Talk:Pit pony

Categories

Any reason this article is in Category:Types of horses? Ealdgyth | Talk 19:23, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Got a better category? I'm open to ideas. Montanabw^(talk) 04:44, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Source material

Excellent article on the topic: http://stargazermercantile.com/2015/06/15/pit-ponies-working-in-a-coal-mine/. Montanabw^(talk) 22:02, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

It is an interesting and well-written article. We can't use it as a source because it is self-published, see Identifying and using self-published works. Verbcatcher (talk) 23:07, 28 June 2017 (UTC)

We don't have a wholesale ban on self-published works, though they are strongly discouraged. ("self-published works are acceptable in Wikipedia so long as certain conditions are met.") However, in this case, it is a good guide by which to find more sourceable content and it also is a good fact-checking backup. Montanabw^(talk) 05:33, 19 July 2017 (UTC)

Possible conflation of two men named Bell — 1910 death date

The article states that John William Bell, recipient of the Fitzwilliam Medal for Kindness (1904) for saving his pit pony at Elsecar Collieries, died on 27 March 1910 at the Oakenshaw mine while trying to aid another miner (sourced to the Durham Mining Museum In Memoriam).

There is reason to suspect this death record belongs to a different man, and that two people named Bell have been conflated:

1. The medal recipient's story, as documented by his descendants (grandchildren Steve Hardy and Val Noble) and featured in a 2024 Wentworth Woodhouse exhibition and on the BBC Antiques Roadshow, is consistently associated with the name "John Willie Bell" of Wentworth/Elsecar (South Yorkshire).
2. A family photograph reproduced in coverage of the exhibition is captioned "John Willie Bell in 1955 with wife Flo and baby" — which is difficult to reconcile with a death in 1910.
3. The 1910 death record refers to "John William Bell" at the Oakenshaw mine, which is in County Durham — a different colliery in a different county, hundreds of kilometres from Elsecar in South Yorkshire.

The differing forename ("Willie" vs "William"), the different mine and region, and especially the 1955 photograph suggest the Oakenshaw 1910 death may be a separate individual incorrectly linked to the medal recipient.

Could editors with access to the Durham Mining Museum record and the exhibition/family sources verify whether these are the same person? If they are two different men, the death date and circumstances should be separated from the medal recipient's entry.

Source for the exhibition/family account: https://www.yorkshire.com/south-yorkshire/news/community/john-willie-bell-a-heroic-tale-at-wentworth-woodhouse-mining-exhibition Corlie12 (talk) 15:34, 1 August 2026 (UTC)

@Corlie12: The Durham Mining Museum account does not say it was the same man. I will remove the sentence from the article. Well spotted! DuncanHill (talk) 17:11, 1 August 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for the quick reply and for making the correction. Much appreciated. Corlie12 (talk) 17:25, 1 August 2026 (UTC)