John and Annie Baugh left England with their son Cliff in 1923 to work the Hikurangi coal mines with a bunch of other Lancashire families.

These are Cliff’s stories about depression-era dairy farming, coal mining and his personal experiences during the Second World War.

Images and footnotes have been added by me. Sometimes I’ve had to write the story in the third person from Cliff’s diary entries and letters. Because it’s a personal reminiscence, not a history, I’ve also changed some names to avoid offence. I’ve retained the original, however, names, dates and all.

I hope to add additional pages over time, as well as more images, cross-links etc. Comments and contributions are very welcome. You’ll find more about this project and my role in it here. ~ Ian