Digger
A Danish bog ( "Tørveskær i Vildmosen" (Peatcutting in Vildmosen, Jutland, Denmark), 1884 drawing by R. Christiansen, Wikimedia Commons).
Le Bêcheur | The Digger
The bêcheur, or digger, was a worker employed in the operation of a bog. He extracted pieces of peat that were then used as fertilizer or for heating using a special shovel called a winged tine. The root of the word, bêche, actually means spade.
In French, calling someone a “bêcheur” or “bêcheuse” means that they are really hard working.
Known persons who had this occupation: Mathurin Bonnefeu, Paul Chambor, Blaise Jeuillet/Juillet, Jean Lecompte, Jean Leduc, Nicolas Leroy, Mathurin Meunier/Lemousnier, François Nocher, Pierre Piron, Jacques Regnaud, Jean Vaydié
"Peat Diggers in the Dunes" (1883 charcoal drawing by Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh Gallery www.vangoghgallery.com).
Sources:
Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 75.
“Bêcheur, euse”, Portail lexique du Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales, https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/b%C3%AAcheur.