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Recognition for Bevin Boys 'Wonderful News'
21st June 2007
Mary Creagh MP has welcomed the news that ‘Bevin Boys’ are to be properly recognised for their service during World War II with the introduction of a special commemorative badge.
‘Bevin Boys’ were young British men conscripted to work in the coal mines of the United Kingdom, from December 1943 until after the end of World War II. They were named after Ernest Bevin, the wartime Minister of Labour, who conscripted them into mining. Nearly 48,000 Bevin Boys were chosen at random from the conscription lists to perform the vital, but largely unrecognised, war service in the coal mines.
After a long campaign by Members of Parliament and the Bevin Boys Association, the Ministry of Defence are finally set to award a special commemorative badge to honour their service. Mary Creagh MP last year met the Bevin Boys association at the National Coal Mining Museum in her constituency. She signed a Commons motion supporting the campaign, and is delighted that the ‘forgotten conscripts’ are finally to be recognised.
Mary Creagh MP said: “It is wonderful news that the Bevin Boys are finally going to be recognised for the great service they gave to our country during World War II. They were called up because of the desperate need for coal in the war, and performed their duties without complaint. Hundreds of these men served in the Wakefield area, and I know from my postbag that there are still many Bevin Boys living locally. I am going to investigate holding a special ceremony to celebrate their contribution as soon as possible.”