Penarth Dock, South Wales - the heritage and legacy

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Volume Eight - Pre-Victorian to the present day - more aspects - Cardiff, Penarth and Barry Coaltrimmers' Union . . .

Collis and Gilchrist concluded that coal trimmers in South Wales 'succumb in excess from bronchitis and pneumonia but not from phthisis'. They also recorded that 'x-ray examination disclosed that, after years of work, the lungs of coal trimmers are not normal, and exhibit signs similar to those widely regarded as characteristic of silicotic fibrosis.' [454]

left : A cross-section through the lung of a person showing the effects of silicosis or 'silicotic fibrosis'. [043]

Coal Trimmer's Token - Number 942, dated April 1914. The token system was used as identification and accountability of men employed loading coal onto ships. Thus they logged attendance and timekeeping which was used to calculate wages. In this case, it was also used to ensure that the holder was a bona fide member of the Coal Trimmers Union. [048]

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