THE last member of a mining dynasty has died at the age of 98, ending a father-to-son tradition stretching back through eight generations to the early years of the 18th Century.

James Clement Fletcher’s family had owned collieries at various times in the Bolton area and for almost 200 years mined the rich and productive seams under Atherton.

Mr Fletcher’s close friend, journalist Ken Wood, who 50 years ago worked for the Journal, said: “He preferred to be known as ‘Jim’ and was noted for his kindness and courtesy with a genuine interest in his fellows and the world about him.

“He was a lover of classical music. He was invariably cheerful and kept up to date with the affairs of Howe Bridge and Atherton and the wider mining community.

“He had a remarkable memory and would recall in detail events long past and the names of miners he had known.

“In recent times Jim visited the new mining sculpture close to the site of Gibfield colliery, and also the remains of Wet Earth Colliery at Clifton which was sunk at about 1750 by his great-great-great-great uncle Matthew.”

Ken said that Jim devoted almost his entire life to coal mining and related industries and as a mining engineer, he studied first at the Wigan Mining and Technical College and briefly at Freiburg in south Germany.

He had worked initially in the Fletcher Burrows pits in the Manchester Collieries group and was manager of Howe Bridge Colliery during the Second World War.

Ken said: “Howe Bridge closed in 1959, was followed by Gibfield in 1963 and Chanters in 1966.

“After nationalisation Jim was appointed as Mining Safety Engineer for the North West/North Wales area of the National Coal Board. Later he joined Glover Brothers, suppliers to the NCB.”

Various members of the Fletcher family lived at The Hindles, opposite Howe Bridge parish church, before moving to Atherton Hall.

Mr Fletcher was educated at Marlborough public school at which his uncle, Sir Frank Fletcher, was once headmaster.

He leaves three sons, Christopher, David and Roger by his first wife, Marjorie, and a grandson, James. Hilary, his second wife, pre-deceased him.

He died on December 12 in Culcheth, and his funeral on Tuesday was at St Michael and All Angels Church, Howe Bridge — on the 100th anniversary of the 1910 Pretoria Pit Disaster in which 344 men and boys died.

His father, Clement, was a member of the Atherton Mines Rescue team, at the scene.