Anthony & Marleen Comb

Tony and Marleen’s father’s were both miners who moved to the Stoke-on-Trent area for work. Tony says “I was bought up in Preston village, North Shields, Northumberland. From there went to Mill Hill in Tunstall. My father proceeded us to work in the coal mines in the Staffordshire area. At that time I believe there was 23 coal mines in Staffordshire.”. Marleen was born in Pencoed near Bridgend, South Wales, her father traveled before the family too, “He came up to the North Staffordshire coal fields to work, and we moved here up to Biddulph on Christmas eve in 1954.” she remembers.”But Biddulph people did not make us feel welcome at all, we were both ridiculed at school. Tony for his Geordie accent, me for my Welsh accent.”

The couple met at the Riley-Arms in Tunstall, (The most Northern town in Stoke-onTrent) 13th June 1963. Marleen originally planned to go out dancing that night but ended up visiting the pub with a friend, “Tony walked in with his mate Brian and the friend I was with (Marion) knew them because she lived near them. Brian sat by us, while tony went to have a game of cards. Brian was talking to Marion, I got my cigarettes out and I gave one to Brian and I put one on the table for Tony for when he came back. Tony said .”Who’s left this here for me?" Brian told him and Tony says ‘She must be after me.’  And it went on from there.” The couple went for a walk that evening, they were engaged by August and married 7 months later. They lived in Smallthorne, Tunstall.

Tony had been working on the mines since he was 16 years old, his father had an accident and the sick pay wasn’t enough to keep the family going so he left grammar school to work. After they married Tony went to a local mining college. Tony and the 5 others in his year were offered mining work in Chililabombwe in Zambia, and they all said they were interested, “The others gradually come up with [excuses], my wife doesn’t want to go or oh we’re going but, but…and it finished up I was the only one that went.” Marleen adds, “We arrived at our house in Africa on his birthday, January 17th 1969.”

Although Zambia was a perfect climate, with beautiful scenery Marleen didn’t feel safe, so generally felt upset and quite isolated. However returning to England would have meant Anthony having to buy out his contract so they decided to stay. “I was taking [my son] to nursery school one morning and I got beaten up.” She adds, “I mean after that I took the dog everywhere with me, I carried a knife in my bag. Whether I would have eve used it I don’t know, but I felt better for carrying it. But that’s no way to live, you know?”. Fortunately Tony was offered a job in Nicaragua.

After many flights, stopovers, a one-night visit to relatives in Biddulp, and a 4 seater taxi plane they arrived in Bonanza, Nicaragua. Tony worked as an Assistant Mine Superintendent for a group of mines in the area. Although Tony had to be accompanied by an armed guard Marleen felt much safer than before. They spent two years there, returned to England briefly and then went back to Nicaragua for another 3 years, “It could be a bit depressing because we lived up in the mountains, in the rainforest. The planes used to come in between the mountains to land and if it was bad weather they couldn’t come in. Everything came in by plane.”

“We came back [To England] in 1977 because they had their revolution. We were told get out. They closed the British embassy and the vice council at the British embassy was a friend of ours, he said, 'If I were you I’d get out while you can.’ So we got out, and we got out just in time because they started bombing. Some friends of ours were killed, local people. If I gave a dinner party Laslow, a guy who worked at the electric shop, used to come and serve drinks for me. And they shot Laslow didn’t they, and killed him.”

I’m glad we did came back. Because we came back in ’77, and in ’79 Michelle [our daughter] was born. We buried my dad the day before Michelle was born. And Tonys’ dad died 4 days later, and my mum died the following January. So at least we saw them before we came back and had some time [with them].”

Tony had a couple of jobs at an engineering works, chemical works and then spent 13 years working as an official at nearby a mine, eventually retiring from mining and buying a local shop, which he has now sold.

Marleen reflects on where they live now, “We don’t associate ourselves with Stoke-on-Trent as we live in the Staffordshire Moorlands. She adds, “We like living in Biddulph as it is semi-rural, a pretty good area, near the country, near the motorways and easy distance driving to good shops.”.  The couple volunteer once a week at a local community centre where Tony is a regular member of a local men’s group, they regularly travel abroad together often visiting Las Vegas.