During World War II many miners were called to join the armed forces. Ernest Bevin, the wartime Minister of Labour and National Service, devised a method to select men to work in the coal mines. When young men went to register for service, 1 in 10 were conscripted to the mining industry. This was not optional, if you did not go, you were sent to prison. Most Bevin Boys did unskilled jobs, leaving the trained miners to work on the coalface.