George Pearson began his working life at Carlin How mine as a leader lad working with horses at the age of 14 in 1936.
He was the last manager of North Skelton mine, the last ironstone mine in Cleveland when it closed in 1964.
In this 1980s interview George talks about the early days of ironstone mining in the area, the ironstone seams and methods of working.
In 1994 George was involved in the building of a cairn at St. Peter’s Church, North Skelton, to commemorate the miners.
St. Peter’s Church, has since been redeveloped into houses, but the cairn has been moved into nearby gardens.
The plaque dedicated by Rector Tom Evan in 1994 . 1836 is the date of the first cargo of ironstone from Grosmont being sent by the Whitby Stone Company to the Birtley Iron Company. 1964 marks the final closure of North Skelton.
George was also involved in making a number of wooden crosses, attached to ironstone when the mine closed in 1964, I was lucky enough to see one of these at the 50th Anniversary event back in 2014.
