The history of our coal mines to which we owe so much, but about which, as a rule, we know so little, is a matter of wide concern to us,particularly at this juncture. Sir Richard Redmayne, who is giving this series of talks on how coal-mining began in Great Britain, the early conditions of the workers, mining legislation before and after the War, and the modern equipment of the collieries, was H.M. Chief Inspector of Mines from 1908 to 1920. From 1916-20 he was Assistant to the Controller of Coal Mines; in 1919 he was Assessor to the Chairman of the Coal Industry Commission, and he has also been a member of numerous governmental Committees and Commissions on mines and mining.