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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Brown honours wartime Bevin Boys | Brown honours wartime Bevin Boys |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown has paid tribute to the men who were conscripted or volunteered to work as miners during World War II. | Prime Minister Gordon Brown has paid tribute to the men who were conscripted or volunteered to work as miners during World War II. |
| He said the Bevin Boys, as they are known, "not only helped us win the war but rebuild our country after the war". | He said the Bevin Boys, as they are known, "not only helped us win the war but rebuild our country after the war". |
| Sir Jimmy Savile is among the 27 who will be formally recognised at a Downing Street ceremony. | Sir Jimmy Savile is among the 27 who will be formally recognised at a Downing Street ceremony. |
| Wartime minister Ernest Bevin's scheme saw 48,000 men aged 18 to 25 recruited for the mines between 1943 and 1948. | Wartime minister Ernest Bevin's scheme saw 48,000 men aged 18 to 25 recruited for the mines between 1943 and 1948. |
| The prime minister, who will award commemorative badges during the ceremony, said: "The service that the Bevin Boys gave to this country was incredibly important and not only helped us to win the war but also to rebuild our country after the war." | The prime minister, who will award commemorative badges during the ceremony, said: "The service that the Bevin Boys gave to this country was incredibly important and not only helped us to win the war but also to rebuild our country after the war." |
| "The Bevin Boys' contribution, like that of the Spitfire Women, the Women's Timber Corps and the Women's Land Army, did not receive the recognition it deserved at the time as honours were concentrated on those who saw front line service." | "The Bevin Boys' contribution, like that of the Spitfire Women, the Women's Timber Corps and the Women's Land Army, did not receive the recognition it deserved at the time as honours were concentrated on those who saw front line service." |
| 'Dangerous jobs' | |
| Sir Jimmy was a member of the Air Training Corps before being conscripted as a Bevin Boy. | |
| The former Top of the Pops host told BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the job he "loved", his daily rituals and how it had prepared him for a life of cigar smoking. | |
| If that's what we were told to do by the country to save the country, that's what we did Sir Jimmy Savile Life and times of a Bevin Boy | |
| "I was up at four in the morning, down at six and then a mile-and-a-half walk bent double underground," he said. | |
| "And when I got to the coal face I used to put my hands on it and say 'Oh, that's been there for 70 million years and I'm the first one to touch it'." | |
| He added that he was no less proud to tell people of his war effort than if he had seen frontline action. | |
| "If that's what we were told to do by the country to save the country, that's what we did," he said. | |
| "Some people had nice jobs, some people had not nice jobs; we had dangerous jobs but there were people with jobs far more dangerous than us." | |
| 'Forgotten conscripts' | 'Forgotten conscripts' |
| Another celebrity Bevin Boy - former actor and Mencap President Lord Rix - will also be at the ceremony, which will recognise their contribution for the first time. | |
| Anyone who was conscripted directly into the mines, who joined the mines instead of the armed forces or who originally served in the armed forces and later volunteered to become a miner, is eligible to apply for a lapel badge. | |
| The ceremony coincides with the 60th anniversary of the demobilisation of the last Bevin Boys. | The ceremony coincides with the 60th anniversary of the demobilisation of the last Bevin Boys. |
| Mr Bevin, the then minister for Labour and National Service, introduced the scheme in response to an increasing shortage of labour in the coal mining industry. | Mr Bevin, the then minister for Labour and National Service, introduced the scheme in response to an increasing shortage of labour in the coal mining industry. |
| Many regular miners had been called up into the forces, leaving a shortfall of able men. | Many regular miners had been called up into the forces, leaving a shortfall of able men. |
| But the men subsequently drafted into the mines have often been referred to as the "forgotten conscripts". | But the men subsequently drafted into the mines have often been referred to as the "forgotten conscripts". |
| Outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed to the Commons last June that applications were being invited for the special badge. | Outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed to the Commons last June that applications were being invited for the special badge. |