The Miners Strike...

My grandfather was on strike in 1926 for 6 months and was starved back to work for less pay because they were not supported by other unions and especially the nottinghamshire coal field.
My father was on strike twice in the 1970s for a decent wage and again for a year 1984-1985.
he was forced back to work and never forgave thatcher, the nottingham miners or the NACODS union.
I do find it funny our supporters calling 16 year old notts forrest supporters scabs coz they will have no idea what its about.
but for those who did go back to work.....or whoever go back to work....and desert their fellow workers.....there can be no forgiveness...once a SCAB always a SCAB they will go to their graves as scabs.Shame on them all for what they done.
and if you say they went back for their families......rubbish......we were looked after down here with food parcels,toys for xmas, clothes etc.....and my granfather lived on potato soup for 6 months so dont mention starving.........they went back for GREED...PURE GREED. they had good coal seams and they were earning top dollar and they didnt think thatcher would shut their pits...........well the last laugh was ours because she did ....one by one.

They did go back for greed.

Nottinghamshire coalfields are flat, the geography of the area is not like South Wales, with hills, mountains and small 3 foot seams of coal that disappeared after 50 foot of digging the farking stuff out of the ground on your belly with a mandrel. Nottinghamshire miners drove a farking lorry with cutting tools on the front to make their money. Everyone used to get paid by yardage, you'd fill what you had to to get paid then any extra would atrract bonuses. Digging coal with a small pick against using a massive cutting meachine in huge flat seams meant that Notts miners were quids in. They went back for the thousands they were being paid, thousands that never got paid to South Wales miners , and YET, they still stayed out for 12 months.

I was at Orgreave, I wasn't a miner but all my friends were. They said to me 'fancy a day out with us picketing' - so I went to support my friends. I wish I'd never gone. The 'police' that day were out to literally beat up the miners - though they weren't even serving police officers. They were Royal Marines dressed in un-numbered spare police uniforms. They knew it and we knew it. They laid into us mercilessly with batons and horse charges. It was carnage and I'll never forget it.

The day Thatcher dies I will be taking a days holiday in celebration of the witches death and I will get pissed, and remember.

Listen here, matey....

You effectively weren't there....as you clearly state!!

The miners went on strike because of the threat to the industry from Margaret Thatcher and her cronies, which included the American McGregor who later fecked up the steel industry....

During the long miners strike whole towns, valleys and communities 'stuck together' in a show of defiance and solidarity; the like of which the modern generation cannot begin to comprehend....

Things really were different then and the mining community were out to look after each other and to do their best to ensure that they and their children had a future to look forward to....

SOME (and it was not many) decided to 'go back' to work even in Wales. To say they were ostricised is an understatement and there are still communities and family members who do not/will not speak to their own brothers, friends and neighbours as a direct result of 'strike-breaking' at the time....

People actually died as a direct result of hostilities. History will show the infamous 'bridge' incident in Merthyr Tydfil....

That it (the miners strike) ultimately failed was not wholly down to the miners themselves but to their self-interested leaders, a pretty determined 'Iron Lady' at the helm of the SS Government and the whole-hearted support she got from the British Constabulary who made money hand over fist whilst getting the opportunity for a good old 'ruck' at the same time....

It was brutal at times, in the extreme....

The Nottingham miners refused point blank to support their national colleagues; deciding instead to 'look after No.1' and fall for the Government promises that their pits would be saved and modernised....

It was bollocks, of course, but they (Notts mainers) fell for it and in doing so helped ensure the strikes elsewhere went on for a year....

OUR miners (and their families/communities that really pulled together) had absolutely NOTHING but their pride at the end of the strike, even though for most life would NEVER be the same again....

The politics of their leaders was an issue in itself BUT WHAT CANNOT BE DENIED is that the miners of Great Britain (Nottingham apart) and in particular Yorkshire and Wales can be immensely proud of their conduct during those mad sad times and can at least hold their heads high....

The same CANNOT be said of the Nottinghamshire SCABS that crossed Picket Lines and earned very good money whilst their coal-mining comerades from around the country stuck together against the odds and whilst starving....

Some (like me) were VERY lucky. During the early 1980's there was massive unemployment and the mines were still seen as a good employer where skills for life could be learned. They still had their own college in Treforest and to obtain an apprenticeship there was a bit of a coup for the youngsters leaving school....

Like many others of my generation, I could have taken one of those apprenticeships (or maybe one with British Rail or BT or another 'nationalised' company) only to find myself out of a job a couple of years later. Instead, through fate, I chose another route and I am still empoyed by the same organisation as I was then. But I digress....

They say time heals, but that is to insult the memories of those who gave so much for ultimately so little....

Nottingham miners and their like?? SCABS indeed....!!

Thank you.

But what are your views on Scargill ? It seems very quiet on the subject of this Man

im a union rep my grand dad died in a pit but i must say scargill was an egotistical tw*t who used the miners to fuel his own ends he never lost his house or saw his family starve,and he denied a ballot which would have avoided the so call defeat just my view of things i woulkd think long and hard before asking my members to strike in a no win situation

But what are your views on Scargill ? It seems very quiet on the subject of this Man

Scargill had said from the start (1978 in an article in the Economist) that the government were stockpiling coal in order to force a 'struggle' the agenda was closing the industry down due to the supposed lack of coal in the ground and cost to bring it up. He was ridiculed for his understanding of the threat to come and eventually was proven to be correct on all counts - and true, he didn't want the ballot (which incidentally was also voted for by 13-8 in favour of Scargill by the National Executive so not solely his decision in the end)

The only reason the the pits were to close was Thatcher wanting to break the Unions and she started with the strongest - the NUM. Beat them and all was up for the rest - and so it became.

Pity they didn't put as much effort into subsidising the coal like all the imported coal was.

the thinking behind not allowing a ballot was twofold. One : a question of time, they wanted the membership out on strike for maximum effect a ballot would allow the government to stockpile even more coal. Two : precedence - previous strikes were successful without a national ballot.

People focus on Scargill and the ballot, but alls well in hindsight. The struggle was then, and it needed solidarity across the workforce quickly. Scargill was no angel - but the amount of bullshit that gets written by people who are out only to discredit the man is astounding.

I've said enough on this now as it gets me farking wound up like a top.

Nottinghamshire wasn't on strike because they wanted a national ballot which Scargill wasn't prepared to allow.

South Wales voted against striking but were then picketed out by an extreme left winger and his mates.

When Welsh pits were being closed then Scargill wasn't interested. The strike happened when the NCB wanted to close a Yorkshire pit.

Nottinghamshire was out in the '26 strike.

Scargill still claims £33,000 a year from the NUM for his London flat.

I was only just born so wasn't affected but always interesting to hear about our areas history, great thread

II was station in Lincolnshire at the time but travelled home to South Wales quite often. I expected it to be alot more supportive for the miners back home unlike what I witnessed where I served. I was surprised to see that most people wanted the strike to end. Specially those who had coal fires and just hated the poor quality stuff that was being imported once the stockpiles had gone down. My conclusion was the the miners were on their own on this one and they were onto a loser.

Ian I remember the Miner's Strike very well and whilst the mining communities of the valley's were God's own people and stood up to that slag Thatcher with all their might, it was so true that large parts of Wales including the big towns and cities like Cardiff & Newport failed to back the miners as much as they could have.

I was working in the Post Office at the time and the Union Officials would once a week bring a collection tin around, but at least half the workforce would refuse to contribute. I had some arguments over that I can tell you.

But the biggest kick in the teeth was when the Dockers refused to support them by refusing to unload imported coal which totally undermined the striking miners. It has been documented that if the Dockers had blacked coal imports the miners may have won the strike.

Of course there was one other black spot and that was the scabbing bastards in Nottingham and Derby and that area will be forever shamed by their disgusting betrayal of their fellow workers. Indeed once the Government had closed down the pits in South Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland and other areas it returned and closed mines in Nottingham and Derby as well, making a total mockery of their sickening treachery.

But what are your views on Scargill ? It seems very quiet on the subject of this Man

Scargill had said from the start (1978 in an article in the Economist) that the government were stockpiling coal in order to force a 'struggle' the agenda was closing the industry down due to the supposed lack of coal in the ground and cost to bring it up. He was ridiculed for his understanding of the threat to come and eventually was proven to be correct on all counts - and true, he didn't want the ballot (which incidentally was also voted for by 13-8 in favour of Scargill by the National Executive so not solely his decision in the end)

The only reason the the pits were to close was Thatcher wanting to break the Unions and she started with the strongest - the NUM. Beat them and all was up for the rest - and so it became.

Pity they didn't put as much effort into subsidising the coal like all the imported coal was.

the thinking behind not allowing a ballot was twofold. One : a question of time, they wanted the membership out on strike for maximum effect a ballot would allow the government to stockpile even more coal. Two : precedence - previous strikes were successful without a national ballot.

People focus on Scargill and the ballot, but alls well in hindsight. The struggle was then, and it needed solidarity across the workforce quickly. Scargill was no angel - but the amount of bullshit that gets written by people who are out only to discredit the man is astounding.

I've said enough on this now as it gets me farking wound up like a top.

Thanks for the reply. But the problem for the British People was that he wasn't trying to secure the Miners Jobs was he. His only concern was to bring down the Government the Miners meant nothing to them.
Yes the Government at the time was nasty horrible and vengeful and if the reports are true using Marines in Police Uniforms is correct then that is shameful. I am not against the Miners my Gransha was a Miner and a very Proud one. He was always affected by his Butty being killed in a fall, and also the breathing problems he had in later life due to the dust. But not never ever a bad word was said by him which was in complete contrast to my Nans views who hated the mines with all her heart.It was a dark period in our History which caused much suffering, even today!! and some of you on here still find it hard to talk about , but we are grateful for your views and stories.

II was station in Lincolnshire at the time but travelled home to South Wales quite often. I expected it to be alot more supportive for the miners back home unlike what I witnessed where I served. I was surprised to see that most people wanted the strike to end. Specially those who had coal fires and just hated the poor quality stuff that was being imported once the stockpiles had gone down. My conclusion was the the miners were on their own on this one and they were onto a loser.

Ian I remember the Miner's Strike very well and whilst the mining communities of the valley's were God's own people and stood up to that slag Thatcher with all their might, it was so true that large parts of Wales including the big towns and cities like Cardiff & Newport failed to back the miners as much as they could have.

I was working in the Post Office at the time and the Union Officials would once a week bring a collection tin around, but at least half the workforce would refuse to contribute. I had some arguments over that I can tell you.

But the biggest kick in the teeth was when the Dockers refused to support them by refusing to unload imported coal which totally undermined the striking miners. It has been documented that if the Dockers had blacked coal imports the miners may have won the strike.

Of course there was one other black spot and that was the scabbing bastards in Nottingham and Derby and that area will be forever shamed by their disgusting betrayal of their fellow workers. Indeed once the Government had closed down the pits in South Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland and other areas it returned and closed mines in Nottingham and Derby as well, making a total mockery of their sickening treachery.

But who are you and me to condemn these Miners from Nottingham and Derby ? We wasn't the one's that had to watch there families starve. So to say they are scabbing Bastards is wrong and harsh. And maybe they didnt agree with a Government being bought down to be replaced by a Marxist one either. Scargill didnt want just victory for the Miners save the pits and everyone will go back to work and we will all be happy. They wanted one aim and one aim only "Bring down the Government"

II was station in Lincolnshire at the time but travelled home to South Wales quite often. I expected it to be alot more supportive for the miners back home unlike what I witnessed where I served. I was surprised to see that most people wanted the strike to end. Specially those who had coal fires and just hated the poor quality stuff that was being imported once the stockpiles had gone down. My conclusion was the the miners were on their own on this one and they were onto a loser.

Ian I remember the Miner's Strike very well and whilst the mining communities of the valley's were God's own people and stood up to that slag Thatcher with all their might, it was so true that large parts of Wales including the big towns and cities like Cardiff & Newport failed to back the miners as much as they could have.

I was working in the Post Office at the time and the Union Officials would once a week bring a collection tin around, but at least half the workforce would refuse to contribute. I had some arguments over that I can tell you.

But the biggest kick in the teeth was when the Dockers refused to support them by refusing to unload imported coal which totally undermined the striking miners. It has been documented that if the Dockers had blacked coal imports the miners may have won the strike.

Of course there was one other black spot and that was the scabbing bastards in Nottingham and Derby and that area will be forever shamed by their disgusting betrayal of their fellow workers. Indeed once the Government had closed down the pits in South Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland and other areas it returned and closed mines in Nottingham and Derby as well, making a total mockery of their sickening treachery.

But who are you and me to condemn these Miners from Nottingham and Derby ? We wasn't the one's that had to watch there families starve. So to say they are scabbing Bastards is wrong and harsh. And maybe they didnt agree with a Government being bought down to be replaced by a Marxist one either. Scargill didnt want just victory for the Miners save the pits and everyone will go back to work and we will all be happy. They wanted one aim and one aim only "Bring down the Government"

Basically Nottingham started their own union. Scargill played right into their hands. Alot of the strike breakers from Wales moved to the area for their own safety. Even today these guys are afraid to go back to Wales.

Today here in Derby, Nottingham and Leicester area some of the old mine areas have been turned into reservation parks. One such place just down the road from me is called Conkers. It is one of those places where you can walk around and witness the countryside replacing where the mines use to be. They have added play areas for the kids and once a year I take my 3 girls there. Wearing my Cardiff City coat I explain to them what the area is all about and how in Wales they use to same the same. I then try to explain how it all came to an end but truth be told by then they just want to go and play on the rides. As they go running to the swings I always have a thought for the miners where I come from.

Today in Britain I just feel most organisations are setup for the sake of the minority, that is those in charge to stick their noses in the trough and snort out as much as they can. Those type of people represent everything I am against and to me Scargill is right up there with them.

Thatcher had plans well beyond the Miners and the South Wales Coalfields

Her and the CBI were preparing Britain for the opening of the borders and
for the flood of cheap workers.

They knew they had to radically reform the Trades Unions, they knew that
the Unions would not stand idly by and watch tens of thousands of people
flood into Britain and work for next to nothing. They knew they had to
hoodwink the British Public into thinking all Trades Unions were grabbing
bastards who did not want to work.

Did it work??

Well its nigh on impossible to strike nowadays without it being called illegal.

And look at public opinion on ANYONE who goes on strike:

The great British Public think all strikes nowadays are due to greedy b*stard
Unions who want to smash the company and make peoples lives a misery.

...and Britain is the Worlds dumping ground for poor people from all over the
World.

Good old Thatcher... I hope her next shit is a hedgehog

I despise the bitch and hope her death is long and painful

i was on strike for the whole 12 months (cwm Colliery) the trouble was some blamed scargill for scaremongering when he said the thatcher government had plans to close all the pits,the government at the time said there were no such plans hmmm,where are all the pits now

The only good thing that came out of the miners strike for me personally was the port talbot picket lines giving me
invaluable training for what i would encounter at ninian

History is bunk.

Good old Thatcher... I hope her next shit is a hedgehog

The funniest thing I've heard/read all day. Made me smile for the first time on this shit afternoon in work

I was working for the NCB at that time and took part in the strike.The miners cause was just but the way it was handled by Scargill was a disgrace. Please remember that he did not hold a national ballot and most places were picketed out in support of the unofficial strike. At the time I hated what the Nottingham miners did and it did undermine the rest of their colleagues who were out on strike but you must remember that they were not actually scabs in the true sense of the word because they did not breach any official strike ballot.
The lack of an official ballot from the start was the main reason for the miners finally losing the battle because this was the main reason cited by other trade unions as to why that they failed to give the miners 100% percent backing when they needed it.
I can never understand why there was not an official strike ballot at the start because the feeling of discontent in the industry at the time would have most probably delivered a mandate for such action which would have had the full support of other unions also. So the scenario at the time was: a government spoiling for a fight,a trade union who called an unofficial strike and other unions failing to fully support the miners because their strike action was deemed as unofficial. So yes I hated Mrs Thatcher for what she did but I also hate Scargill for his mishandling of the situation which I blame for the years of anti trade union laws that followed as a result.

Good thread.I personally believe the problem with the strike was you had two leaders with planet sized ego's who fought a personal battle & neither stopped & thought what immense human suffering they were causing. Both Thatcher & Scargill were to blame for dividing the working man as never before, there was no winners in the end just broken communities.

Good thread.I personally believe the problem with the strike was you had two leaders with planet sized ego's who fought a personal battle & neither stopped & thought what immense human suffering they were causing. Both Thatcher & Scargill were to blame for dividing the working man as never before, there was no winners in the end just broken communities.

There were winners mate

The CBI

Lets get one thing straight....the Labour party,the T.U.C, ALL THE OTHER UNIONS, the Scabs, THE TRANSPORT hauliers, the police........all let their fellow workers down........they have all been shafted since.Whatever you think of Scargill he never told any lies, never offered nothing but toil and trouble to save pits and communities.
Thatcher spoiled for a fight and spent billions defeating the NUM because they had embarressed the tories twice in the early 70s.
some of the communities where they shut pits never recovered and many people never worked or had low paid jobs for years.small companies who supplied the mines went bust,shops went bust,kids with no hope ended up on drugs and drug dealers from outside the area came in and took adavantage.
The miners fought alone for 12 long months and recieved more support from outside this country, from people who had far less money but gave so much.........people from Poland, russia,cuba, spain, turkey etc etc .
I would not want to stand in a fight with some of those who went back to work........they will die scabs.
and next time you see a tory politician on tv in libiya saying these people are standing up for their democratic rights........well thats all the miners were doing.........and they were called left wing trouble makers and the enemy within...........???????????.

Here is Scargill now

arthur.jpg

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Denzil, you have got it spot on, great post

Lets get one thing straight....the Labour party,the T.U.C, ALL THE OTHER UNIONS, the Scabs, THE TRANSPORT hauliers, the police........all let their fellow workers down........they have all been shafted since.Whatever you think of Scargill he never told any lies, never offered nothing but toil and trouble to save pits and communities.
Thatcher spoiled for a fight and spent billions defeating the NUM because they had embarressed the tories twice in the early 70s.
some of the communities where they shut pits never recovered and many people never worked or had low paid jobs for years.small companies who supplied the mines went bust,shops went bust,kids with no hope ended up on drugs and drug dealers from outside the area came in and took adavantage.
The miners fought alone for 12 long months and recieved more support from outside this country, from people who had far less money but gave so much.........people from Poland, russia,cuba, spain, turkey etc etc .
I would not want to stand in a fight with some of those who went back to work........they will die scabs.
and next time you see a tory politician on tv in libiya saying these people are standing up for their democratic rights........well thats all the miners were doing.........and they were called left wing trouble makers and the enemy within...........???????????.

Food for thought there Denzil.

As I have said above I was in the services and Maggy Thatcher was our hero. That meant that the miners were the enemy. My conscience pulled me as I new where my bread was buttered but I knew my roots. A lot of conspiracies came within the services about this strike. One being the the communist Russia was supporting the miners and your mention of them above well you can see where that comes from. Someone else mentioned the marines helping the police, all this is getting like a jigsaw and each piece is being put together.

Anyway such was my pull of conscience I think I was the only one amongst both teams who felt the Scargill was under orders from Thatcher. From a distance I was astounded how little support the strikers got from its surrounding areas. I am convinced it is the way Scargill went about the whole affair that resulted in this little support. Under similair circumstances Thatcher was that sort of leader who finished of her rivals for good. Just look at the Argentine junta for reason to believe that and I'm also convinced if she survived the Heseltine leadership challenge half way through he first Gulf War she would have been the influencing power to get the Americans to go into Irag and finish off Saddam first time around. So considering all that how the hell did Scargill come out of this hardly battle damaged? Yes he lost most of his influence, he most likely had enough by then, but he did not do too bad out of it all. Makes you wonder.

Lets get one thing straight....the Labour party,the T.U.C, ALL THE OTHER UNIONS, the Scabs, THE TRANSPORT hauliers, the police........all let their fellow workers down........they have all been shafted since.Whatever you think of Scargill he never told any lies, never offered nothing but toil and trouble to save pits and communities.
Thatcher spoiled for a fight and spent billions defeating the NUM because they had embarressed the tories twice in the early 70s.
some of the communities where they shut pits never recovered and many people never worked or had low paid jobs for years.small companies who supplied the mines went bust,shops went bust,kids with no hope ended up on drugs and drug dealers from outside the area came in and took adavantage.
The miners fought alone for 12 long months and recieved more support from outside this country, from people who had far less money but gave so much.........people from Poland, russia,cuba, spain, turkey etc etc .
I would not want to stand in a fight with some of those who went back to work........they will die scabs.
and next time you see a tory politician on tv in libiya saying these people are standing up for their democratic rights........well thats all the miners were doing.........and they were called left wing trouble makers and the enemy within...........???????????.

Food for thought there Denzil.

As I have said above I was in the services and Maggy Thatcher was our hero. That meant that the miners were the enemy. My conscience pulled me as I new where my bread was buttered but I knew my roots. A lot of conspiracies came within the services about this strike. One being the the communist Russia was supporting the miners and your mention of them above well you can see where that comes from. Someone else mentioned the marines helping the police, all this is getting like a jigsaw and each piece is being put together.

Anyway such was my pull of conscience I think I was the only one amongst both teams who felt the Scargill was under orders from Thatcher. From a distance I was astounded how little support the strikers got from its surrounding areas. I am convinced it is the way Scargill went about the whole affair that resulted in this little support. Under similair circumstances Thatcher was that sort of leader who finished of her rivals for good. Just look at the Argentine junta for reason to believe that and I'm also convinced if she survived the Heseltine leadership challenge half way through he first Gulf War she would have been the influencing power to get the Americans to go into Irag and finish off Saddam first time around. So considering all that how the hell did Scargill come out of this hardly battle damaged? Yes he lost most of his influence, he most likely had enough by then, but he did not do too bad out of it all. Makes you wonder.

You never heard of Scargill after the strike did you ? But she could do shit all about his money he syphoned off the NUM. Both Thatcher and Scargill will both stand judgment one day and neither will go to there grave at peace with what they had done to those Miners and there Families.
But one Funny story during the strike was the picketers were building snowmen and the police would knock them over with there cars. Untill some of them built this snowman around this concrete pillar and the old bill wrote off a Range Rover trying to knock it over always remember that

I have nothing but respect for the miners and mining communities of south wales

and I hate thatcher and always will

You never heard of Scargill after the strike did you ? D

Well yes he went into politics. Started his own socialist party but it got nowhere. Usually guys who opposed Maggy in those days went into total oblivion. Scargill was aloud ot carry on in a harmless way.

Nuclearblue, Thatcher planned the strike twelve months in advance & cornered Scargill by conveniently having a leaked document that earmarked 70 pits for closure,built up stockpiles at the Power stations & timed it at the begining of spring. The bitch did'nt care about the suffering of people & now there's people who hopes she suffers, i hope it's a long drawn out painfull process, what goes around comes around.

Definitely right, good post..

Glad I posted it now General.

I did have reservations but it makes good debating.

Mcgregor fucked the steelworkers before the miners !

The UDM was the breakaway union for the Notts scabs !

NACODS was the union for people who also worked in the pit, but I don't think they worked at the coal-face they didn't come out, I think they were carrying out maintenance etc, stopping the shafts flooding !

I wasn't directly involved, but as a young socialist at the time was involved in rallies etc, I will along with many others in the valleys will celebrate the death of Thatcher !

Why was a national ballot ever held though ? Thatcher also used that as an excuse for the tactics used against the miners
The pits were doomed to close long before the strike They show areas like the valleys as work shy in the media forgeting all the jobs that kept those areas in employment for genarations were scraped not just coal but steel and orther factory jobs that have gone and nothing what so ever done to help replace them. Few people mourn the passing of the pits themselves but the loss of jobs they provided will be still felt for years