Pat Hill

Pat’s life has been deeply intertwined with Durham’s coal mining heritage from an early age. Her Grandma worked as a cleaner for the Durham Miners Association at Redhills and, as a child, Pat would sometimes go to work with her to help out. One of her tasks was changing the blotting paper on the big table in the Committee Room ready for meetings. Her grandfather, Matthew Turnbull, played a significant role in the mining community as Chairman of the Durham Labour Party. Her mother would tell tales of him standing on Durham Town Hall steps telling people about the benefits of trying to secure better safety and pay for mine workers.

Pat has had a long career as a youth worker in County Durham. She is now a volunteer for the Cheesy Waffles project, a charity which primarily works with children, young people, and adults who have additional needs across the Durham area. Seeing it as a privilege to do this voluntary work, she loves to be involved with the Making Music projects and the Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition qualifications.

Her connections to coalfield heritage have been revisited through the work she has done with her husband David, an ex-mining engineer. They established an after school initiative called The Mining Project which creatively engaged hundreds of children.

The aim in her heart and head is to keep the history of the Durham coal mining communities alive and to pass it on to the younger generation. She believes we can draw so much inspiration and strength from the women in the mining communities as role models for young women growing up in the County today.

The Cheesy Waffles website: https://www.cwyproject.org.uk/