A RETIRED church minister from Southport has told of his extraordinary career path, which took him from the coal pit to the pulpit.
The Reverend Alexander Tee, 82, said he was “very happy” to receive a special Veterans’ Badge, honouring the three-and-a-half years he spent as a wartime Bevin Boy.
From April 1943 he worked at Dumbreck colliery, as part of the wartime scheme that directed labour into the nation’s coalmines.
Rev Tee, who lives on High Park Road, told LookBack he had volunteered to serve the war effort underground rather than in the Armed Forces.
He made that decision because he had already realised his vocation to become a clergyman, and he furthered his religious training by taking a series of correspondence courses during his posting at Dumbreck.
Yet becoming a Bevin Boy was far from a safe option, explained Rev Tee, who worked at the pit’s loading machine. “When you are underground, there are dangers everywhere,” he said.
Among his memories of the pit was the filthy black dust – which led the workers to constantly chew and spit out – and of travelling half-a-mile underground to reach the level at which he worked.
He recalled: “Once a tub of coal came off the rails and I tried to get it back on again and strained my back.
“There was a good, happy spirit among the miners – you are there helping one another.”
Rev Alexander Tee with the miner’s lamp he used at Dumbreck colliery between 1943 and 1947
During his service as a Bevin Boy, Rev Tee continued living at his home in the small town of Kilsyth, located midway between Glasgow and Stirling in North Lanarkshire.
On being de-mobbed in 1947, he went straight into the ministry of the Elim Pentecostal Church, where he trained as an evangelist.
Key to his role was opening new churches in towns where the Elim Church had no congregation.
In 1972, Rev Tee came to Southport as the senior minister at the Elim Pentecostal Church in Manchester Road.
From his base in the resort he opened Elim Churches in Birkenhead, Bootle, Rochdale, Wallasey and West Kirby.
Another central aspect of Rev Tee’s career was raising money for needy children overseas.
He made 10 visits to Africa to help in the development of orphanages – including in Nairobi, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Malawi – and played a key role in the construction of a large orphanage in south India.
Rev Tee said: “Only in the last year have I dropped the number of engagements I carry out all over the country. I just love the work so much.”
BEVIN BOYS FACTS
The ‘Bevin Boys’ scheme ran between 1943 and 1948 and involved recruiting men aged between 18 and 25 years to work in coal mines rather than serve in the armed forces.
It was named after Ernest Bevin, then minister of labour and later foreign secretary.
Some 48,000 men were either selected or volunteered under the scheme, performing vital but largely unrecognised service in the coal mines. Bevin Boys received no medals, nor the right to return to their original jobs, unlike other servicemen.
Famous former Bevin Boys include DJ Sir Jimmy Savile, the late comedian Eric Morecambe and dramatist Peter Shaffer.
If you think you may be eligible for a Bevin Boys award or any other armed forces veterans award, complete a veterans badge application form available by calling the Veterans Agency helpline on 0800 169 2277 or 01253 866043, or by visiting www.veteransagency.co.uk
Ernest Bevin, wartime Minister for Labour, after whom the Bevin Boys scheme was named
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