A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921.
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ORDER IV.—WORKERS IN THE TREATMENT OF NON-METALLIFEROUS MINE AND QUARRY PRODUCTS (excluding Workers in Gas Works)

Sub-order 1.—Makers of Coke and By-Products (excluding Tar Distilling:

089.—Other Workers



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belt man
see conveyor man.
benchman
general term for any labourer q.v. who works at coke bench, drawing, quenching and forking coke after it is drawn from retorts and deposited on bench; includes coke filler, hearth man, quencher q.v.
breeze man, breeze oven labourer by-product ovens) ; breeze filler
cleans up breeze or small coke, on coke bench by hand, using shovel and sometimes brush, and loads it into railway wagons, or wheels it to breeze dump; cf. filler, coke.
bunkerman
in charge of bunkers at coke ovens where coal is stored, after it has been washed, to allow excess moisture to drain off, before coking process begins; operates slides and doors admitting coal into bunker compartments, and is in charge of crushed coal elevator, and of scrapers or conveyors.
carman ; haulage man
operates motor for moving "cars" or wagons of quenched coke from coke ovens to screens.
chucker, coke
see filler, coke.
coal crusher, coal grinder
tends coal crushing machines, in which coal is crushed, either before or after washing, to a size suitable for treatment by stamperman q.v. prior to loading into coke ovens.
coke and by-product man, coke oven man ; coker
general terms for any worker employed on any process in or about a coke oven or by-product plant.
coke oven plant worker ; coke worker
general term for any worker at coke oven plant, including coke doorman, coke drawer, coke filler, coke picker, coke screener, coke stacker, coke washer, dauber, oven loader, quencher, ram engine man (088) q.v.
coke oven top man
see craneman ; cf. coke oven top man (088).
coker
see coke and by-product man; cf. coker (081 and 088).
coke worker
see coke oven plant worker.
conveyor man ; belt man, creeper man
attends to creeper or belt conveyor, which transports coal or coke; regulates tension of belt by operating screw controls; oils machinery and chutes.
cooler, coke cooler
see quencher.
craneman ; coke doorman, coke oven doorman, coke oven top man, coke yard doorman, doorman, jackman, winchman
lifts doors of oven, either by hand or by mechanical means, to facilitate charging and discharging; cf. craneman (950).
creeper man
see conveyor man.
dataler, dataller, datal man, datal worker
general terms for any persons employed in coke oven plants who are paid at daily wages rates.
daub boy
(i) see washer, door;
(ii) see dauber.
dauber ; daub boy, luter, plasterer
plasters interstices between bricks and door of a by-product oven with loam," i.e., a mixture of clay and coke dust or boiler ash, by hand, so that air supply is diminished gradually and finally sealed off; when door is broken down to allow discharge, wheels away old clay to daub grinder q.v.
daub grinder ; pug mill attendant, pug mill man
feeds and discharges by hand, using a shovel, pug mill which grinds up breeze, clay, and previously used daub, to make fresh moist daubt for "luting" (sealing) coke oven doors (see doorman).
doorman, coke doorman, coke oven doorman, coke yard doorman
(i) see craneman;
(ii) stopper; closes doors of chamber or oven before charging, and plasters them with puddled clay to make them airtight, see dauber, and door washer;
(iii) ("beehive" ovens ), builds up and daubs it with clay to prevent coal from running out.
draughtsman
see drawer ; obsolescent.
drawer, coke drawer ; draughtsman (obsolescent)
breaks down and draws out coke from "beehive" coke ovens with iron rake; cf. ram engine man (088).
elevator man
controls elevator (or bucket conveyor) which transports coke to screens, tip, or hopper, or coal to coal breakers in a coke oven works.
exhauster boy ; greaser
assists exhauster driver (950) q.v. in light unskilled jobs e.g. cleaning up, oiling engine.
filler, ash; coke ash filler
a yard labourer who fills tubs or barrows with ashes drawn from boiler furnaces and coke benches, to be wheeled away by ash wheeler or ballast wheeler q.v.
filler, breeze
see breeze man.
filler, coke ; coke chucker, coke lifter, coke loader
a henchman q.v. who fills railway trucks, etc., with coke, using a large fork; cf. breeze man.
gas regulator's assistant ; valveman's assistant, valves labourer
a labourer who assists gas regulator (088) q.v. in opening and shutting valves.
greaser
see exhauster boy.
haulage man
see carman.
hearth man
(i) a benchman q.v. employed on "beehive" ovens;
(ii) general term for man working on hearth, i.e. discharging end, of coke oven, including doorman, quencher q.v.
hearth man's assistant
term sometimes applied to doorman q.v. assisting a quencher q.v. on hearth (discharging end) of coke oven.
hopper man, hopper lad
is engaged at hopper, discharging mechanically weighed quantities of crushed coal into wheeled bogies for charging into retorts.
hydraulic main man
see tar main man.
jackman
see craneman.
labourer
does any unskilled work in coke oven or by-product plant; usually specifically designated, e.g. by-product labourer, coke factory labourer, coke labourer, coke oven labourer, sulphate labourer, valves labourer, yard labourer.
leveller, coke oven leveller, oven leveller
levels coal in coke oven by hand with a long rake; work only performed in older type furnaces or when mechanical leveller breaks down; usually done by ram engine man (088) q.v. with a mechanical appliance joined to his ram.
lid man
removes oven lids before charging; replaces them after charging, and sweeps tops of ovens.
lifter, coke
see filler, coke.
loader, coke
see filler, coke.
loader, coke oven; coal loader, oven loader
charges coking ovens by hand, by tipping small trucks of crushed coal through steel door at top of oven; cf. charger (088); work only performed when ovens are top charged.
loader's assistant, coal
removes cover of top charge hole of coke oven in preparation for charging; assists generally in tipping trucks and shovelling or sweeping up scattered coal; cf. charger (088).
luter
see dauber.
picker, clinker; coke picker
picks out foreign materials, i.e. clinker and burnt shale, from quenched coke as it travels on conveyor bands to be screened.
plasterer
see dauber.
pug mill attendant, pug mill man
see daub grinder.
quencher, coke quencher ; coke cooler, cooler, waterman
a benchman q.v. who cools down ejected red-hot coke with water, by hand, hose, or quenching machine; does work of burner (088) q.v. in old-fashioned "beehive" ovens.
riddler, coke
see screener.
runner
see runner, small.
runner, coke
(i) fills tubs with coke for conveyance to blast furnace (beehive process);
(ii) see runner, small.
runner, small ; coke runner, runner
fills tubs on rails with crushed coal from a hopper; wheels tubs to coke ovens, and tips coal into them; cf. loader.
screener, coke screener ; coke riddler, coke sifter, sifter
watches proper working of screen, i.e., mechanically- shaken sieve, which sorts coke accord- [sic] to size; controls motion by levers; cleans and oils working parts, screen man, breeze, see washer, breeze.
sifter, coke sifter
see screener.
slack creeper
a conveyor man q.v. on belt carrying slack or small coal.
stacker, coke ; coke tipper
a yard labourer or coke labourer who conveys coke after it has been quenched and screened, either by hand (in barrows, etc.), or in bucket conveyor, and tips or stacks it in yard.
stopper
see doorman.
tar main man ; hydraulic main man
cleans out bituminous deposit from gas mains which conduct gases from coke ovens by opening small trap doors on top of the mains and raking the deposit along from ono' trap door to another, until eventually the whole of the deposit is raked into the tower bosch.
tipper, coke
see stacker, coke.
valveman's assistant, valves labourer
see gas regulator's assistant.
washer, washery man
(i) regulates supply of coal from conveyor down chutes to washer,, which separates coal (to be coked) from earthy materials and reduces ash content by mechanically agitating it in water by means of jigs or compressed air; manipulates valves, watercocks and power levers; watches machine fox- faulty working; cleans and oils working parts;
(ii) see washer, breeze.
washer, breeze; small coke washer ; breeze screen man, washer, washery man
washes breeze (small coke) in tubs of water with a hand riddle to remove dross, and to prepare it for use in smithies.
washer, door ; daub boy
brushes liquid puddled clay over oven doors during coking process to prevent surface of airtight plaster (lute) from cracking.
waterman
see quencher.
wheeler, ash; ballast wheeler
a labourer who wheels away tubs or barrows of ashes drawn from boiler furnaces and coke benches of a coke oven plant; generally also does work of ash filler q.v.
winchman
see craneman.

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From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016.   This text is in the Public Domain.