thatcher and scargill

[Safetyman]

I was 27 at the time of the 1984 strike and working at Westoe colliery. My overriding memory was the way the strike was started using flying pickets. The miners had already voted against the strike and rightly so as there were record coal stocks on the ground and we were now past the worst of winter and heading for warmer weather. It was industrial suicide and played into the hand of Thatcher who was determined to break the miners – at any cost.

Flying pickets were used to picket out the miners pit by pit, area by area until the miners were fully on strike. I am not and have never been an Arthur Scargill fan but I have to say history proved him right.

The hardship people endured was remarkable and I remember getting my food parcel every two weeks from the union and only survived the strike with help from both my wife’s parents and mine in paying the bills. I got fuel for the fire from various places and even though we were in a smokless zone we burnt anything on the fire to keep the house warm.

Families were split, it set brother against brother, father against son and you had to feel sorry for some of those who returned to work early driven by extreme hardship and pressure from wives. In stark contrast to those who returned to work out of pure greed.

There were so many stories about the strike it would probably take a book to recount them all. Police on the picket lines without any numbers on their uniforms (suspected to be from army), Police brutality, Police stupidity in the charge down Leighton street where even the window cleaner was arrested. I have that as far as I am aware none of the local Police were involved as they knew it was their community.

Despite my reservations about the strike I stayed true to the union and returned to work a year later on the same shift we finished on (nights ) to be treated like sh*te by the ar**holes who were supposed to be managers. That’s when animosity started against those who had returned to work early and of course the managers put in place measures to protect them.

To misquote Charles Dickens…..”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times………”.

[Davey1970]

well said lad's, a was to young but have many memory's
me old man and his m8's helping out with fresh produce from the allotment.

a remember at the time, the lad's who went back (scab's) were hated and treated like murderer's.
but when you look at your young children and grandchildren now,
you would do anything for them, wouldn't you.

another annoying thing is these coal faces up and down the country is still chocker block with better quality coal that's being imported.

sorry for going on 1 lad's ......!

[dale19]

as an x miner myself the day the bitch died I went out and had a few whiskies that woman ****ed the docks the mines and the steel works up.
and after all the miners went through they got nowt .
it makes me so mad to see mining villages just like ghost towns.
hand on heart I worked with some of the best lads in the pit I have ever had the privilege working with .
work hard and enjoy a pint in the working mans club with them great times.
I am sure all you ex miners would agree

[cod magnet]

as an x miner myself the day the bitch died I went out and had a few whiskies that woman ****ed the docks the mines and the steel works up.
and after all the miners went through they got nowt .
it makes me so mad to see mining villages just like ghost towns.
hand on heart I worked with some of the best lads in the pit I have ever had the privilege working with .
work hard and enjoy a pint in the working mans club with them great times.
I am sure all you ex miners would agree

well said mate

[Safetyman]

as an x miner myself the day the bitch died I went out and had a few whiskies that woman ****ed the docks the mines and the steel works up.
and after all the miners went through they got nowt .
it makes me so mad to see mining villages just like ghost towns.
hand on heart I worked with some of the best lads in the pit I have ever had the privilege working with .
work hard and enjoy a pint in the working mans club with them great times.
I am sure all you ex miners would agree

I agree.

As has already been said by Reg the crack was great. You shared an environment which was dangerous and had to watch each others back. Which is why, in my mind, betrayal by those who broke the strike was never forgiven.

Trust, friendship and socialising in the club/pub was part of life in the mining communities. When the pits closed it tore the hearts out of those communities.

Thatcher should rot in hell

[The Jester]

I remember New Years eve parties at Easington Welfare Hall, you could walk from the back of the hall to the dance floor and knew everyone you passed, great times..never to be repeated...

Every shop in the colliery was taken, 3 banks, motorist shops, clothes shops, etc, etc....now its half boarded up...


I left the pit and went to work at the Jewel in the Tories crown.....Nissan...
Had to to go through 2 written tests, practical tests, and interviews and finally got a start, i worked there for 10 months on a temporary contract, then one friday i got a tap on the shoulder saying all the temps were getting finished...when, i said....today...the supervisor said...

I think every ex miner will agree, the hearts of our communities were ripped out....

[Stewart 1971]

Costs less to import the stuff these days the munes arnt cost effective in this country

Utter crap. As Scargill said it was the economics of the madhouse. Every other country that mined coal at the time subsidised their coal industry, Thatcher decided to stop this. For starters think about the money spent on wages for the miners - 35% of that came straight back as tax and NI. The rest was spent in local communities, creating and maintaining jobs and livelihoods, creating more tax and NI and VAT for the exchequer. Now this money goes direct to the Australian, Polish, South African etc economies and we don't get a penny of it back. Do the proper cost benefit analysis and importing coal ends up costing us more money than our own subsidiesed industry would have

China is now a massive net importer of coal - it imported more coal than any other country in history in 2012. A lot of British coal was of high quality (anthracite) and could now be earning significant trade income if we still had a mining industry.

The miners strike was about one thing and one thing only - the destruction of the Trades Union movement. It had nothing to do with coal being economical or not and everything to do with destroying the NUM as a force of organised labour. The mines (and communities) were just collateral damage for which we are still paying the price 30 years later

[regpude]

write a book as safety man said,you could write a enc.....a however you spell it.couple little stories come to mind.1 remember one morning scab bus arrives half on it were just DUMBIES dressed up on it,WELL just as its about a MILKFLOAT had to give way,well that milkfloat contents {BOTTLES}all got emptied at bus.hehehe.2 remember one night on picket line started snowing,just on corner of road was a ballord.so we makes it into a copper + hat,out of snow.next thing you know while sitting in cabin BANG,go outside @ yes copper tried to run it over,smashing all frontend of panda car.hehehehe.them WERE the days.

[paulR]

write a book as safety man said,you could write a enc.....a however you spell it.couple little stories come to mind.1 remember one morning scab bus arrives half on it were just DUMBIES dressed up on it,WELL just as its about a MILKFLOAT had to give way,well that milkfloat contents {BOTTLES}all got emptied at bus.hehehe.2 remember one night on picket line started snowing,just on corner of road was a ballord.so we makes it into a copper + hat,out of snow.next thing you know while sitting in cabin BANG,go outside @ yes copper tried to run it over,smashing all frontend of panda car.hehehehe.them WERE the days.


remember number 2 I was there nearly got lifted for laffin

[The Jester]

Just watched the ITV news, Easington was on, there are some nice places in my home village but they chose to show the worst views....and you know what...i'm pleased they did But will it make a difference investment wise....not a hope in hell...

[Davey1970]

am pleased a started this thread, some great reply's and story's.

only today, a was in the allotment's with the old lad's and the story's and banter was first class.
a'v worked in factory's, engineering and ship yard's, but don't think the same banter and togetherness will ever be like it was with pitmen........!

cheer's lads
davey

[regpude]

nice thread davey,pleased it didint turn out nasty.brought back good @ bad times.

[wavy davy]

What a lot of people don't realise is that the government are still screwing the miners by taking millions from our pension fund every year.

[The Jester]

What a lot of people don't realise is that the government are still screwing the miners by taking millions from our pension fund every year.

Good point, and yes its a good thread Davey, allotments were a great place to get together, leeks, pidgeons, the miners retreat... Me dad had one for years, he built a shed out of old bricks back in 1962 his allotment overlooking the pit and its still in the allotment today, every time i see it it brings back memories, not all good ones though, when he sold it he left my sledge in it..

[regpude]

how times change,youve got a big SLEDGE now on the water,{boat}.happy days.atb.