WORDS such as ‘Monday hammer’ and ‘daddicky’ would once have been common around the Forest but their use has died out with the mining industry.

Local historian and caving enthusiast Dave Tuffley spoke to former miners in the district to bring together a glossary of their unique working language.

The Glossary of Miners’ Terms used in the coal and iron ore industries already extends to 60 pages and it will be extended as more words come to light.

It will be made available free of charge from next week on the Forest of Dean Local History Society’s website, www.foresthistory.org.uk

Mr Tuffley has spent many years recording details of the Forest’s mining past and his epic research project into pit and quarry fatalities resulted in the Miners’ Memorial CD which was produced by the local history society.

With retirement around the corner, Mr Tuffley now hopes to convert the project into book form.

History society newsletter editor and vice-president Keith Walker describes the glossary as “a living document”.

He said: “If you know of any mining terms not included or you would like to make a comment, please use the feedback form on the website to contact Dave.

“There is a certain urgency in recording as many terms as possible as most of the Forest miners who worked for the National Coal Board are in their late 70s and 80s and once they have gone there will be no-one to ask for this information.”

So what was a Monday hammer? It was a sledge hammer, used mostly to break up large rocks and stones, which proved to be so heavy it was alleged to give the user “the Monday morning feeling.”

Other terms in the Glossary include:

Collier’s squat: Pronounced ‘qwat’, the miner almost always sat back on his heels when stopping to talk. This was due to the narrow house coal seams which made standing up nearly impossible.

The name also applied when miners met in the street and persisted with this stance, even when it was not necessary. This is no longer seen in the Forest of Dean.

Daddicky: Rotten, beyond repair and of no further use, especially pit timbers and props.

Bread time: The miners’ lunch break, generally about 20 minutes long in Princess Royal and in the southern part of the Forest coalfield.