Clay-kicking

Clay-kicking was a method of civilian mining that was used in cities to aid in the installation of utilities such as elcectric cables and water pipes and also use in the driving of drainage systems and sewer works. the miner sat in a small gallery or tunnel with his back supported by a wooden cross (which also explains why it was also know as "working on the cross") and used an implement similar to a spade but with a much smaller, thinner blade and was referred to as a grafting tool (see illustration below). Above the head of the grafting tool were situated two foot rests which the miner used to push the tool into the clay face. It derived its name due to the fact that the subsoil of most towns and cities in the uk are, more often than not, made up of clay and the movements made by the miner in carrying out this work resembled a kicking motion.

The main difference between military and civil mining, which is described in some detail by W. Grant Grieve (1), is the type of gallery created. In civil mining the gallery is all important as this is where the minerals are extracted. they must, therefore, be large enought to allow several men at any one time to work and move the minerals over considerable distances by rail trucks to the surface. In military mining the gallery is simply a 'means to an end' in that the objective is to reach the enemy position and place an explosive charge underneath him. The size of the gallery in this instance is usually only of dimentions that will allow the work to be carried out quickly and efficiently.