Sheffield Evening Telegraph – Saturday 27 October 1917

Obstinate Pit Hand.

Goldthorpe Man fined at Doncaster.

At the Doncaster West Hiding Court, today, John Proberts, pit hand. Goldthorpe, was charged with two offences under the Mines Regulation at the Hickleton Main Colliery, for disobeying the order from the corporal, and leaving a horse without anyone in charge.

The pony lost its shoe, and the deputy, Fred Wright, told him to the pony to the stable, but he refused and use bad language. There was run of 25 tubs and the defendant was asked to wait a minute until they were got out the way. If anything had happened the tubs would have come back and probably killed the defendant.

He refused to was told, take the pony to the stable, and seizing a stone, threw it at the deputy’s head, doing him such injury that had been off work a week.

Mr Baddiley. for the prosecution, said the defendant‘s father hud just lost his wife, and two sons had been killed in the war and under the circumstances the Colliery Company did not press the case much as they would have done.

He intimated that the charge of assaulting the deputy would dealt with another court. Defendant, who did not appear, was said to earning 23s. 6d. per week, and was fined 40s. for both offences, or 14 days to prison in each case.