I WAS delighted when it was decided to award service badges to the Bevin Boys, who served in coal mines during the Second World War.

They were introduced to the industry under a scheme initiated in response to an increasing shortage of labour in the mining industry.

The scheme ran from 1943-48 and involved recruiting men aged between 18 to 25. Some 48,000 were selected under the scheme.

It was often thought some were cowards because the public at large did not understand the laws behind the scheme, which stated that one in every ten volunteers for the Armed Forces were to be selected to meet the shortage of miners.

Like it or not, into the mines they went, so I was pleased they were awarded a gong for their services.

But what about the miners classed as too old to serve in the Armed Forces who were given the task of training these recruits, risking their own lives in the process? Don’t they deserve a medal?

I am surprised the Bevin Boys Association accepted these awards without insisting those they worked with were also honoured. But who would think of rewarding the miners – or any other industrial workers – who gave extra of themselves towards the war effort?

Ralph Hughes, Shotton Colliery, Durham.