Thomas Jordan (1892-1983)
Escaped a life down the pit by joining the army
Thomas Jordan followed his father down the pit in 1906. He hated the work and enlisted in the army in 1912. He served during the first war in France, the Balkans, Egypt and Palestine. In 1919 he returned to pit work as a coal hewer, but was forced to give up in 1928 due to the combined effects of malaria, dysentery and gas poisoning.
A fragment of his autobiography can be found in: John Burnett, ed., Useful Toil. (Harmondsworth 1977) pp. 99-107
For a series of blog posts on Thomas Jordan’s autobiography:
http://www.writinglives.org/category/thomas-jordan
More information about the Burnett Archive of Working Class Biographies:
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/services/library/research/special-collections/collections/burnett-archive-of-working-class-autobiographies
Civil Parish: Usworth
Birth date: 1892-Jan-19
Death date: 1983
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 12 The Square, Usworth Colliery (1911 census)
15 Railway Terrace, Usworth (1901 census)
Education: Saint Joseph’s Roman Catholic School, Washington
Gender: Male
Contributed by George Muirhead | Durham County Record Office