Big Geordie Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 This month is the 25th anniversary of the start of the 1984 Miners Strike. Here's a good piece from today's Chronicle which gives a bit of background; http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2009/03/02/memories-of-coal-war-72703-23043666/ My old man was a miner at Bates Pit and both of my grandad's and great-grandad's were miners too. I remember the strike quite well as it was a harsh time, but also one that I remember of people rallying around and supporting each other. In the end, lads like my dad had to go back due to financial hardship and of course the industry suffered the mass-culling that they all feared would happen. Even now, 25 years on - the effects of the strike still run deep in many communities. From my neck of the woods, villages like Ashington and Blyth have never recovered and probably never will. I was 11 when the strike began, and at middle school. We immediately went onto free school meals, but I chose to go home for lunch (made by by dad) rather than stay at school. Those of us at school who's dad's were miners, were ostricised (sp?) by other children, particularly those from the more well to do families. My dad was lucky, as he was able to get a job moonlighting as a security guard at a local clothes factory. That and help off my grandparents helped to keep our heads above water, but others were not so lucky. I remember seeing fathers and sons digging for coal on the local slag heaps, as well as some kids begging around the doors for a bucket of coal. I also remember having to go to the local social club everyday, during school holidays to what amounted to a soup kitchen. There we were given sandwiches, soup, fruit and a drink - I think all paid for by the NUM. Harsh times and one's that are often not understood. The strike itself was futile because Scargill was after bringing down Thatcher, as they did with Ted Heath in '74. What Scargill did was he used the fact that most of the miners wanted better pay for working in poor conditions, as well as job security - for his own agenda. He (Scargill) is as much to blame as anyone else. The stories should be continued to be told, because whilst the strike did destroy the industry, it more importantly destroyed whole communities which perhaps could be seen as a part of the reason for the social problems we now have today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 as a teen of the time i saw it in black and white (scargill was a twat and was the miners worst enemy) and didn't really take much notice of the social costs till much later. thatcher verses scargill.....................what a horrible scenario. neither cared for anyone bar themselves. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp40 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Remember coming back from Blackburn away,(84) when we stopped for a piss stop. Riot police from all directions swarmed on the coach, thinking we were flying pickets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Remember coming back from Blackburn away,(84) when we stopped for a piss stop. Riot police from all directions swarmed on the coach, thinking we were flying pickets. "after 3 lads...1...2...3.......... looking from a window above" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp40 Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Remember coming back from Blackburn away,(84) when we stopped for a piss stop. Riot police from all directions swarmed on the coach, thinking we were flying pickets. "after 3 lads...1...2...3.......... looking from a window above" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovejoy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 cracking o.p by the way. really interesting read that, had no idea it was so bad. people digging for coal? jesus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 cracking o.p by the way. really interesting read that, had no idea it was so bad. people digging for coal? jesus. that last sentence made me giggle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovejoy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 cracking o.p by the way. really interesting read that, had no idea it was so bad. people digging for coal? jesus. that last sentence made me giggle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 As i've posted before,Scargill shot himself,and the miners,in the foot by not holding a national ballot,at the beginning of it all.Had he done so,he would certainly have won,and who knows,history may been different...in regards to there wouldnt have been any breakaway unions,D.U.M. forming,and they may have given the Thatcher regime a bloody nose,with a united effort. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 The miners would never have won. Thatcher had learned the lessons of the Heath regime's ruck with the NUM, and we had enough coal stockpiled to see us through anything the miners could produce in terms of a strike. She was a destructive megalomaniac, but she wasn't stupid, she wasn't going to get fucked over like Heath did. Having faced down and beaten the miners, Thatcher then got free rein to effectively dismantle pretty much every scintilla of protection the British working man had. You can blame her for that, but you can also blame Scargill for his own duplicity and lack of political nous. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 It was bad back then and it actually divided some familes. Brother literally turned against brother, father against son and it still continues to this day. Fiercely proud men were ultimately shafted not just by their own government, but also the men running their own Union. What many folk don't know about is the scandal in how the BBC reported the strike. The government ordered the BBC to show the miner's charging the police first (at the more violent confrontations) when what actually happened was the other way round (the police charging the miners first) It was also rumoured at the time that soldiers from the army were roped in, and given police uniforms (without numbers on) inorder to boost the ranks. Wonderful actions from a supposed free country. And that's why when Thatcher eventually dies, I'll happily dance on the bitches' grave. Perhaps the problems that she is suffering herself at the moment are karma for the thousands of lives she destroyed. As for Scargill - he was said to have become a rich man from the strike, so read into that what you will. He was always a very dangerous man and I remember my dad telling me in later years that Joe Gormley (who led the NUM during the late 70's) warned the miners not to vote Scargill in, because he knew what would happen. However, Scargill was backed by the Yorkshire NUM and was thus elected. It's kind of hard to describe how the strike was for me and the effect that it subsequently had. It made me very proud of my roots, but I also saw the devastation that it caused. It's why it should be remembered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 The miners would never have won. Thatcher had learned the lessons of the Heath regime's ruck with the NUM, and we had enough coal stockpiled to see us through anything the miners could produce in terms of a strike. She was a destructive megalomaniac, but she wasn't stupid, she wasn't going to get fucked over like Heath did. Having faced down and beaten the miners, Thatcher then got free rein to effectively dismantle pretty much every scintilla of protection the British working man had. You can blame her for that, but you can also blame Scargill for his own duplicity and lack of political nous. I meant if Scargill had've had ballot,he'd have won that,not the whole episode....but a united front by the miners would certainly have given Thatcher and her cronies a much tougher proposition...although i agree she would never have backed down. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 It was bad back then and it actually divided some familes. Brother literally turned against brother, father against son and it still continues to this day. Fiercely proud men were ultimately shafted not just by their own government, but also the men running their own Union. What many folk don't know about is the scandal in how the BBC reported the strike. The government ordered the BBC to show the miner's charging the police first (at the more violent confrontations) when what actually happened was the other way round (the police charging the miners first) It was also rumoured at the time that soldiers from the army were roped in, and given police uniforms (without numbers on) inorder to boost the ranks. Wonderful actions from a supposed free country. And that's why when Thatcher eventually dies, I'll happily dance on the bitches' grave. Perhaps the problems that she is suffering herself at the moment are karma for the thousands of lives she destroyed. As for Scargill - he was said to have become a rich man from the strike, so read into that what you will. He was always a very dangerous man and I remember my dad telling me in later years that Joe Gormley (who led the NUM during the late 70's) warned the miners not to vote Scargill in, because he knew what would happen. However, Scargill was backed by the Yorkshire NUM and was thus elected. It's kind of hard to describe how the strike was for me and the effect that it subsequently had. It made me very proud of my roots, but I also saw the devastation that it caused. It's why it should be remembered. That's a top post...and one i wholeheartedly agree with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 As i've posted before,Scargill shot himself,and the miners,in the foot by not holding a national ballot,at the beginning of it all.Had he done so,he would certainly have won,and who knows,history may been different...in regards to there wouldnt have been any breakaway unions,D.U.M. forming,and they may have given the Thatcher regime a bloody nose,with a united effort. starting a Miners strike in April wasn't a brilliant move either - the whole summer ahead........ surely October would have been better tactics Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 "What many folk don't know about is the scandal in how the BBC reported the strike. The government ordered the BBC to show the miner's charging the police first" evidence??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northerngimp Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I was only 8 at the time and just remember news reports on TV nothing more really. Look North had some canny clips on last night. Bit of a shocker seeing the trouble with adult eyes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 "What many folk don't know about is the scandal in how the BBC reported the strike. The government ordered the BBC to show the miner's charging the police first" evidence??? Am sure the BBC admitted as much in later years and I also think it was mentioned in one of the broadsheets. It's not conjecture, if that's what you are thinking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzieMandias Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Quick google turns up: The BBC's Orgreave reporting was a blatant example of this lie-telling. Showing the film footage so that the sequence of events was reversed to show the miners attacking and police responding was the most blatant lie involved. http://www.workersliberty.org/node/2366 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toonlass Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 In Ashington it was horrendous. No-one had anything, it was literally living hand to mouth. Free school meals were something to ensure that the bairns had a hot meal and it seemed like everyone was on them. Everyone who worked at Ellington Colliery was basically broken, mentally by it. The kids were pretty good to each other, as a lot of them were affected by it. But no-one had owt anyway. I remember that we had our swimming lessons cancelled as no-one could afford it anymore. I don't remember anything politically about it, as I was just little, but it broke the men's spirit in the community but also brought people together as we all knew we were in the same boat. It was a really wierd time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Billy Bragg interview - top stuff http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/05/miners-strike-thatcherism-billy-bragg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Billy Bragg interview - top stuff http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/05/miners-strike-thatcherism-billy-bragg Billy Bragg,the leader of Red Wedge...a man that was so left wing,he was wider left than Laurent Robert is now a Lib-Dem supporter..all the love and respect i had for him in the 80's has evaporated... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp40 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Fking hell, the state Shane Mcgowan is in these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowen Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Fascinating thread, thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Billy Bragg interview - top stuff http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/05/miners-strike-thatcherism-billy-bragg Billy Bragg,the leader of Red Wedge...a man that was so left wing,he was wider left than Laurent Robert is now a Lib-Dem supporter..all the love and respect i had for him in the 80's has evaporated... but the lib dems are well to the left of new labour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Billy Bragg interview - top stuff http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/05/miners-strike-thatcherism-billy-bragg Billy Bragg,the leader of Red Wedge...a man that was so left wing,he was wider left than Laurent Robert is now a Lib-Dem supporter..all the love and respect i had for him in the 80's has evaporated... but the lib dems are well to the left of new labour. But he was a socialist..not just labour...if he'd gone with Nellist and the militants Kinnock,Smith and Blair hoofed out of the party then fine...but the Lib-Dems? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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