Description

A rectangular metal sign. At the top of the sign there is a circular hole where it would have been hung up. At the top of the sign in big black bold text, and underlined is 'Code of Shaft Signals'. Below this in smaller text is 'the following signals shall be used at all times in connection with winding in shafts.'
Below this are two sections with instructions. The first on is titled 'Men Descending' and the second one is titled 'Men Ascending'.

This is an example of a sign that would have been used to provide instructions or safety messages to miners. Miner signs would have likely been inaccessible to most miners as many were unable to read and write. If a miner could read and write, the sign would still have been particularly inaccessible to those who were dyslexic.
Miner signs may have also been tricky for those who were Deaf to understand as British Sign Language and English have different grammatical structures. This difference was something that was raised by a disability co-production group.
The miner sign would have also been difficult to read for miners who developed blindness known as miners’ nystagmus. This was characterised by rapid involuntary movements of the eyes, associated with defect of vision, photophobia, and night-blindness. This would have made them more vulnerable to the hazards of mining beyond being able to read this sign. Guest Hospital in Dudley was set up in 1871 to support miners with blindness and other disabilities caused by the mining industry.
These examples demonstrate the social model of disability; that people are disabled by the barriers in society rather than their impairment or difference. This way of thinking was introduced in the 1970s and 80s, and is preferred over the medical model which sees the person responsible for their inability to fully access society..

- Claudia Davies, Curating for Change Fellow at Black Country Living Museum