Miners Strike - what happened in Derbyshire?

[Zag zig]

On 24/11/2022 at 16:04, Unlucky Alf said:

I was at Orgreave with a load of other football lads, All this after I was stopped at the top of the A38 junction 28 M1 when going for a day out with the family, Pulled me over and took my name and address, Car reg and checked the boot, There was food in there for a picnic, I was told that if that's for the miners...I'm in bother, All those Police wore white shirts...The Met Police.

A couple of years later we were in Lloret de Mar Spain, Met a couple from Annesley he worked at their Pit, He told me the reason they bailed from the NUM, They had just voted 2-1 for strike action, As they were coming out from the meeting a few coaches of Yorks miners turned up with threats of...you'd better vote for strike action, They already had, Then went straight back in and re voted to not take strike action as they weren't going to be bullied...hence the birth of the UDM.

Still to this day families are split, Friends are enemies, Scores are settled, Yorks police are still hated(or hated even more)as they were seen as doing Thatchers work 

As for the Derbyshire miners I think their was only the Swadlincote open cast mine still open, No angst That I can remember as has been said above...most Derbyshire pits had closed

Remember it all being talked about round my way, Cadley Hill was definitely open, there was a spell when loads of strikers came down. I’d got mates who’s dads wouldn’t flinch at much, but I know it unnerved a few people, when some idiot chucked a lump of concrete from a bridge in Moira. That was the main talking point I can recall.

[Ram-Alf]

30 minutes ago, Zag zig said:

Remember it all being talked about round my way, Cadley Hill was definitely open, there was a spell when loads of strikers came down. I’d got mates who’s dads wouldn’t flinch at much, but I know it unnerved a few people, when some idiot chucked a lump of concrete from a bridge in Moira. That was the main talking point I can recall.

Yep bad days they were, I remember playing Huddersfield in the cup at their place years after, Hudds lads we spoke too still hated the Police, While in the away end it kicked off at the side to the left, Hudds lads and Police going at it.

S Yorks Police altho being ass wipes had to pick up all the crap the Met left behind, It was a free for all on both side, Unfortunately Yorks miners got some tough jail time

[Grumpy Git]

If my memory serves me correctly, just before the strike, Thatcher had given the police one of the biggest pay rises in living memory.

Evil cow.

They knocked seven bells out of some of the pickets and had removed their numbers so they couldn’t be identified.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Grumpy Git

[Carl Sagan]

Horrible times.

I was a teenager, frustrated by Scargill's tactics. He started off with a big union and a small house, but you'll all know the rest...

Closing the pits seemed an absurd thing to do back then, but the nostalgia for them seems misplaced. Everyone should be pleased that men (and it was men) don't nowadays have to spend their days working underground all day in horrendous conditions, risking their lives and their health. There have to be better ways to build communities.

[Foreveram]

6 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

Horrible times.

I was a teenager, frustrated by Scargill's tactics. He started off with a big union and a small house, but you'll all know the rest...

Closing the pits seemed an absurd thing to do back then, but the nostalgia for them seems misplaced. Everyone should be pleased that men (and it was men) don't nowadays have to spend their days working underground all day in horrendous conditions, risking their lives and their health. There have to be better ways to build communities.

I was born in Annesley Woodhouse where the Sherwood tv drama was acted out. If you left school without qualifications it was a way of earning good money. Communities were destroyed and have never recovered. We are now surrounded by Amazon clearing warehouses and suchlike. I have lived in these communities all my life, so forgive me but don’t you live in central London.

[Archied]

7 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

Horrible times.

I was a teenager, frustrated by Scargill's tactics. He started off with a big union and a small house, but you'll all know the rest...

Closing the pits seemed an absurd thing to do back then, but the nostalgia for them seems misplaced. Everyone should be pleased that men (and it was men) don't nowadays have to spend their days working underground all day in horrendous conditions, risking their lives and their health. There have to be better ways to build communities.

Usually agree with most stuff you post but the above is way off , men , families and community s had they’re lives destroyed, I could agree with you if safe healthy employment was grafted into those areas right away or even over a few years to replace mining but it wasn’t and that goes further back than the miners strike , we moved from the west of Scotland when I was 5 , just visit those areas even today and see the devastation that was visited on people , generations with no jobs , no money , no self respect and a culture of hopeless dependency 

[Ram-Alf]

44 minutes ago, Archied said:

Usually agree with most stuff you post but the above is way off , men , families and community s had they’re lives destroyed, I could agree with you if safe healthy employment was grafted into those areas right away or even over a few years to replace mining but it wasn’t and that goes further back than the miners strike , we moved from the west of Scotland when I was 5 , just visit those areas even today and see the devastation that was visited on people , generations with no jobs , no money , no self respect and a culture of hopeless dependency 

Greenock Morton ☹️

Never been so pleased to see 100s of Derbyshire miners after the 1975 Charity Shield in the Wembley car park, WHU didn't like it up em, Tough hard sinewy men ? who threw a punch like they had a pick axe in their hand.

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Unlucky Alf

[Rev]

10 hours ago, Archied said:

Usually agree with most stuff you post but the above is way off , men , families and community s had they’re lives destroyed, I could agree with you if safe healthy employment was grafted into those areas right away or even over a few years to replace mining but it wasn’t and that goes further back than the miners strike , we moved from the west of Scotland when I was 5 , just visit those areas even today and see the devastation that was visited on people , generations with no jobs , no money , no self respect and a culture of hopeless dependency 

About 5 years ago, I saw a house in Annesley on Rightmove, looked an absolute steal, convenient for both the wife and I to commute, me by road, her by rail.

Went to check the area one Saturday lunchtime, safe to say I soon discounted it! 

Just about every business in the village was boarded up, with only the Miners club still hanging on grimly, from the looks of it.  

Streets were empty, no one playing on the football pitches, station hotel all boarded up, it really opened my eyes to how the entire community had been abandoned, at least that was my impression. 

I was born late 75, so until that visit I'd only seen the miners strike on TV, to realise it was still having a visible effect all those years later was eye opening, as was the recent TV series.

[Carl Sagan]

13 hours ago, Foreveram said:

I was born in Annesley Woodhouse where the Sherwood tv drama was acted out. If you left school without qualifications it was a way of earning good money. Communities were destroyed and have never recovered. We are now surrounded by Amazon clearing warehouses and suchlike. I have lived in these communities all my life, so forgive me but don’t you live in central London.

 

12 hours ago, Archied said:

Usually agree with most stuff you post but the above is way off , men , families and community s had they’re lives destroyed, I could agree with you if safe healthy employment was grafted into those areas right away or even over a few years to replace mining but it wasn’t and that goes further back than the miners strike , we moved from the west of Scotland when I was 5 , just visit those areas even today and see the devastation that was visited on people , generations with no jobs , no money , no self respect and a culture of hopeless dependency 

I kind of agree with both of you, in terms of the power and importance of community. And back in the day it was the mines that created and defined this. I'm saying, looking back, there has to be a better way. You may well disagree - I do agree that communities were abandoned. My family were in Cotgrave for a while which was a big pit village, so I do understand to an extent. It's a strange feeling when we walk the country park and remember what it used to be, with plenty of vestiges remaining if you know where to look.

[Foreveram]

1 hour ago, Rev said:

About 5 years ago, I saw a house in Annesley on Rightmove, looked an absolute steal, convenient for both the wife and I to commute, me by road, her by rail.

Went to check the area one Saturday lunchtime, safe to say I soon discounted it! 

Just about every business in the village was boarded up, with only the Miners club still hanging on grimly, from the looks of it.  

Streets were empty, no one playing on the football pitches, station hotel all boarded up, it really opened my eyes to how the entire community had been abandoned, at least that was my impression. 

I was born late 75, so until that visit I'd only seen the miners strike on TV, to realise it was still having a visible effect all those years later was eye opening, as was the recent TV series.

I’m a bit confused by your description of the area, Annesley station closed in 1953 and the line closed in 1964. I have no idea where the station hotel is.

In the Sherwood dramatisation they amalgamated the Annesley Woodhouse working mens club which is still going and is and was referred to in the programme as the “ clubby” and the actual Annesley miners welfare that has now gone.

[Rev]

52 minutes ago, Foreveram said:

I’m a bit confused by your description of the area, Annesley station closed in 1953 and the line closed in 1964. I have no idea where the station hotel is.

In the Sherwood dramatisation they amalgamated the Annesley Woodhouse working mens club which is still going and is and was referred to in the programme as the “ clubby” and the actual Annesley miners welfare that has now gone.

Apologies, looking again I meant Newstead village.

[Foreveram]

12 minutes ago, Rev said:

Apologies, looking again I meant Newstead village.

Fair enough, Newstead died when Lord Byron left.?

[Archied]

9 hours ago, Carl Sagan said:

 

I kind of agree with both of you, in terms of the power and importance of community. And back in the day it was the mines that created and defined this. I'm saying, looking back, there has to be a better way. You may well disagree - I do agree that communities were abandoned. My family were in Cotgrave for a while which was a big pit village, so I do understand to an extent. It's a strange feeling when we walk the country park and remember what it used to be, with plenty of vestiges remaining if you know where to look.

Change is good if it’s thought through , planned properly and for the better ,it’s very much like the net zero targets in the U.K. now , yes we all want to have cleaner air but not at the cost of destroying lives and the poor getting poorer,

london mayor has anouced the ulez zone to be extended massively from august next year , the impact on ordinary working folk is disgusting, I now have a van ( aug next year ) that costs 12.50 every day I take it off the drive , my wife’s car the same ( 7 seater vehicle used for her work as childminder ) , these are diesel that we were told to buy by the gov so £25 a day for us just to get off the drive to work , we have vehicles that will plummet in value and probably the thick end of 100k to replace and meet the NEW demands , we are in Surbiton miles from london and the stupid road changes / traffic flow guff forced on the area over the last year and a half have caused major congestion and pollution already , you wonder if that is the aim as the changes are so so stupid and obviously will clog the roads up??‍♂️

we are headed for big trouble and division that will make brexit look like a small squabble 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Archied

[ariotofmyown]

49 minutes ago, Archied said:

Change is good if it’s thought through , planned properly and for the better ,it’s very much like the net zero targets in the U.K. now , yes we all want to have cleaner air but not at the cost of destroying lives and the poor getting poorer,

london mayor has anouced the ulez zone to be extended massively from august next year , the impact on ordinary working folk is disgusting, I now have a van ( aug next year ) that costs 12.50 every day I take it off the drive , my wife’s car the same ( 7 seater vehicle used for her work as childminder ) , these are diesel that we were told to buy by the gov so £25 a day for us just to get off the drive to work , we have vehicles that will plummet in value and probably the thick end of 100k to replace and meet the NEW demands , we are in Surbiton miles from london and the stupid road changes / traffic flow guff forced on the area over the last year and a half have caused major congestion and pollution already , you wonder if that is the aim as the changes are so so stupid and obviously will clog the roads up??‍♂️

we are headed for big trouble and division that will make brexit look like a small squabble 

Stay on topic please, or post your valid complaints in another thread. This was interesting hearing about old mines and communities, don't derail it.

[Archied]

37 minutes ago, ariotofmyown said:

Stay on topic please, or post your valid complaints in another thread. This was interesting hearing about old mines and communities, don't derail it.

Fair enough , wasn’t meant as a derail but rather the point that no thought is put into theses major changes that impact peoples lives , the cost of closing our mines and all that came with it ie jobless benefits not only for miners but other supporting industries and local economy v buying cheaper coal from abroad that was subsidised by foreign governments which then goes up when we can’t produce our own was schoolboy level thinking ( non thinking ) and the short term stuff we have been and are plagued with 

I worked down cadley hill pit for two years , my dad and brother worked down measham pit

Edited November 29, 2022 by Archied

[GB SPORTS]

11 hours ago, Rev said:

Apologies, looking again I meant Newstead village.

Now new housing has been built and looks a lot better.

To be fair Annesley probably suffered a lot less than places like Bilsthorpe, Rainworth (Rufford) and Forest Town (Crown Farm) etc due to it's proximity to Nottingham, and good transport links.

Edited November 29, 2022 by I DONT MIND

[Crewton]

The decision to destroy UK coal mining was entirely political. It was carefully planned and thought through. It was a strategy to break the power of the miners union. The availability of cheaper Polish coal (from a Communist puppet-state no less) was a major factor. I think they knew that Scargill would act exactly the way they wanted him to and he fell into the trap that was set for him. The miners themselves and their communities were just cannon-fodder in a battle of wills and egos.

Whilst I would say that it's perhaps better for many reasons that we're no longer sending men underground to dig coal, the way it was done, and the lack of investment in shattered communities that followed, was shameful.  

[Archied]

24 minutes ago, Crewton said:

The decision to destroy UK coal mining was entirely political. It was carefully planned and thought through. It was a strategy to break the power of the miners union. The availability of cheaper Polish coal (from a Communist puppet-state no less) was a major factor. I think they knew that Scargill would act exactly the way they wanted him to and he fell into the trap that was set for him. The miners themselves and their communities were just cannon-fodder in a battle of wills and egos.

Whilst I would say that it's perhaps better for many reasons that we're no longer sending men underground to dig coal, the way it was done, and the lack of investment in shattered communities that followed, was shameful.  

There’s no doubt about how a fantastic development such as unions had been infected and spoilt by people with the wrong motives and no care for the people they used but were meant to represent and protect and needed reform but I’m not sure that the sole purpose of thatcher was to break them , I also believe it was motivated by the old rich getting richer move that has dogged us ,

to be fair to scargill he said from day one that the aim was to close down the mining industry and he was proved right after being labelled a commy , loon and all sorts by the media of the time , by no means do I see him as faultless but his treatment and demonisation was a carbon copy of what we see time and again , didn’t the papers have to apologise for accusation s of corruption and theft ( lining his pockets ) ?

[Gaspode]

43 minutes ago, Crewton said:

The decision to destroy UK coal mining was entirely political. It was carefully planned and thought through. It was a strategy to break the power of the miners union. The availability of cheaper Polish coal (from a Communist puppet-state no less) was a major factor. I think they knew that Scargill would act exactly the way they wanted him to and he fell into the trap that was set for him. The miners themselves and their communities were just cannon-fodder in a battle of wills and egos.

Whilst I would say that it's perhaps better for many reasons that we're no longer sending men underground to dig coal, the way it was done, and the lack of investment in shattered communities that followed, was shameful.  

I remember a documentary a few years ago that suggested the original plan actually hadn't been to close all the pits - however when it became plain that Scargill's main aim was to bring about a collapse of the government, Maggie determined to fight him all the way - and neither side was willing to back down whatever the cost.....

Far too many who get involved in politics (and I include Union leaders in that) do so for the wrong reasons, leaving the ordinary folk to suffer the consequences....

[Ram-Alf]

51 minutes ago, Archied said:

There’s no doubt about how a fantastic development such as unions had been infected and spoilt by people with the wrong motives and no care for the people they used but were meant to represent and protect and needed reform but I’m not sure that the sole purpose of thatcher was to break them , I also believe it was motivated by the old rich getting richer move that has dogged us ,

to be fair to scargill he said from day one that the aim was to close down the mining industry and he was proved right after being labelled a commy , loon and all sorts by the media of the time , by no means do I see him as faultless but his treatment and demonisation was a carbon copy of what we see time and again , didn’t the papers have to apologise for accusation s of corruption and theft ( lining his pockets ) ?

2 strikes that caused a 3/4 working week early/mid 70s, Thatcher the milk snatcher never forgot the power of the Unions, Red Robbo(Derick Robinson) at British Leyland had become some kind of an Icon, If the Water in the summer was too warm he'd bring the workers out, Work to rule, Lightning strikes, There weren't ballots in them days...you did as you were told.

I've read Scargill books, He tells how he was treated while at the pit, He says they tried to break him by giving him menial tasks...but it's only the written word, Scargill hated Thatcher and Thatcher hated the Unions, She brought in draconian union laws, Stopped some social payments, This was against those that in an instant would take up arms to defend our Country if asked.

Those that are my age or nearing my age and lived in the 70s and 80s would know what happened, Whether you were on the right or left of politics, Whether you read the Mirror or the Sun, Whether you went for a beer at the working mens clubs or to a dinner/dance with your better half, You couldn't miss the divide that Politics brought...and it hasn't changed ?