Our grandfather John was a coalminer who left school at the age of 13 and went down the mine at Kiveton Park and Wales, on the outskirts of Sheffield. He was bright but didn't have the opportunity to stay in education because of his deprived circumstances.
(his father left when he was young and for a short period he and his mother lived in the workhouse before his grandparents took them in). Through the pit he was able to attend night and Saturday classes at the University of Sheffield and got qualifications in mining engineering.
He worked all his life down the pit, following work to Llay in North Wales after the Great Strike of 1926, suffering times of hardship and unemployment after pit accidents with spinal fractures, and returning to the Yorkshire coalfields till he retired aged 63/64.
He married Alice - perhaps having met her at the house where he lodged in 1921. They raised 4 children, Harry Desmond, Kenneth and a late arrival Leri. Harry won Miners' Scholarships to Kings School Pontefract and to Kings College Cambridge, Des went to Sheffield, Ken to the Navy
Leri went to Exeter and became a Geography teacher working in Coventry, until her retirement when she became the family genealogist amongst other things. She'd have loved this #Census1921 release, but sadly but sadly died in February 2020.
She left half her estate to her great nieces & nephews and then used the other half to set up a scholarship fund @sheffielduni in her father's name. Her passion was in supporting young people to be aware of their self worth and belief in their ability to follow their aspirations.
This week we heard that the first two beneficiaries have received their awards. I’m delighted for them and wish them well in their studies and careers. Something in my eye 
This from the report really struck me
The @sheffielduni was founded in 1905, through the generous donations of city industrialists & local steelworkers & coal miners, many of whom donated a penny each from their wages.
The @sheffielduni was founded in 1905, through the generous donations of city industrialists & local steelworkers & coal miners, many of whom donated a penny each from their wages.
They shared the vision of a university which would “bring the highest education within the reach of the child of the working man” and become a centre of industrial and medical research.
Today, guided by this long tradition of supporting learning through philanthropy, our ambition is to attract and support the very best students, regardless of their financial circumstances or background.
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