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Forty years on, we have three speakers who will cover different aspects of the strike:KITTY REES will talk about the support groups that emerged to support the miners and that were often critical to the industrial action continuing.
GRANVILLE WILLIAMS will revisit the biased media coverage of the miners strike in 1984-85 and contrasts it with documentaries which have appeared on the 40th anniversary of the strike, with a particular focus on Strike: An Uncivil War.
DAVE PARRY will cover his personal reflections on his lifetime connection and work in the coal industry, with the Miners' strike of 1984/5 a central part.
Dave writes: "It is no exaggeration to say that Britian’s power and wealth was built on coal. Yet the coal industry on these islands is virtually no more. The people who worked in it and the communities dependent on it are passing into history. On 18 December 2015 Britain’s last deep mine – Kellingley – closed. Recently, on 30 September 2024 the last coal-fired power station closed at Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Peak production of the UK coal industry was way back in 1913 – an astonishing 287 million tons. In 1920 1.2 million people were employed in the British coal industry.
I published a book in 2023 – A Mirror on the Past. It is a personal reflection on the coal industry and my very small part in it. The book is not an academic study – it’s a memoir of a life “in the shadow of coal.” The Miners Strike of 1984/85 features strongly in the book because of its obvious significance for everyone in the UK, not just those connected with coal. As an NUM activist and (later) Branch Official it contains my experiences and insights, for better or worse.
In addition to the book, I will make reference to another publication – Jobs not Jail. This pamphlet outlines the work done by the South Yorkshire Defence Campaign during and after the strike. It fills in a gap and adds to our knowledge and understanding of that epic period in coalfield history."
All are welcome and admission is free. Snacks provided!
FUTURE MEETINGS: we have meetings in the New Year planned on mental health and for LGBTQI+ History Month. We are always looking for new speakers on any topic relating to socialist and/or working class history - if you have a topic you would like to suggest or speak on, please let us know.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Red Shed, 18 Vicarage Street South, Wakefield, WF1 1, United Kingdom,Wakefield
