Steve Fergus

Steve Fergus stepped down from the DAMHA Board in September 2022 after 30 years’ service. We couldn’t let him go – although he will still be coming to the Big Meeting to carry our banner, without speaking to him about his life and his time at DAMHA.

The Army Years:

“I grew up in Peterlee, which was built as a new town to provide homes for miners and their families because there was not enough in places likes Horden, Easington, and Blackhall.

“Many of my friends went straight down the mines after leaving school but I opted to join the army instead and enlisted in 1974 when I was sixteen.

“During my three years in the army I did tours in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, both of which were not the nicest places to be as Cyprus was still feeling the after-effects of the Greek/Turkish War and of course The Troubles in Ireland were at their height.

“Once in Belfast we were called to report of a bomb which had been placed by the IRA in an arcade. The police were supposed to evacuate residents, but we ended up doing it, except there was still one elderly disable lady who was still in the bungalow, so I was sent as the youngest to get her to safety.

“I remember sprinting to her house and jumping over the wall and I had just bent down to pick up the lady’s dog who was in the garden when the bomb went off.

“The force of the explosion blew me, and the lady, against her wall. I suffered a collapsed lung and cut across my body caused by the shrapnel and looking back, I think bending down to pick up the dog probably saved my life as it shielded me from the worst of the blast.

“I never did find out what happened to the lady even though I asked at the time and continued to try years later – hopefully she also survived.”

The Mining Years:

“The injuries I sustained in the blast eventually led me to leave the army, so I came back home started thinking about getting another job.

“My mates were all miners, so I went with them to Easington Colliery one day and knowing they always had money in their pockets and were happy, I popped into the office and asked for a job. That was on a Thursday, and I started working down the pit the next day.

“I was a miner from 1977 to 1993 and although it was hard work, I enjoyed it. I was surrounded by like-minded people and there was a real sense of community. We felt like one big family.”

The Transport Years:

“When the mine closed, I decided to go back to university to study English and on evenings I drove an HGV making deliveries of fuel.

“My dad had his own haulage business and myself and my brother used to help him when we were young, so I grown up in the transport industry.

“One night I dropped off some fuel at the Asda store in Washington and I saw a notice saying they were recruiting for HGV drivers. The guy in the office knew my dad so he interviewed me on the spot, and I started working for them on the Monday.

“I ended up working with Asda for 18 years before I retired in 2018, leaving as one of their Area Transport Managers.”

The DAMHA Years:

“When I worked down the Pit, I used to attend DAMHA meetings at a local level as I was interested in how they supported the mining communities with homes and other support and then one day I was asked if I wanted to be on the Committee.

“I was co-opted within a week, and I served on the Board until my regulatory time was up in September.

“I am incredibly proud to have been involved at DAMHA for so long and to have played my part in overseeing the positive changes we have gone through over the years.

“I can’t sing DAMHA’s praises enough, and I always try to bring them up in conversation with people.

“One of my proudest moments was when I carried the banner into Durham Cathedral with my two sons at The Big Meeting, and I am going to continue carrying the banner in the future, which is great.”