.

Jan 29, 2016 · Bevin’s Boys carried no formal form of identification, so many people did not know that they had been conscripted and took them for conscientious objectors. They were stopped on a regular basis by the police as they were mistaken for spies, and they had to field considerable abuse from locals because young, able-bodied men should have been in ...

In December 1943, Ernest Bevin, the wartime Minister of Labour and National Service, devised a scheme whereby a ballot took place to put a proportion of conscripted men into the collieries rather than the armed services.

May 29, 2013 · By late 1943 coal stocks were running low and in order to ensure that the war effort could still be fuelled, the Minister for Labour and National Service Ernest Bevin was charged to enhance the...

In time many of the volunteers and optants called themselves Bevin Boys, but those conscripted by ballot had no choice and only those were part of the Bevin Boy Scheme. The scheme did not end until 1948, when the last Bevin Boys were released.

Called Up Sent Down: The Bevin Boys' War is a nonfiction book authored by Tom Hickman about the more than 20,000 young British men sent to work in coal mines, collectively known as the Bevin Boys, during the Second World War.

Feb 4, 2025 · in 1943 conscripts were ballotted out of the armed services into coal mining, these men were known as the Bevin Boys. They served up to 4 years in the coal mines before release. This website tells their story.

Jul 20, 2024 · Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in coal mines between December 1943 and March 1948, to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of World War II.