You Can't Kill the Spirit

Houghton Main Pit Camp, South Yorkshire:

the untold story of the women who set up camp to stop pit closures

Houghton Main Pit Camp, South Yorkshire:

the untold story of the women who set up camp to stop pit closures

Houghton Main Pit Camp, South Yorkshire:

the untold story of the women who set up camp to stop pit closures

First printed and published in 2018 by Northend Creative Print Solutions, Sheffield, on behalf of Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures (SWAPC) Pit Camp Project Group.

SWAPCPitCamp1993@gmail.com Copyright © 2018 SWAPC Pit Camp Project Group.

SWAPC Pit Camp Project Group have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as authors of this work.

This book is a work of non-fiction based on the life, experiences and recollections of a number of people. In some limited cases the names of people, places, dates and sequences or the detail of events may have been changed solely to protect the privacy of others. The authors have stated that, except in such minor respects not affecting the substantial accuracy of the work, the contents of the book are true.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-9997026-2-5 All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanised, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems – without the written permission of the SWAPC. Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

Front cover: The front cover design is based on the pit camp banner designed by Jenny and Gill of Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures, and painted by women from the pit camp in January 1993, and on a later image, sprayed on the pit camp car park, and reproduced in a replica banner in 2015.

Back cover: Photo: by Janina Struk.

All other photography credited where possible.

Designed and produced by Ryder Design – www.ryderdesign.studio Printed and bound in Sheffield by Northend Creative Print Solutions.

CONTENTS Foreword by Frances O’Grady

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05

Women against pit closures: the spirit lives on �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 08 The decline of coal: the political context ������������������������������ 12 Significant dates �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15 We began: taking inspiration from the past ������������������ 16 We began: the announcement, 13 October 1992 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24 We began: the pit camps are set up, January 1993 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 36 We organised ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 44 We involved the community ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 64 We shared, we made links, and we built solidarity ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 72

We involved the children �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 80 We were creative ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 92 The balloon �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 98 The end – but you can’t kill the spirit ��������������������������������������� 106 Celebrating the other six pit camps ������������������������������������������� 121 Grimethorpe pit camp ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 122 Markham Main, Armthorpe pit camp ������������������������������� 124 Rufford pit camp ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 126 Trentham pit camp ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 128 Parkside pit camp ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 130 Vane Tempest pit camp vigil, County Durham ����� 132 Celebrating solidarity – thanks and acknowledgements ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 134

Foreword by Frances O’Grady It’s a huge honour to introduce this wonderful book celebrating an iconic movement of working-class women. Women Against Pit Closures was at the heart of the 1984–85 miners’ strike and subsequent campaigns. When another Conservative government announced plans to close more pits in the autumn of 1992, once again women galvanised popular opposition.

And they did so with dignity, determination and imagination.

Drawing inspiration from the women’s peace camps at Greenham Common, the pit camps they set up at some of the most threatened collieries became a focal point of resistance.

A quarter of a century on, You Can’t Kill the Spirit brings their incredible story to life, charting how working-class women organised and fought back.

The Great Strike of the mid-1980s was a defining moment for all working people in this country. Here was a group of workers, doing dirty and dangerous jobs, standing up for their jobs. And standing up for the proud communities their labour sustained.

My own brother was a striking miner at Donisthorpe Colliery in the Midlands, one of a minority. What happened there, and right across the coalfields, shaped a generation of trade unionists.

Those striking miners were supported every step of the way by mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and partners. Women Against Pit Closures was a life-changing experience for thousands of women who found a voice and strength they never knew existed.

Sharing hardship made it easier to bear. Solidarity spread hope far and wide.

We all know women who never would have dreamed of speaking publicly, organising kitchens, staging protests, joining picket lines and marching on 10 Downing Street. But they found the courage to do so. And in the process, they discovered they were not just wives and supporters, but powerful leaders too. As Women Against Pit Closures rightly said, working-class women would never be the same again. …

FOREWORD

5

… That collective power inspired the pit camp at Houghton Main Pit, as well as six others. This compelling book describes how Women Against Pit Closures again led the fight for dignity and justice for working-class communities at the sharp end of political hostility and industrial change.

Twenty-five years on, we owe it to the next generation to rediscover that same spirit and collective ambition. After a decade of austerity cuts, stagnant living standards and attacks on unions, it’s time for radical change. And for inspiration, we need look no further than the brave, pioneering sisters who made Women Against Pit Closures such a powerful force for economic justice.

Frances O’Grady General Secretary, TUC (Trades Union Congress)

OPPOSITE & LEFT: Just as the suffragettes of 1911 used the image of a hot air balloon whisking women away from being recorded in the census unless they were given the vote, we took off in ours to highlight the campaign. Illustration: Jill Liddington, author of Vanishing for the Vote, Manchester University Press 2014.

Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

FOREWORD

7

Women against pit closures: the spirit lives on This book celebrates the energy, determination, solidarity and spirit of the women who, seven years after the miners’ strike of 1984–85, came together in response to the threat of further pit closures in 1992–93, setting up seven women’s pit camps outside the most threatened collieries.

Many of us had been active in Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC) in Britain in1984–85, but the story of our determination to continue to fight the destruction of mining communities in 1992–93 is largely untold. It is only now, 25 years later, that we are writing our story. We remember and celebrate the brave women who campaigned for the vote 100 years ago, and the many other struggles in which women were central, at Grunwicks, Burnsalls, Timex, Middlewood Mushrooms and in the Women’s Peace Camp at RAF Greenham Common, to name but a few.

Just as we have been inspired by them, we hope our story will provide inspiration for current and future struggles against injustice, inequality and discrimination.

This book, while celebrating all the pit camps, focuses on just one of the seven, set up at Houghton Main Colliery in the Dearne Valley in the South Yorkshire Coalfields. Here, women from Sheffield joined local women from the Dearne Valley to challenge a

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YOU CAN’T KILL THE SPIRIT

government that, as a matter of policy, was bent on destroying the publicly owned mining industry, with little regard for the economic and social consequences on local mining communities.

The book has been produced by members of Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures with the support of WAPC women from the Dearne Valley. Dot and Jan came from mining families in the Dearne Valley and, along with Lynne from Houghton, were three women amongst many who were very actively involved from the start of the campaign. Jan was supported by the Dearne Enterprise Centre Against Unemployment. Caroline, Flis and Marilyn all have partners who were on strike in 1984–85 and were active in Sheffield WAPC. Debbie worked at the Sheffield Co-ordinating Centre against Unemployment (SCCAU) in 1992–93 and, with the support of the Centre, was key to the success of the day-today working of the pit camp.

OPPOSITE:

Yorkshire Post appeal for memories, March 2018.

Directions to the pit camp at Houghton Main.

9

Around the brazier – Carry on CAMPaigning, The Teacher, March 1993.

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YOU CAN’T KILL THE SPIRIT

Lynne, Houghton pit camp, in an interview with a local paper, January 1993:

Lynne: “The attempt to walk all over us, wipe us, our families, and our villages out has had the opposite effect … we are not bowed, not depressed, not about to admit defeat because we have got everything that is dear to us to fight for and absolutely nothing to lose.”

Many women played crucial roles from the start of the campaign in Autumn 1992, and in setting up and keeping the pit camp going, day by day, week by week, month by month until the end of May 1993.

As we supported the miners, they supported us. When they arrived in the pit yard to sign on for work, they talked about the struggle and the campaign – and they helped keep the brazier burning night and day. The local branch of the National Union of Mineworkers was supportive and involved from the beginning.

Many local people came down each day for a cup of tea, to bring contributions of food or to offer support and encouragement.

And our children played an important role, joining in the activities, playing in the pit yard, and reminding us that it is for them we fight – for their future and for their communities.

As we all get older, and in the face of further challenges to the struggle for a fair society, the message of resistance and solidarity is as important today as it was in 1992–93. In this book, we especially want to highlight what was important about the contribution we as women made in the fight against a callous government, intent on destroying mining communities. We wanted to ensure that all our stories are kept alive and that our archives are saved and made available for future generations.

The archives – photographs, diaries, leaflets etc. – from Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures and the pit camp campaign we supported can be found in the Sheffield Archives, 52 Shoreham Street, Sheffield S1 4SP. Details of where to find out about the other six pit camps can be found at the end of this book on pages 121–133.

This is the story of Houghton Main Women’s Pit Camp.

WOMEN AGAINST PIT CLOSURES: THE SPIRIT LIVES ON

11

The decline of coal: the political context At the start of the miners’ strike in 1984–85, there were 170 collieries in public ownership, employing 175,000 people.

By 1992 there were only 50 deep mines left. By 1994 none remained in public ownership, and by the end of 2015 there were no deep mines, in private or public ownership, left in the UK. The story of the year-long miners’ strike, and the role of women against pit closures in 1984–85, is well documented. Margaret Thatcher’s government had been preparing for a fight with the miners and had been stock-piling coal, intent on destroying the National Union of Mineworkers, ‘the enemy within’.1 This tied in with a general attack on the trade union movement; the opening up of government cabinet papers revealed Thatcher had instructed her head of policy unit to neglect no opportunity to erode trade union membership.2 The 1992 announcement of a further 31 pit closures by John Major’s Tory government aimed to finish the job started in 1984.

The closures were to prepare a scaled-down coal industry for

privatisation – by the end of 1994 no collieries remained in public ownership.

The government pit closure programme was driven by the argument that British deep-mined coal could not compete with imports. In many ways a bigger and more important long-term problem was that, increasingly, burning coal was regarded as environmentally unacceptable. Despite the National Coal Board leading the world in clean coal technology, funding was withdrawn and the technology was never deployed. Without the means to utilise coal in a more eco-friendly way, British coal mines found they had no future.

In the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was in power, privatisation was, and has remained, a key driving force of Tory governments. Privatisation was carried out across a wide range of sectors, including British Telecom in 1984 and British Gas in 1986. For the coal industry, British Steel in 1988 and the electricity supply industry from 1991 privatisation was hugely significant. We are seeing the ramifications and impact of the

1 Seumas Milne, ‘During the miners’ strike, Thatcher’s secret state was the real enemy within’, The Guardian, 3 October 2014. 2 ‘National archives: Margaret Thatcher wanted to crush power of trade unions’, The Guardian, 1 August, 2013.

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privatisation policy today – from the mines to utilities, railways, our NHS, and our local post offices.

Research from the TUC3 shows the long-term impact we see today of the loss of secure jobs and the decline in the strength of trade unions to campaign and protect workers’ rights. One in ten UK workers are in precarious jobs, including those in the gig economy, with less access to sick pay, redundancy and job protection, while zero hours contract workers earn a third less than average employees. At the same time the reduction in trade union membership, male and female, has been dramatic.

The impetus for the women’s pit camps was the announcement by Michael Heseltine, President of the Board of Trade, on 13 October 1992, that 31 out of the 50 remaining deep mines would be closed. Heseltine’s closure announcement was met by a public outcry throughout the UK. Although John Major’s Tory government had been re-elected in April 1992, the British public had no appetite for inflicting yet more pain and hardship on the miners, their families and communities. In an opinion poll in

November 1992, 67%4 of the British people made it clear they wanted the 31 pits to stay open. Heseltine, surprised by the degree of public anger, ordered a government review,5 which he announced on 21 October 1992. However, it transpired that the review only included 21 pits, and, critically, did not include the ten pits earmarked for immediate closure.

It was in this context that in January 1993 the women’s pit camps were set up. They were at seven of the ten most threatened pits: Grimethorpe, Houghton Main and Markham Main in South Yorkshire, Parkside in Lancashire, Rufford in Nottinghamshire, Trentham Colliery in Stoke and Vane Tempest in the Durham coalfield.

3 ‘Outsourcing public services is damaging for staff and service users, says TUC’, TUC Report, 3 March, 2015; ‘How union membership has grown – and shrunk’, The Guardian, 30 April, 2010.

4 Coalfields Communities Campaign (now Industrial Communities Alliance): see image on page 61 ICA is an all-party association of local authorities in the traditional industrial areas of England, Scotland and Wales. 5 The Prospects for Coal: Conclusions of the Government’s Coal Review, March 1993.

THE DECLINE OF COAL: THE POLITICAL CONTEXT

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List of collieries closed 1985–1992, SWAPC flier.

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Significant dates Sep 1981

Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp set up.

31.1.1993

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Miners’ Strike.

06.2.1993

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Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC) groups in Sheffield

26.2.1993

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and across the UK are set up.

04.3.1993

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Tory government announces 31 new pit closures.

05.3.1993

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National Union of Miners (NUM) votes to oppose the pit closures.

08.3.1993

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Oct onwards ��� Rallies and demonstrations in South Yorkshire and across the UK.

21.3.1993

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21.10.1992

27.3.1993

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Mar 1984–Mar 1985

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13.10.1992

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15.10.1992

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Mid-Oct

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Michael Heseltine, President of the Board of Trade, announces a government review.

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Lobby of Parliament, march and rally.

25.10.1992

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11.12.1992

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15.12.1992

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Jan 1993 13.1.1993

Hot air balloon at Houghton Main pit camp.

NUM, NACODS and RMT Ballot for two-day strike action.

International Women’s Day visit to Birmingham to support women strikers at Burnsalls.

Feb/Mar

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02 & 16.04.1993

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23.4.1993

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29.4.1993

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Mushrooms in Whitley Bridge, Yorkshire.

Party to mark 100 days of Houghton pit camp.

WAPC occupy National Coal Board offices.

pits at Grimethorpe Colliery.

30.4.1993

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Miners’ March from Glasgow to London arrives

19.5.1993

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in South Yorkshire.

22.5.1993

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31.12.1994

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High Court rules government pit closure plans unlawful.

18.12.2015

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WAPC pit camps set up at 7 of the 10 most threatened pits.

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Houghton Colliery closes.

Houghton Main NUM social.

Houghton WAPC pit camp closes with party and fireworks.

Rallies at Houghton Main.

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Rally and march in Houghton.

WAPC support miners’ and rail workers’ days of action.

WAPC organise candlelit vigil for the 10 most threatened

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Government presents its Coal Review.

Visits to support women strikers at Timex in Dundee and Middlewood

WAPC occupation of Markham Main Colliery offices, Armthorpe.

17 & 18.12.1992 21.12.1992

TUC demonstration in London.

WAPC Rally in London.

Picket of Michael Heseltine in Balby, Doncaster.

National Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC) call for action.

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01–04.12.1992

Banner making day at Houghton Youth Club.

No deep mines remain in public ownership.

Last deep mine, Kellingley Colliery, closes, marking the end of deep mining in the UK

Houghton Main pit camp set up.

SIGNIFICANT DATES

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We began: taking inspiration from the past Any movement or campaign owes much to the past. The campaign and the setting up of the pit camps in 1992–93 grew from working class women’s involvement in the struggle to save mining jobs and communities in 1984–85, and the connections made then with other struggles for equality in gender, class, race and sexuality. The Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common6 in the early 1980s was also a key influence on the decision to set up the women’s pit camps.

Many of the women active in the pit camp at Houghton Main had been involved in Women Against Pit Closures in the 1984–85 miners’ strike. Sheffield WAPC was set up very quickly after the beginning of the strike, shortly after the Barnsley Group – the first WAPC group to be established. Sheffield WAPC wrote that story in July 1987 and produced the book ‘We are Women, We are Strong’.7

Dot: “The [1984–85] strike was the best 12 months of my life … We were women and had never done owt like that before. It changed everything. It changed what women could do.”

Marilyn: “I wasn’t politically active before the strike. We lived in Sheffield, Fred worked in a Rotherham pit, at Treeton. When Sheffield WAPC was starting up they asked if I would go as spokeswoman from Treeton. I was petrified.

But I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I became so much more confident. I went picketing with WAPC – I’d never done anything like that. In 1993 I wanted to help again. We’d been through it – Fred’s pit closed in 1990. I used to go to the pit camp with a friend – I met her in 1984 when she called in with a Christmas hamper because she knew we were a mining family on strike.

We’ve been friends ever since.”

6 Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest against nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire. 7 ‘We are Women, We are Strong’ is unfortunately out of print now but a copy can be found in our archives in the Sheffield Archives, in Museums Sheffield and at at the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield.

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Sheffield WAPC Book, 1985.

First WAPC Rally, Barnsley, 12 May 1984. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

WE BEGAN: TAKING INSPIRATION FROM THE PAST

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Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures at Treeton Colliery, South Yorkshire,1984. Photo: Caroline Poland.

Julia: “During the miners’ strike, the police were staying in holiday camps in Cleethorpes, and we used to see the coppers going in the vans to confront the miners, hundreds and hundreds of them all going at once. It just made you feel angry about that. And I was just so angry when they started to shut the pits in the 90s. It was a really important thing in my life to be part of that campaign. I had to become involved in that.”

during the strike, to produce ‘Women Make Links’ postcards.

These celebrated International Women’s Day and the anniversary of the start of the NUM strike.

Campaigns led by women, such as the women’s peace movement, were often typified by non-violent protest, creativity and encouraging involvement by sharing skills, information and decision-making. These principles were woven into the ways in which WAPC planned and organised the pit camps.

Juliet: “I was involved with Greenham. I didn’t Members of WAPC were also involved in setting up the South live there – I was there for the ‘Embrace the Base’ Yorkshire Defence Campaign in 1984, to support and provide with 30,000 women linking arms round the base. solidarity with the thousands of miners arrested and taken to I got arrested and prosecuted for criminal damage court during that year. We attended Magistrates and Crown anyway against American property. It wasn’t a Courts and publicised these injustices through our regular very long sentence – we could have been fined bulletin ‘Jobs not Jail’. We set up a support group for wives, but we didn’t pay fines on principle so we went partners and family members of the men arrested at Orgreave to prison instead … the other women there called Coking Plant (known as ‘the Battle of Orgreave’) in June 1984,8 us soft day trippers. I continued my involvement who were on trial at Sheffield Crown Court. with the women’s peace movement. And we got In March 1985 Sheffield WAPC had joined with Hackney involved in Women Against Pit Closures as a Greenham Women, who had raised money and provided support sort of solidarity.”

8 In November 2012 the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign was set up, and continued the fight for justice for the miners, who were victims of police lies and cover-ups at Orgreave in June 1984. Women active in Sheffield WAPC in 1984–85 were involved from the beginning.

WE BEGAN: TAKING INSPIRATION FROM THE PAST

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Betty Heathfield, WAPC, speaking at a South Yorkshire Defence Campaign Rally in Sheffield, 30 March1985. Photo: © John Harris. reportdigital.co.uk

‘Jobs Not Jail’ South Yorkshire Defence Campaign Banner, Durham Gala.

Flier for ‘Women Make Links’ postcards, March 1985.

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Mines Not Missiles – ‘Women Make Links’ postcard.

Peace Camp kids – ‘Women Make Links’ postcard.

Caroline: “I was at Greenham with Sheffield WONT (Women Opposed to the Nuclear Threat) that day, with my bolt cutters to cut down the fence. I was arrested and taken into the US army base. They put new ‘high tech’ handcuffs on me, but had to use my bolt cutters to get them off, as they didn’t know how to undo them!”

21

Articles in the Sheffield Star: An interview that took place with Marilyn and Juliet in 1993, and opposite, twenty-five years on, in 2018.

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23

We began: the announcement, 13 October 1992 National Women Against Pit Closures had continued to meet after 1985, and was ready for action in October 1992, sending out a call for women from all communities to get active in the campaign. Sheffield and other local WAPC groups started to organise. We were off again …

We are women, we are strong We are fighting for our lives Side by side with our men Who work the nation’s mines United by the struggle, united by the past And it’s Here we go, Here we go For the women of the working class!

Written by Mal Finch, ‘Women of the Working Class’ became the anthem of the WAPC movement in 1984.

Following Heseltine’s announcement, Sheffield WAPC produced its first Bulletin, announcing that ‘Women Against Pit Closures supports the fight to keep the pits open and to save the jobs of 30,000 miners and 70,000 workers in rail, power and engineering industries, which would go if the closure programme went ahead. Many other jobs, mostly women’s jobs in factories, retail, and service industries, which serve the mining communities, are also under threat, adding to the 4 million plus already thrown on the dole by this government.’

Soon after the announcement, the NUM called for a lobby of parliament and demonstration on 21 October. Meanwhile, the TUC called a demonstration on 25 October. Huge numbers from all over the country turned out for both protests. The two demonstrations – in quick succession – indicate the extent of opposition to the pit closure announcement.

Sheffield Star headline announcing the 31 pit closures and loss of 30,000 jobs. October 1992. OPPOSITE RIGHT: National WAPC first leaflet/call for support.

OPPOSITE LEFT:

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25

Torchlight vigil. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

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OPPOSITE:

‘Cheers as the miners march.’ Evening Standard, 21 October 1992.

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On 26 October 1992, the Independent newspaper reported under the headline: 150,000 MARCHERS BRAVE DOWNPOUR TO BACK MINERS In scenes reminiscent of the great protest rallies of the 1960s, London yesterday witnessed the arrival of a torrent of demonstrators gathered to oppose the closure of coal mines and to call for a change in government industrial policy.

Despite drenching rain they came from throughout the country and from every social class in a dignified show of solidarity for communities facing devastation. The official police estimate of the marchers was 150,000 but organisers put the total at more than 200,000. The size of the protest was three times that of the 1989 poll tax march and was on a similar scale to an anti-war demonstration in 1985 and protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

Caroline’s diary, Oct 1992: What a month … the Tories … announce 31 pits to close almost immediately and cause an uproar and as one Tory back bencher put it – do the impossible and unite the country behind Scargill! But the Tory rebels soon went back into the fold.

Tom [Caroline’s, son aged 9] and I and 200,000 others went on a march in London – Tom said it was important & he wanted to go, because of his dad’s pit closing.

Enthusiastic young supporters join the London march.

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Supporters also rallied with miners and women against pit closures in mining areas in South Yorkshire, in Sheffield and in many other parts of the country. Other actions that Autumn included speaking to meetings, fundraising and, on 11 December 1992, five women from WAPC occupied the office buildings at Markham Main Colliery. The WAPC pit camp at Markham Main, Armthorpe was set up the following month.

Public outrage forced the government to give a three-month ‘stay of execution’ (required by the Employment Protection Act) to the ten pits earmarked for immediate closure. British Coal pledged to the courts that no pit would suffer irreversible damage. Yet all but one of the ten pits had ceased working and management was sending miners home, refusing to allow them to cut coal. The men were later required to turn up for each of their shifts, when a small number would be asked to work to maintain the health and safety of the pit, though no coal was being produced.

On 21 December 1992, the High Court ruled that government plans to close 31 pits were unlawful, in a case brought by the mining unions. Quoted in the Sheffield Star, Houghton Main’s Branch Secretary, Barry Hyde said, ‘We are very, very pleased, in fact we are elated … We have thought the closure programme was illegal.’ That evening, a carol service, featuring the Sheffield

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‘Keep the pits, drop the Tories.’ Hyde Park, at the end of the London march, October 1992.

Socialist Choir and Houghton Main Male Voice Choir, took place outside Houghton Main Colliery pit gates.

However, it wasn’t long before the implications of the High Court ruling were understood to exclude the ten pits that had already been placed under the 90 days’ statutory notice to close.

This meant Houghton Main was still destined for closure.

It was time to set up camp!

‘Looking forward in Anger’ – the last production shift at Houghton Main Colliery.

Yorkshire Post, October 1992.

Five women from WAPC occupy office buildings at Markham Main Colliery, Armthorpe, South Yorkshire. Supporters broke through British Coal security to greet them as they came out. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

LEFT:

Rally in Sheffield, 24 Oct 1992. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

WE BEGAN: THE ANNOUNCEMENT, 13 OCTOBER 1992

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A group of Scottish miners walked from Glasgow to London to raise support for the campaign, arriving in London on 15 December.

They marched through South Yorkshire between 1st and 4th December, staying in Sheffield on 3rd.

Power to the campaign!

Flowers for the pit camp women who occupied Markham Main.

Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

OPPOSITE:

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Sheffield Star newspaper, 21 December 1992.

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We began: the pit camps are set up, January 1993 In December 1992, National WAPC decided to encourage the setting up of pit camps at as many of the ten most threatened pits as possible. The fire, spirit and determination of women from 1984–85, from Greenham Common and other struggles where women had played a central role, were rekindled.

Sheffield WAPC had been meeting weekly since October 1992, planning what further action to take and contacting women from the 1984–85 strike. WAPC women from the Dearne Valley were actively campaigning to save the pits.

Dot: “I got involved in the campaign to save the 31 pits from the beginning. The strike [1984–85] changed everything. Afterwards I kept campaigning for the kids in the village, as there was nothing after the strike. Tex [Dot’s husband] had worked at several local pits in the area.”

‘Women rise to challenge’ – The Sheffield Star reports on the pit camps.

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Flis was one of Sheffield WAPC’s long-standing members.

Her partner worked at Houghton Main Colliery, so a decision was made by Sheffield WAPC to join women at Houghton Main to set up a pit camp there. We went to meet with the NUM branch at Houghton Main to discuss the idea and received their full support.

We all then went about getting as much support as possible locally but also from Sheffield women, particularly the women who had been active in 1984–85. It was a big undertaking to organise and run a pit camp twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

To encourage more women to get involved, we produced leaflets to publicise our meetings and distributed them around unemployment and community centres, women’s and other networks.

Debbie: “Looking back, mining wasn’t a great job for human beings to be doing, but it was the way the closures were handled – no thought to people’s livelihoods, no thought to their mental and emotional wellbeing, no thought to the long-term future. The thing for us was that

Houghton Main was financially viable, an independent report proved that. So the injustice of saying this was a worthless pit made me more cross than anything because they lied. My boss at that time basically gave me permission to spend my working time on co-ordinating the pit camp, so we were able to use the facilities at SCCAU 9, the centre against unemployment in Sheffield.”

On 13 January 1993, we began our pit camp at Houghton Main, along with six other pit camps setting up at the same time, at Grimethorpe, Markham Main, Parkside, Rufford, Trentham, and Vane Tempest.

One of the first things we did was set up the brazier, which we intended to keep burning throughout the struggle. It represented what we were fighting for – the spirit of resistance and solidarity of the mining communities.

9 SCCAU: Sheffield Coordinating Centre Against Unemployment, supported by the trade unions, was set up to offer support to unemployed adults, to campaign for their rights and to provide advice, education and support with getting back into work.

WE BEGAN: THE PIT CAMPS ARE SET UP, JANUARY 1993

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Debbie: “It all happened quite quickly. The first thing we acquired was a brazier, it was very symbolic – coal and keeping the fire going. We acquired a portacabin from Barnsley Council and a caravan.”

Caroline: “The brazier was symbolic, providing a flame of resistance, resilience and hope that kept going 24/7 for that full period of time. It was where people sat around and talked and kept warm in the winter months, it kept our spirits up.”

Billy, a miner in his late twenties who worked at Houghton Main, reflected on his experience of the pit camp:

Billy: “It was about unity and solidarity – we all got on really well. We were working three short shifts in the pit at the time. I always stopped and had a chat by the brazier – I loved being involved.”

SWAPC flier: Support the South Yorkshire Pit Camps.

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Billy and others relaxing at the pit camp.

WE BEGAN: THE PIT CAMPS ARE SET UP, JANUARY 1993

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Around the brazier. Photo: Janina Struk.

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David and his children at the pit camp.

The Pit Camp by Annie, Caroline’s daughter, aged 5.

David, a miner and father of three young children worked at Houghton:

David: “The women’s pit camp kept spirits going for the lads – we knew we weren’t on our own – we weren’t isolated.

It definitely made a difference.”

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The practical challenges, as well as ideas for campaigning, became a focus for the weekly meetings. The time of the year and the weather meant we needed shelter. We were overwhelmed with people’s generosity.

We set up headquarters in the portacabin, where we had the visitors’ book, information and, of course, the kettle.

The caravan became our home from home for the duration of the struggle.

OPPOSITE & LEFT:

Pit camp visitors’ book.

WE BEGAN: THE PIT CAMPS ARE SET UP, JANUARY 1993

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We organised We wanted to organise in a way that would mean we could We had to find ways of juggling our other responsibilities keep going for as long as it took. We had learnt that from the with running the pit camps and organising the campaign – locally strike – we had held out for a year before; we could do it and nationally – but we knew we could do it; we were women, again, if necessary. We started at the most difficult time of the we were strong! year, the middle of winter! And there were many challenges, Of course, twenty-five years later, it is easy to forget that we not least the weather. did not have the same ‘organising tools’ we Women have often had to organise in a Jan: “I did a speech at have now – no Facebook, WhatsApp or different way from men; we have had to beOxford University about the Instagram; very little, if any, use of email or cause of our traditional and pivotal role in pit camp and told them about digital photography. We organised using family life. Experiences in 1984–85, and one of the women climbing ‘snail mail’ and telephone trees. Each telethe campaigns of the women’s liberation through the window to phone tree started with one woman, who movement over many decades, meant there open the toilet door in the rang the next two and so on. There were were some changes in the expected roles of pit yard – she had to be in several ‘trees’ or ‘branches’ so we could get men and women. However, women usually her late 60s or 70s.” messages out quickly. An alternative was a still took the main responsibility for children phone circle, where the message went round and the home. Women have had to be adept at weaving the both ways, to ensure it got to everyone. And we talked to each threads of life together to make sure there are no loose ends. other. The camp diary and message book were crucial for keepWe have had to ensure there were meals on the table, care for ing each other informed – especially vital things like how to our children and (for some) our parents or other relatives, and go make sure we kept our access to the pit toilet. to work – if we had a paid job.

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Houghton Main pit camp diary.

Before email and WhatsApp … telephone trees!

WE ORGANISED

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Pages from the pit camp message book.

WE ORGANISED

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We wanted to inform as well as involve as many people as possible.

We produced material to provide people with information about the pit camps and the reasons why we had set them up. We wanted control over our message: the campaign was not about pay, but about people’s livelihoods and communities, and our children’s future, just as it was in the 1984–85 strike.

We wanted to organise in a way that involved lots of women; we needed to cover the rota twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, month after month, as well as taking part in the overall campaign –

OPPOSITE:

SWAPC campaign leaflet.

LEFT & OVERLEAF: Pit camp women’s information sheet.

WE ORGANISED

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talking at meetings, going on demonstrations, raising funds for the campaign and producing publicity material. It was challenging. We wanted everyone to feel included, safe and respected. We wanted the children, as well as other family members and friends, to be involved, so they would understand what we were doing and why. We wanted to organise in a creative, fun and collective way. And of course, we wanted to win.

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Musical youth! Nicola and friends from Barnsley.

Lizzie Dripping Morris women dance at our carnival.

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ABOVE & BELOW:

Entertainment at the pit camp: Broomstick Morris.

Debbie: “One of the challenges was keeping people interested. It was fine at first but after a few weeks, people start thinking – isn’t it over yet?

Keeping people motivated was hard – which is why we organised a lot of social events.”

ABOVE:

Carnival Day flier, 20 February 1993.

Supporters Pat and Dewi from Bradford visiting the pit camp.

??????????????????????????

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With National Women Against Pit Closures and the other pit We made sure we had articles publicising our campaign in camps, we were actively involved in helping to organise the newspapers and journals. We produced leaflets and made postnational WAPC demonstration in London on Saturday 6 Febru- cards, with the help of Wildcat Cards10, reflecting the solidarity ary 1993, as well as local marches and other joint meetings and links with local organisations in Sheffield and elsewhere. and events. The national WAPC demonstration was a huge success.

One of the important messages we wanted to convey was that Later in February we found out that Michael Heseltine was there was a case for keeping the pits open, and in particular the visiting South Yorkshire at the end South Yorkshire pits that we were of the month to open a new Caroline’s diary, 19.01.1993: supporting with pit camps at foundry in Balby near Doncaster. Lots of ideas for good activities (for publicity/ Houghton Main, Grimethorpe and We decided to give him a York- funds/fun etc!) – murals, banner making, kids’ Markham Main. Huw Beynon,11 shire miners’ greeting and with the activities, sponsored bike ride etc. Not sure of the Manchester International activists in Doncaster we organhow it’ll all end – wonderful if it was Centre for Labour Studies, provided ised a picket. Some children still VICTORY for a change! a report for Houghton Main, saying remember with amusement the the case to keep the mine open slogan we put on our banner: ‘He’s a git, he’s a swine, what’s was a strong one: ‘It rests on a realistic assessment of the colliery his name?’ (Heseltine!’) and its future performances. It is informed by a sense of justice, We organised a march with the local NUM branch, on 27 and by an understanding of the long-term energy needs of the March 1993, around Great Houghton, with the children holding country … The state of the local economy is such that it is unrealthe placards of all the 125 pits closed since 1985. Dot from our istic to expect redundant coalminers to move quickly into other pit camp spoke. We were encouraging people to support the employment.’ His report included a detailed estimate of the costs call for one-day strikes on 2 and 16 April 1993. involved in closing the colliery; these totalled £48.78 million.

10 Wildcat Cards was founded in September 1988 by the Sheffield-based cartoonist and graphic designer Fi Frances. 11 Huw Beynon (1994), ‘The Case for Houghton Main’, Working Paper 7, The Manchester International Centre for Labour Studies.

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On 5 March 1993, the NUM, NACODS and the RMT12 all balloted their members, asking them to vote in favour of a 24-hour stoppage as part of a rolling programme of industrial action to stop plans to close the 31 pits. We organised around the ballot, aiming to encourage and support the miners at Houghton Main pit to vote ‘yes’. This was the focus of our balloon event and carnival in the pit yard on the eve of the ballot on 4 March 1993.

On 29 April, in frustration at the way things were going, we organised an occupation of the National Coal Board offices, to highlight the injustice in not reprieving the ten pits that had been placed on notice before the High Court ruling.

National Women Against Pit Closures flier for demonstration February 1993.

12 NUM, NACODS and the RMT: The National Union of Mineworkers, The National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers and the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union balloted their workers to take strike action to support the miners’ struggle.

WE ORGANISED

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Flis: “We needed to make sure we were keeping pressure on the government and British Coal, making the arguments at the same time as maintaining actual presence at the pit camp; making sure people were safe and feeling ok about what they were doing, and enjoying it – from the very young to the very old.”

National Women Against Pit Closures Demonstration, London, 6 February 1993.

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Picket Michael Heseltine!

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Houghton Main Fights On stickers.

OPPOSITE:

ABOVE:

SWAPC Bulletin, February 1993.

The Sunday Times captures the spirit with our banner on the London march.

Photo: The Sunday Times, February 1993.

WE ORGANISED

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Jenny: “We were organising events, raising money and holding meetings in Sheffield to draw in a wider group of people. There was a Women’s Forum in Sheffield; it was a very, very wide network of women involved in that and a lot supported the pit camp, not just Houghton Main, other pit camps as well.”

Demonstrating against Heseltine’s visit to South Yorkshire.

Debbie: “One of the shocking things for me was the realisation that there was an economic case for keeping Houghton Main open that the government and British Coal were aware of and were choosing to ignore. This really highlighted for me the fact that this was an orchestrated attack on the mining communities and the NUM. It was a viable pit.”

Children to the fore on the Houghton march, 27 March 1993.

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Pit camp flier advertising march in Houghton, 27 March 1993.

Coalfield Communities Alliance fact sheet, 1992.

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National Women Against Pit Closures demonstration, 6 February 1993.

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OPPOSITE:

Jan strides out on the march through Houghton.

We involved the community Houghton Main Pit was not in the middle of the village or by a main road, like some pits. It was a long way down the pit lane, which went nowhere, except the pit. So in order to keep the pit camp going twenty-four hours a day it was important to find ways to involve the local community and other communities from further afield. A local group, Friends of Houghton Main, was actively involved.

Jan: “The miners were brilliant. Scutch was a regular. Billy and Dec – at change of shift they’d come and sit for half an hour and then get off again, go home. And same going in, would come half an hour early and sit with us before going into pit. They were brilliant them men.”

Because of the location of the pit, we had to reach out to the local community rather than just expecting them to come to the pit camp. We organised events and socials in and around the area, such as the ‘Grand Social’ with Rumourazit Theatre Company at Darfield Working Men’s Club. We organised a march that went through Great and Little Houghton.

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Flis: “We invited people to come to particular events – parties, carnival, music days – events that were nice things to do. People came from Sheffield and surrounding villages, there were quite big numbers of people there. We got masses of letters and postcards, donations from trade unions; we didn’t feel a little isolated pit camp in the middle of nowhere, we thought we were part of something much bigger.”

Musicians and other entertainers from the local area, as well as from further afield, were keen to come and support us.

We learned from 1984–85 that involving as many people as possible of all ages and backgrounds kept up spirits and kept us all going. We needed the support of local people, and of the men who were working at the pit. It was isolated and cold, especially during the long winter nights – we needed to know the local community was there, involved and supporting us. We intended to stay the course; we were not going to be stopped by the snow or the cold. But it was, as ever, the solidarity that kept us going, day and night.

Children lead the march through the village, 27 March 1993.

Houghton Main stickers.

Debbie: “I was always really pleased to see visitors. It motivated me and reminded me why I was there. At night, the miners on late or early shifts would come and check on us to make sure we were ok – they would gently knock at caravan door at night – are you ok? – and then you heard them putting coal on the brazier.”

Miners keeping warm around the pit camp brazier.

Jan: “We had a cartload of visitors. They’d fetch us shopping – tea, coffee, sugar, donations – so we didn’t need to buy it. A man brought bus-loads from London, he were lovely, he came two or three times. Then we had some women from Great Houghton Village that came to sit with us.

Great relationship with them – really good. …

WE INVOLVED THE COMMUNITY

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… A bus-load came, and I was on my own – they’d come from down south. There were fifty of them – I did tea and coffee for them – they were great.

They gave me an envelope, there was about £300/£400.”

Flis: “The range of people involved from children to older people was fantastic. It was the mix of people coming from different places, and from Sheffield and the local community. I remember we were all there together.”

Jenny: “What I remember is the brazier in the middle, always piles of coals, sitting round having a great time, sharing food, making sure there was enough to go round. I just remember listening to stories of everyday lives, of struggles down the pit, my dad did this, my mum did that, this is the way things used to be, how it was important to keep mines going, because the communities were just going to rubbish if mines disappeared … worry about what was going to happen.”

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Jan: “It was freezing in the caravans. We used to have one security guy that used to bring one shovel of coal at a time. He used to be doing that all night, bless him. Then there was Steve, another security guard, made sure door weren’t shut properly for ladies’ toilets. Or left a window open, because pit manager used to try and lock us out, and May [one of the regular visitors] used to climb through and open the door because it was warm in the toilets! We picked worst winter, it was horrible.”

Jan: “We had an agreement with a taxi firm.

They charged us £2 there and back from Goldthorpe, pick up at Thurnscoe and then to Houghton. He was really good – he was the owner of the taxi company.”

With the growing support of the local community and people from Sheffield sharing ideas and activities, we grew in numbers, as well as in confidence. This was crucial to our success in maintaining the camp twenty-four hours a day over the five months we were there.

Ticket for WAPC Social featuring Rumourazit Theatre, at Darfield Working Men’s Club.

Carnival day.

Friends from Huddersfield, Audrey and Robin, entertaining at the pit camp.

Judith from SWAPC outside the caravan. Photo: Janina Struk.

WE INVOLVED THE COMMUNITY

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OPPOSITE, THIS PAGE & NEXT: Some of the many letters of solidarity we received.

WE INVOLVED THE COMMUNITY

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National Miners Support Network plan visit to Houghton Main.

Publicity flier: ‘Come and join us’ when the balloon takes off from Houghton Main pit camp, 4 March 1993.

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We shared, we made links, and we built solidarity Many women were involved in the pit camp with our families It took a little bit of time – not long though – for us to get to and friends, from many different places and backgrounds. All know each other, to trust why we were all there, and how we had something to bring – food, music, ideas, stories, knowl- would campaign and share our lives alongside one another. edge and skills. Sharing was what made our world go round, helped us keep going and made Jan: “I weren’t very things happen. We made new Debbie: “I think at first the local women happy when I first met ‘em. friends and we tried new things. were a bit suspicious – what are these women They let their kids call them We also wanted to build links from Sheffield coming here and doing? I think by their first names and and understanding of other strug- they soon realised what we were trying to do – I think that’s disrespectful gles and inequalities, as we had it wasn’t about us, it was about the issues.”

– if you’re their mam, in 1984–85. you’re their mam. But we One of the first things we did was to get the support of the started talking and got on like a house on fire! local youth and community centre, which was at the other end We had same attitudes and all wanted same. of the pit lane. We shared the skills of designing and making our Everyone was just so easy going. We laughed, banner together, learning how to silkscreen our own T-shirts to we cried, we did everything – even men laughed raise funds, of making badges, public speaking, writing press and cried with us. We had some fun – I miss them releases, fundraising. And our kids shared and learnt new things days. I miss my campaigning days. It was like too. The children had a great time, and so did we. We were all a second home, a cold second home!” ready to go campaigning, as well as camping!

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LEFT: Danny painting a banner. Photo: Janina Struk. TOP: Sisterly greetings from the African National Congress Women’s League. ABOVE: Kgalema Motlanthe the acting General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers South Africa (NUMSA) speaking at Grimethorpe Gala Day. 8 May 1993.

Photo: Martin Jenkinson

WE SHARED, WE MADE LINKS, AND WE BUILT SOLIDARITY

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Pit camp visitors’ book showing a visitor from Norway!

Dot: “Everybody did the same, none of you better than another. We were all there for the same thing, to keep the pit open.”

Bill, one of our supporters, wrote us encouraging letters.

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The support grew rapidly, from local people, groups and unions to supporters in Scotland and London, and even from abroad.

The huge range of visitors brought with them different experiences and contributions, and expanded our understanding of different struggles and perspectives.

We received hundreds of cards, letters and messages of support from individuals, unions, Labour Party branches and other political, community and women’s groups.

Bill from Thurnscoe, a retired miner from Hickleton Main, wrote us many long letters of support and was very sorry he couldn’t visit due to his poor health including a number of chest problems and arthritis caused by ‘a lifetime down Hickleton Main Colliery’.

From the beginning, all of us felt it was important to build solidarity with other campaigns, particularly those where women were involved. We went to support the struggles at Timex13, and Middlebrook Mushrooms.14 We set up our own Women in Struggle Group15 to share information about other campaigns and to offer support. On International Women’s Day we went to support the women strikers at Burnsalls,16 a metal finishing

Card from pupils at Wombwell High School.

company in Birmingham, where nineteen workers, the majority of whom were South Asian women, went on strike when their employers refused to recognise their union. They were also denied basic health and safety provision and equal pay. The strike lasted for twelve months but, despite their courageous stand, in the end they were sacked.

13 The strike at Timex, an American watchmaking company in Dundee, Scotland, was in protest against proposed layoffs. All 343 of the predominantly female strikers were sacked, and new employees hired at lower wages. The factory closed down in August 1993. 14 At Middlebrook Mushrooms, 89 women workers were sacked in November 1992 when they called for a ballot on a strike in protest at a reduction in wages and the recruitment of casual weekend workers. Some of the women came from mining families and had been on strike in 1984–85. 15 Women in Struggle meetings: women who had been involved in the pit camp and supported other struggles during that time wanted to maintain the solidarity beyond the pit camp and began meeting in Sheffield. Unfortunately, this was not sustained due to the distance some women had to travel and people’s lives going back to ‘normal’. 16 See www.leeds.ac.uk/strikingwomen for further information about this year-long strike at Burnsalls.

WE SHARED, WE MADE LINKS, AND WE BUILT SOLIDARITY

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Jan: “We went to Burnsalls and to support the mushroom pickers, who were on strike, and we went on the picket line with them. Timex – we went to support them too, for the day, and they asked if someone would picket with them. Me and Dot went up and stayed for a week.

We went all over. I remember I got invited to a rally in Chesterfield.

Dot was on stage with Tony Benn!

When we went to Huddersfield University we talked about the pit camp and raised money.”

Pit camp support visit to Burnsalls on International Women’s Day, March 1993.

There were hundreds of women who were involved in the pit camp in one way or another. Some came a few times, some organised fundraising events, talked at their trade union or community group, petitioned and wrote letters. Some visited bringing messages of solidarity, others practically lived at the pit camp. All were key to keeping it going.

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Fran: “I did visit the Houghton Main camp several times with solidarity greetings from NUT members at Kirk Balk School. I also went to Grimethorpe a few times. It was always a great experience to meet with the women fighting to stop pit closures – their solidarity, determination and courage was humbling and a brilliant example of how working class people can unite to fight back. We need some of that spirit today!”

Miners’ support groups sprang up all over the country and groups that had been active in 1984–1985 came together again, organising solidarity meetings, visits to the pit camps and fundraising events.

It was heartening that children from local schools supported us, visiting the pit camp with their teachers, sending cards and greetings and getting involved with some of our events and activities.

Kate: “I only went to the Houghton pit camp a few times. I remember driving over in terrible rain once with my mum.

Everyone was so kind when we arrived and I just wanted to burst into tears because I felt so sad that all these amazing women were there again in all weathers fighting to keep the remaining pits open.”

Leeds supporters organise a series of fundraising events.

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International Women’s Day Special Edition GMB Journal, March 1993.

A fabulous homemade card from union members at Barnsley Council.

OPPOSITE:

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We involved the children Children are our future, and we are the custodians of their future. We felt it was important to involve the children, our children, the children of the local community, all our children.

We wanted them to get involved, and to understand what it was all about. And, of course, we wanted them to be safe as well as to have fun.

One of our biggest events involving children was when local schoolchildren gathered outside the pit, each with a placard naming one of the 125 pits that had closed since the end of the strike in 1985. Later, children from the local community and from the pit camp were involved in the rally we organised in Houghton on 27 March 1993, when we all marched around the village with the placards naming the closed pits.

Debbie: “I remember the day the photo of the schoolchildren with the placards outside the pit was taken. I was so moved and I think surprised that teachers would bring their pupils, no doubt with the parents’ permission, to take part in what was a political protest. The teachers understood the impact the closure of Houghton Main pit would have on their kids and what that meant for their futures, so it was a significant event for me.

It is one of the iconic images for me – along with the balloon and our banner.”

From Caroline’s diary, 07.03.1993: Tom & Annie have stayed out too and really liked it – ‘camping’ in a pit car park!

OPPOSITE:

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School children outside Houghton Main Colliery, 27 March 1993. Photo: Yorkshire Post.

WE INVOLVED THE CHILDREN

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Face Painting at Houghton Main pit camp carnival.

Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

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Carnival day, Houghton Main pit camp, 20 February 1993. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

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Children lead the march through Houghton, 27 March 1993. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

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Annie (Caroline’s daughter, aged 5 in 1993): I have an early memory of arguing with my brother about who would get to carry the placard with the name of our dad’s pit at this march, and generally playing with other kids at the pit camp. But it is hard to work out what are my actual memories and what are things I’ve heard in later years. It’s such a significant part of our family history that I feel like I share so many more memories with everyone involved, and I have a real sense of pride in being part of it.

Kirsty (Debbie’s daughter, aged 9 in 1993): “One memory is being in Durham on one of the marches. We were all wearing the T-shirts with the Women Against Pit Closures logo on and my mum bought me a replica miner’s lamp and I absolutely loved it so it took pride of place in my bedroom at home. It wasn’t just during the campaign but after I have fond memories, mainly of the friendships and bonds that had developed throughout the Women Against Pit Closures campaign so much so that we went on group holidays and some even lived together. My first memory is playing ball games with one of the miners called Billy, I remember that he always

made an effort with me and he was such a lovely man. Another memory is staying in the rickety small old caravan at Houghton Main and there was one particular night when the weather was horrendous, it was so windy that the caravan was shaking like mad. It was shaking so much that we thought that it was going to topple over whilst we were in it.

It’s safe to say that Mum and I did not get much sleep whilst staying in the caravan that night.

I remember the smells, such as the fire that always seemed to be on the go and being sat round it to keep warm.”

WE INVOLVED THE CHILDREN

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Tom & Annie with Thurcroft placard at Houghton march.

Children marching with the pit camp banner.

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Outside the pit camp caravan. Photo: Janina Struk.

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Flis and Neil’s son, Danny, came and helped stoke the fire. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

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Jan: “Me youngest – Victoria – came and stayed a couple of nights. They kept themselves entertained, we had books people had donated, or they’d mess about in the caravans, pretending at playing house. Victoria was 16 or 17 – she sat with us. There were lots of things for kids – they were right cute some of them.”

Debbie: “Kirsty saw it as an adventure. She was sometimes a bit fed up but I have pictures of her running round the car park throwing a ball for the dog and having a lovely time. Billy, one of the miners, used to come and play bat and ball and football with the kids.”

Dot: “We had a big fire. Our Kate stopped on Friday, when there was no school next day.

She was ten years old, she was singing, ‘We are women, we are strong’.”

As well as the local demonstrations, children came with us to the demonstrations in London and elsewhere. They felt proud to be a part of it.

The children had fun making their own T-shirts and badges.

They loved the ‘tethered’ flights we organised, when the balloon went up 40 feet and down again, after three of the pit camp women had flown across the coalfields, trailing the No Pit Closures banner.

Children knew what the camp was about. They talked about it at school and drew pictures.

Annie made a Happy Mother’s Day card at school and wrote, ‘My mum supports the miners. Last week a hot air balloon went up from the women’s camp.’

Tom (aged ten in 1993): “At the pit camp and demonstrations I always felt part of something important. To a child it felt like something huge, so it was hard to understand how we couldn’t win (especially as I never really met a vocal Tory voter until I was in my twenties). I find it hard now to reconcile the idea that few people have even heard of the pit camps, to me they were part of history – a part that I was participating in.”

WE INVOLVED THE CHILDREN

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Boys enjoying the ‘flight’.

Happy Mother’s Day painting of the balloon taking off above the pit camp, with the brazier. By Annie, aged 5.

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Painting banners. Photo: Janina Struk.

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We were creative Ensuring we could keep the pit camp going month after We had to go through a similar process with the banner-making month, as well as going out campaigning and organising, years later, when our old one disappeared a few years after the was difficult. We needed to be very creative and imaginative, end of the pit camp. It may yet turn up! Our new banner is based to motivate everyone to stay involved, and to encourage more on the old one but also reflects the image we sprayed on the pit women to join us. It was important to keep car park as we left: ‘You can’t kill the spirit’. up the morale of the miners who continFlis: “Music brings people We produced three postcards – one of our ued to sign up for work every shift, and to together – the singing, people banner, one of the children’s demonstration raise the profile of the campaign: ‘Not 31, could join in. It lifts people and outside the pit and one of the balloon taking not 21, not 10, No Pit Closures’. makes people feel good.” off from the pit yard.

We shared this creativity throughout our campaign. We shared making a banner together, making T-shirts Dot: “We had all the songs on paper so we and badges, making music, singing, producing leaflets, posters could all sing. There were different things going and coming up with ideas to raise the profile. We shared stories off all the time. Musicians and jugglers. We had and designed a commemorative plate. some great entertainers, we had Morris dancers, We made the banner at the local youth centre at the top of singers, choirs, everybody just volunteering to the pit lane soon after setting up the pit camp. It was a collective come. We invited a jazz band from Darfield – effort. Jenny, one of the Sheffield women, drew the outline design they were all school kids.” and, with another Sheffield woman, Gill, devised a way of making the banner, involving lots of women in the process. Everyone had a go painting it and the children were involved in making their own T-shirts, badges and banners.

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Singing at the pit camp Photo: Janina Struk.

Pit camp members in the T-shirts that we had printed.

TOP:

ABOVE:

Houghton Main pit camp commemorative plate.

‘Major Major, pack up your bags, you’re through’: one of our favourite campfire songs.

WE WERE CREATIVE

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Whilst we were creative in terms of making things and using art, crafts and music, there was also the creativity of ideas and thinking. This was evident in the conversations round the brazier and the ideas we had to gain more publicity and involve people – like using the balloon to highlight the campaign and the ballot; the children holding the placards showing all the pit closures; the occupation of the British Coal offices and forging and building relationships with other struggles. Throughout the campaign, whilst the message was a serious one, we were still being creative and having fun too.

OPPOSITE:

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RIGHT: Not 31, not 21, not 10: No Pit Closures!

Painting women’s symbols. Photo: Janina Struk.

Banner-making workshop, Houghton Main pit camp, January 1993.

RIGHT:

The set of three postcards produced by SWAPC, March 1993.

OPPOSITE TOP:

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Rubber Buffaloes play at the pit camp. BOTTOM: Entertainment at the pit camp: young jazz band from Darfield – the Foulstone Jazz Orchestra. RIGHT: Coal Not Dole: Cathy’s poem.

The balloon The balloon was the highlight of our pit camp and of our campaign to save the threatened collieries and mining communities. It brought together all the elements of our campaign – it raised the profile of the campaign nationally and locally, it involved the local community, with people of all ages taking part, it raised awareness of the ballot and the fight to save the pit, and it was fun.

It was a resounding success in terms of media attention and getting our message across.

Julia: “It was mad, we got a balloon and chucked leaflets out of it! It was hilarious! It felt like some sort of suffragette thing to me. I was inspired by that, I’ve still got the plate with the balloon on. It was fabulous. It worked on every level, we got publicity, it brought the community together.”

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Just as the suffragettes of the early 1900s used the image of a hot air balloon whisking women away from being recorded in the census unless they were given the vote, we took off in ours to highlight the campaign.

The balloon took off with three women from the pit camp, unfurling the banner, which it then flew across South Yorkshire.

We aimed to raise the profile of the campaign and, in particular, to encourage solidarity with the miners to vote ‘yes’ in the ballot the following day.

The NUM, NACODS and the rail unions were balloting their members, recommending a 24-hour stoppage as part of a rolling programme of industrial action to halt the government’s closure plans. We wanted to do all we could to support a ‘yes’ vote – and to show the miners of Houghton that their community was behind them, every step of the way.

Jan: “Loads of people were there to see it set off and it was great to see the banner go up – it was brilliant.”

The balloon gets ready to take off, Houghton Main pit camp, 4 March 1993. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

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Dot: “We went all round Dearne Valley, over the pits. It was like a gala all day.”

ABOVE:

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Balloon press release, 4 March 1993.

YOU CAN’T KILL THE SPIRIT

ABOVE:

NUM poster: Save the Pits: Vote YES.

ABOVE:

Poster, March 5 1993.

Pete, balloon pilot: “Having just acquired a brand new hot air balloon to replace our dear old CND balloon, I received a call which intrigued me.

The caller was Caroline who was involved in the women’s protest against the closure of Houghton Main Colliery. I felt compelled to get involved with this venture. Like many others I’d lived through the tragedy of the destruction of the mining industry in the previous decade and the closure of Houghton Main was another nail in the coffin so, at the invitation of the WAPC, Loll and I took our balloon along to the pit camp on the 4th March to lend our support by flying a banner and a basket full of camp members. We had a fabulous day and I hope we managed to give everyone at the camp a bit of a lift (pun intended!)”

Pit camp message book: who wants to fly?

All the women involved in the pit camp were offered the chance to win the draw to go up in the balloon. We wanted to make sure there was one woman from the local community or local WAPC, one wife or partner of a local miner and one woman from Sheffield WAPC. It was a commitment to making sure everyone was represented. There were tethered flights

after the main flight and lots of families came to have a ride up to 40 feet and down again. The children, some from the local school, set off small helium balloons at the same time as the balloon took off. It was recorded for the BBC television news that day, as well as getting coverage in the national and local press.

THE BALLOON

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NUM stickers: Vote YES, 5 March 1993.

OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: The balloon takes off from the pit camp, and lands several miles away, after flying across the coalfields of South Yorkshire.

THE BALLOON

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From Caroline’s diary, 07.03.1993: Hot air balloon up from Houghton Main Women’s camp on 4th – brilliant. Really pleased with it – 3 women in it – Bernie (married to one of NUM Committee), Dot (very active local woman in camp) and Judith (woman from a church in our Sheffield group). NUM voted 6:4 in favour of action – brilliant, but hope NACODS do it & RMT. So wish we could kick the Tories out – having such a terrible effect on us all.

Camp going really well – but a lot of work. As usual wish there were 14 days in a week etc. etc. etc.

The newspaper The Miner reported: ‘This balloon went up over Houghton Main Colliery as its miners voted four-to-one for industrial action against pit closures. Three members of WAPC and a pilot travelled six miles over Houghton, reminding the whole community what’s at stake.’

Debbie: “One of my fondest memories – Dot going up in the balloon. She really wanted to but once she was in it, you could tell by her face, she wasn’t sure!”

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National and local newspapers, as well as the television, covered the event. TOP RIGHT: Vote Yes on March 5. Pete the pilot gets ready for take off. The Guardian newspaper, 5 March 1993.

Barry Hyde, NUM Branch Secretary: “As well as the balloon, we’ve had the Banner Theatre and the Sheffield Socialist Choir. It all helps against British Coal’s psychological warfare. By stopping production, they have cut take home pay by as much as 40%. This month it’s been tough … We are determined to keep our members at the pit, keep them fighting.”

Sheffield Socialist Choir cheer us up in the wind and the rain.

THE BALLOON

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The end – but you can’t kill the spirit The Department for Trade and Industry presented its Coal ReOur demonstration in Houghton was followed by two days view on 21 March 1993. The report stated that ‘the govern- of national strike action, called by the NUM. Having won the ment recognised that in the difficult wider economic context ballot for strike action on 5 March, the day after our balloon had the speed and scale of the closures announced by British taken off from the pit yard, the two 24-hour strikes on 2 and 16 Coal in October 1992 were too great to be acceptable to April saw over six million people staying away from work. This a wide body of public and parwas despite the lack of support liamentary opinion’. However, Caroline: “At the end, we felt anger and from the leadership of the TUC there was no intention to reprieve despair. British Coal’s tactics of division and the Labour Party. On 23 the ten most threatened pits, and bribery – thousands of extra pounds April the pit camp had its 100 despite the report recognising in redundancy if you agree in the next days’ birthday; this was followed ‘the pain and hardship this would twenty-four hours and just go away. But still by an occupation of British Coal cause both to individuals and to a determination to not let that kill our spirit.” offices on 29 April, by women communities’. from the South Yorkshire pit camps, A demonstration was organised in Houghton for the following including Dot, Jan, Juliet, Judith, Flis and others from Houghton week, on 27 March.

Main. Betty from Chesterfield, representing WAPC, joined us in But, despite all the public support for keeping the pits open, the occupation.

British Coal moved to close the ten pits, including Houghton On 23 April one of the miners produced a grim spoof letter Main, Grimethorpe and Markham Main as quickly as possible. from the management at Houghton Main. It said it all …

This was done without adopting any long-term approach to the reduction of dependency on coal, or developing long-term, sustainable support for coal mining communities.

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The Women Against Pit Closures Press Release, 29 April, from the Women’s Pit Camps in South Yorkshire stated, ‘To express our anger against British Coal and the Government’s latest dirty tricks towards the miners by blackmailing them into closing their own pits, women from the pit camps have organised this sit-in at British Coal Headquarters, to bring to people’s attention the outrage that is felt in the mining communities of the pits affected by the closures. British Coal are bribing the men in a very underhand way into accepting higher redundancy pay to close the pits straight away, before any review procedure has been completed, an offer which at this present time the miners have difficulty in refusing. This is British Coal shutting pits through the back door.’

Houghton miners spoof letter, 23 April 1993.

THE END – BUT YOU CAN’T KILL THE SPIRIT

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From Caroline’s diary, 11.05.1993: Blackmail – British Coal offered miners at Houghton £1,000s in enhanced redundancy package – on basis branch would withdraw from opposition to closures and men had to decide in twenty-four hours. Blackmail. Vast majority now left – all in a very short space of time. British Coal returning to court next week to get legal endorsement that they’ve done all they should. We’re organising a petition signed by as many men as possible at Houghton and Grimethorpe and Armthorpe, but particularly Houghton to say was pressure etc.

And we’re lobbying court next Thursday.

NUM having a party next Wednesday and we’re having one on 22/5 – after court case (though may not be decided by then). On Sunday after party we can vent our feeling with spray paint etc.!

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Jan: “Half way through it we could see the miners were really getting down and depressed.

You could tell by the way they walked – no spring in their step. It was really heartbreaking. The day they voted to finish, they came over, some of them were crying, they felt guilty because they thought they’d let us down. We told them no way they could have ever let us down. They had to do what was best. They’d have lost £10,000 if they’d not accepted. They were bribed. I can’t get images out of me head. When I think about it, it makes me want to cry.”

Jan: “The good was having fun round the camp.

The women were wonderful, absolutely fantastic, no arguing, spitefulness and meanness. Bad was the end. Them men’s faces – can’t get it out of my head. It was awful.”

Occupation of the Coal Board offices, 29 April 1993.

We’re off to occupy, 29 April 1993.

Debbie: “We knew the writing was on the wall but we decided to organise one last act of defiance.

To show them that they hadn’t killed our spirit, we decided to occupy the British Coal offices. The timescale didn’t give us much time to organise. We didn’t really think it through – we just went – we met Dot and Jan there – and in we went – no food, a bucket (use your imagination) and high spirits! It was a good job it was only twenty-four hours! I remember Brenda from Markham Main camp coming and bringing sandwiches and us lowering the bucket to get them up to the first floor. So we came out the next day – the day Houghton Main officially closed.”

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On 4 May 1993 the NUM wrote formally to us at the pit camp, Debbie: “It just felt like we did a lot and confirming that the pit had closed on 30 April. The Branch achieved a lot, but in the end, the pits shut and Secretary wrote, ‘on behalf of the branch, to give our sincere they have been erased from the landscape. thanks ... without your support the fight would have been lost These communities have suffered a lot, you go to months ago ... We hope links with yourselves can continue as those areas and it’s desperate. There’s nothing, we now try to make a future for ourselves.’ they took the heart away.”

The Branch Secretary wrote again later that month to invite women to the NUM Branch social on 19 May, stating that the From Caroline’s diary, 20.05.1993: event must ‘include people like yourselves who sustained and We organised a petition particularly aimed at supported the campaign’.

Houghton miners re: blackmail tactics British Whilst the High Court had ruled in December that British Coal etc. Though 99% men have already left, Coal had failed to consult fully with the unions and that the decision two thirds of those who had worked at Houghton to close the mines was unlawful, the ruling at the end of May came and signed the petition, which is really good. stated that there had been sufficient consultation, and it was now We went to lobby High Court and then to present lawful for British Coal to close the pits. In fact, they had effectively the petition to Tony Benn. Poured with rain. done so, by bribing the miners with enhanced redundancy, (The petition may be used as evidence that men allowing only twenty-four hours to accept or lose the offer. The pit have not ‘happily’ left and whether 10 pits are camp continued until after the High Court ruling. still in review procedure, or whether British Coal

have done enough re: ‘independent review’ and 10 to close.) …

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Soaked! Outside Parliament, presenting petition to Tony Benn following the lobby of the High Court, May 1993.

Women from the South Yorkshire pit camps lobby the High Court in London.

THE END – BUT YOU CAN’T KILL THE SPIRIT

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… The Houghton camp has been very, very good.

NUM party last night, which we were invited to.

They feel very positive about the camp and how much difference it made.

Quite a few of the men and the women from the area and from Sheffield very keen to stay in touch and to be involved in other struggles.

We’re organising our Women in Struggle meeting at the pit camp, followed by our ‘You Can’t Kill the Spirit’ party on Saturday.

Why have we been so badly let down –

by TUC etc.? Why can’t/don’t all the struggles come together – how is it that the Tories manage to continue to survive? Aaaaaah!

On 22 May 1993 we held our ‘You Can’t Kill the Spirit’ party to thank everyone for all their support, following a Women in Struggle group meeting at the pit camp. Our last act in the pit yard was to spray the car park: we wanted to make sure no one could kill our spirit or the spirit of our children – and the future of our communities.

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On 5 June 1993 the National Women Against Pit Closures issued a press release stating that the women’s pit camps had played a central, crucial role in the fight and while a number of the camps would continue as a focus for activity, it had been agreed that others would direct their energies and move forward into other forms of action.

As we accepted that the struggle to save Houghton Main and the other pits had been lost, we ended on a positive note with the end-of-camp party. Even if we had lost this struggle, we wanted to carry on acting in solidarity with other people challenging injustices.

Whilst British Coal had ceased production on 30 October 1992, the actions of the miners and WAPC delayed the closure until 30 April the following year. Houghton Main and Grimethorpe collieries were finally put up for sale in September 1993, but with no offers forthcoming, the colliery was later demolished and the shafts filled and capped.

Letter from Houghton Main NUM Branch informing WAPC of the closure of the pit, 4 May 1993.

RIGHT: You Can’t Kill the Spirit party, 22 May 1993.

OPPOSITE LEFT:

The last sight of Houghton Main Colliery. ABOVE: Houghton Main Colliery: The End. Photos: Barnsley Archives & Local Studies.

TOP:

National Women Against Pit Closures press release, 5 June 1993.

Our final photo, after spray painting the pit car park: ‘You can’t kill the spirit’, 22 May 1993.

OPPOSITE:

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Following demolition, part of the old colliery surface was incorporated into the new Coalfield Link Road. Although our spray-painted image, ‘You can’t kill the spirit’ was concreted over, our spirit will not be buried.

Some of the women from the pit camp and miners from Houghton Main still come together occasionally. We took our re-made banner to the rally against the closure of Kellingley Colliery, the last deep mine in Britain; we attended various galas and marches after 1993, and we get together behind our banner at the annual Durham Miners’ Gala.

Caroline: “In 2015, when the last deep mine was closed, we took our banner to the rally at Kellingley. The Tories’ talk of increased employment – by which they mean zero hour contracts, low paid and insecure work such as call-centre work – demonstrates their lack of respect for mining communities.”

The aftermath of the closure of the pits was as predicted.

The report, ‘The Case for Houghton Main’ stated the huge cost of closing the pit and the impact on mining communities.

Indeed, the Government Review of March 1993, recognised

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the impact of the closures and the devastating blow they would inflict on the mining communities, though little was done to soften this blow.

Dot: “There’s bits of things in Dearne Valley, like ASOS or delivery places. Grandson didn’t know if he were working next day, he had to wait till they phoned him. Nothing permanent for them at all.

He’s working for a building firm now, got some decent money but he has no security, he’s on as self-employed, no sick pay, no holiday pay. This is what makes me angry when they talk about more people in work.”

What happened in the 1980s and the aftermath of the attack on the steel and mining industries was still at the forefront of people’s minds in 1992–93. We knew that no thought had been given to the consequences of closing the pits on the lives of individuals, families and communities; the mass unemployment, closure of small businesses in communities and the loss of hope created by multi-generational unemployment – the repercussions of which are still being felt today, 25 years later. But many of us remain active in different campaigns now – we learnt a lot – and that spirit of solidarity endures.

Following the band – our pit camp banner at the Yorkshire Miners’ Gala 1994.

Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

County Hotel, Durham Miners’ Gala. ‘The Big Meeting’

Our new replacement banner at Kellingley, December 2015. Our original banner went missing a few years after the end of the pit camp.

Last ‘pit’ flag, Kellingley, December 2015.

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Debbie: “It informed my political journey and I’m still here, still active and fighting. I am privileged to be working in a community in Sheffield that felt the effect of the political attack on working class communities, the trade unions and the ideological obsession with privatisation.

The community I work with bore the brunt of the dismantling of the steel and mining industries – the unemployment, the lack of hope, leading to lack of aspiration in the system. But what is amazing is how the community tried to take control of their own lives – setting up businesses.

The Manor Employment project, where some

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local people occupied a disused works depot to set up businesses was inspirational and led to voluntary and community organisations springing up to do things for themselves. I work for an organisation that came out of this movement, and the values that underpin what we do – community development, tackling inequality and challenging social and economic injustice – have roots in what happened in 1984–85 and 1992–93. They may have destroyed the mining industry but they really haven’t killed the spirit of the communities – I see that day in day out – people supporting each other, getting ready for the next challenge.”

“You can’t obliterate from the human spirit two things – the flame of anger at injustice and the flame of hope for a better world.”

Tony Benn, at a May Day rally in Chesterfield in 1993

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Celebrating the other six pit camps Houghton Main pit camp was one of seven pit camps, all of which were set up in January 1993. This book celebrates the spirit of all seven. The archives of Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures, and of the Houghton Main pit camp the women supported, are held in the Sheffield Archives, 52 Shoreham Street, Sheffield S1 4SP. Details of where to find out more about the other six pit camps are included in this section.

The pit camps were set up outside some of the most threatened pits: • Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire • Markham Main in Armthorpe, South Yorkshire • Rufford in Nottinghamshire • Trentham in Stoke, Staffordshire • Parkside in Lancashire • Vane Tempest in Seaham, County Durham

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Grimethorpe pit camp Barnsley Miners Wives’ Action Group had been active in 1984–85 and from the beginning of the campaign to oppose further pit closures in October 1993. They set up Grimethorpe pit camp in January 1993 – one of the first pit camps to be set up. They were initially helped by women from the Peace Camp at Greenham Common. Some of the women involved had kept up connections with Greenham women since the strike.

The women from the pit camp were also involved in a number of occupations, including at Parkside Colliery. The occupation and the women involved, including Anne, Elaine and Lesley from Grimethorpe, featured in the Royal Exchange and New Vic Theatre co-production of Maxine Peake’s Queens of the Coal Age in 2018.

Their hand-stitched banner was made by Hari Hyslop, who stayed in the pit camp caravan for periods of time whilst a graphic arts student in London. Anne and others from the pit camp have taken the banner all over the country, and even around the world. They have collected signatures on the back of the banner, which a friend of Anne’s embroiders.

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Brewing up at Grimethorpe pit camp 18 January, 1993. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

For further information about Grimethorpe WAPC pit camp please contact: Barnsley Miners Wives’ Action Group, Miners’ Offices, 2 Huddersfield Road, Barnsley S70 2LS or contact: Barnsley Archives & Local Studies, Town Hall, Church Street, Barnsley S70 2TA.

Grimethorpe pit camp banner with embroidered solidarity signatures.

Grimethorpe pit camp banner. Photo: Martin Shakeshaft

GRIMETHORPE PIT CAMP

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Markham Main, Armthorpe pit camp Markham Main pit camp was the first camp to be set up in January 1993. During their first twenty-four hours, women campaigners who had been part of the peace protest at Greenham Common joined Doncaster and Barnsley Women Against Pit Closures in the vigil on that first night.

Reporter Lynne Fletcher from the South Yorkshire Times also joined the women on their first night and reported on the pit camp: ‘The first twenty-four hours of the round-the-clock women’s protest at Markham Main pit was action-packed … women whose protest owes more to the Cold War than the coal war!’

She went on to say, ‘Twenty-four hours on and Women Against Pit Closures protesters survived their “dog watch” shifts at Markham Main with a typical determination that the freezing conditions would not beat them.’

As well as the Greenham women, that day and in the days and months to follow, local people joined the camp, and visitors and messages of support were received from all over the country. Like other local councils, Doncaster Council provided a portacabin.

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Armthorpe pit camp. Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

In November 1992, soon after the announcement of the 31 pit closures, Women Against Pit Closures had occupied the colliery.

Prior to that, one of the miners had staged his own one-man protest against the closures. For further information please email Aggie at: agneskc@aol.com

Markham Main pit camp – the first twenty-four hours. South Yorkshire Times.

Jean & Betty outside Markham Main Colliery.

Photo: Martin Jenkinson.

MARKHAM MAIN, ARMTHORPE PIT CAMP

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Rufford pit camp Rufford pit camp was set up a little bit later than the others.

It was quite difficult for them because so many miners in the Nottinghamshire coalfield had gone back to work during the 84–85 strike and had joined the UDM (Union of Democratic Mineworkers).17 As Notts Women Against Pit Closures supported the NUM and the miners who had been on strike in 1984–85, there were fewer of them and they felt quite isolated, many living quite a distance from each other and from the pit camp. The pit being on a main road was good in some ways as everyone could see them and could come and join in. It was a focus for the campaign but, at the same time, they did sometimes get abuse from passersby.

They had a lot of support from the NUM, and the men were quite involved with the pit camp; their husbands or partners often joined them and sometimes stayed overnight as well. They campaigned together with the Notts Campaign Against Pit Closures and produced leaflets, organised marches and rallies and held social events. They went to Sheffield to meet up with women

from the other pit camps and took part in joint actions. This was important as it made them feel stronger and not as isolated. The pit camp kept going for five months.

17 The UDM (Union of Democratic Mineworkers) was formed in 1985 by leaders of the strike- breaking miners, following the miners’ strike. This happened mainly in Nottinghamshire, but also in some sections of other Midlands coalfields. The founders colluded with the Tory government, the National Coal Board and police to break the strike, which helped pave the way for a massive programme of pit closures. The breakaway organisation was never recognised by the TUC.

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Rufford NUM and Rufford pit camp march and rally, February 28 1993.

Rufford pit camp invitation to social event, May 1993.

OPPOSITE:

Rufford pit camp leaflet.

RUFFORD PIT CAMP

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Trentham pit camp Following a meeting of National Women Against Pit Closures, the North Staffs Miners and Wives Action Group set up Trentham pit camp on Monday 11 January, in the early hours of the morning. On Sunday, before setting up the pit camp, they found a second-hand caravan, which they bought for £100 thanks to a generous donation from Brent Miners Support Group. They then arranged with a member of Stoke Miners Support Group to transport it. So at 4 a.m., as the snow was gathering on the ground, they towed the caravan to the entrance of Trentham Pit and there it remained for six months.

Despite the cold weather, within hours of the camp being set up, it became a focal point for the local community to demonstrate their anger at the government’s decision to close 31 pits.

They were inundated with offers of support from people in all walks of life. The camp became the base from which daily actions and demonstrations were organised, including the occupation of the pit.

On 12 May Trentham Colliery in Staffs was occupied by women from the pit camp. They chained themselves to railings, suffragette style, for four days. British Coal responded by fencing them off with barbed wire.

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The caravan at Trentham pit camp.

The women from Trentham pit camp are planning to archive their material. They can be emailed at: trenthampitcamp1993@outlook.com

Supporters greet four women from Trentham pit camp who occupied headgear at Trentham Colliery, 13 May 1993.

Photo: John Harris

OPPOSITE:

Parkside pit camp Parkside, near Newton-le-Willows, was the last pit in Lancashire and on Michael Heseltine’s hit list. Following a National WAPC meeting, Lancashire Women Against Pit Closures set up the camp in January 1993. Like the other camps it was organised twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. At Parkside the women were particularly keen to keep the fabric of the pit intact so that it could be re-opened. This involved an underground occupation in the spring of 1993. After that, women climbed one of the big winding towers and occupied it for five days. Later, a small group also took over one of the pump houses.

British Coal’s plans to demolish the pit buildings and fill the shafts were interrupted by women protesters months after the other pit camps had wound up. Police, sometimes in riot gear, were used on several occasions to secure the pit surface. Legal action against the women carried on into 1994. In all, the Lancashire women had put up resistance to the closure of Parkside for 20 months, until the shafts were filled and there was no way back.

ABOVE AND OPPOSITE:

The pit camp photos courtesy of LGSM (Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners).

Further information about Parkside: The Working Class Movement Library, based in Salford, holds the archives and material from the Parkside pit camp. Go to: www.wcml.org.uk

Images of the pit camp banner and commemorative plate courtesy of the Working Class Movement Library, Salford.

OPPOSITE RIGHT:

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Vane Tempest pit camp vigil, County Durham The Vane Tempest women’s vigil started in the middle of January 1993, using a caravan provided by Easington District Council, who were supportive throughout the campaign. The women involved came from a variety of backgrounds. Some came from mining families and communities that would be directly affected by pit closures. Others were motivated simply by their desire to show solidarity with the miners and in response to what they understood to be a politically motivated decision by central government that would destroy the economy and social welfare of mining localities such as Seaham and Easington.

The physical presence of the women at the caravan was an important morale booster to the men struggling to resist the bribe of redundancy payouts and a demonstration that local people

still retained the will to struggle against injustice. The caravan was used as an organising, communications, advice and social centre during the course of the campaign. It was a meeting place and focal point for supporters visiting or sending good wishes from all walks of life and all over the world.

The vigil officially ended when Vane Tempest closed. However, the caravan remained on site until it was taken to Durham Miners’ Gala in July 1993 before being returned to the council depot.

The women from Vane Tempest have also produced a book, which was published in 2018, describing the story of their pit camp. Copies of their book, The Vigil, are available at The Art Block, 74 Church Street, Seaham SR7 7HF. Email: jean.spence@ btinternet.com or T: 0792 939 1848.

Vane Tempest pit camp. The vigil.

Greetings from the camp. BOTTOM LEFT: Dennis Skinners’ visit to camp. BOTTOM RIGHT: Topping up the brazier.

OPPOSITE TOP LEFT:

TOP RIGHT:

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Celebrating solidarity – thanks and acknowledgements We wish to thank all the individuals and organisations that have helped us get this book together and, more importantly, all the women, miners and families and the many people who supported the pit camps, and fought to save mining communities in 1992–93. We realise there are many people who were very active in the campaign and who supported the pit camp who are not represented in the photographs or quotes used in this book – we wish we could have included more.

Many of the good friends we made at that time and who campaigned alongside us are sadly no longer with us. This book is a tribute to them and producing it has brought back fond memories of those who stood alongside us.

The following individuals and groups (in alphabetical order) have helped by providing information, by donating money for the design and printing costs and/or supporting us in other ways.

Many people have also helped by paying the higher ‘solidarity’

price for the book, to help us produce the book at an affordable price. Some people have wished to remain anonymous – you are, of course, also included in our thanks and appreciation.

We apologise to anyone or any organisation we have inadvertently forgotten to add to the following list. In addition to those thanked below, we would like to pay tribute to a wonderful Sheffield photographer, Martin Jenkinson, who died in 2012.

We have used many of his photographs, thanks to his daughter, Justine, who runs his image library.18 We would also especially like to thank Loveday, who volunteered her time to help us shape and edit the book, and Gary, Stories of Activism, who has supported us since the start of the project.

Caroline, Flis, Debbie and Marilyn Sheffield Women Against Pit Closures, autumn 2018 SWAPCPitCamp1993@gmail.com

18 Martin Jenkinson Image Library, 1984–1985 Miners’ Strike, https://bit.ly/2P7lXP9

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Aggie Currie Andy Buck Anne Scargill Annie Poland Barnsley Archives & Local Studies Barnsley Trades Council Ben Lowe Billy Copple Billy Pye Bridget Bell Craig Oldham Dave Mitchell (Past Pixels) David Guest David Parry Debby Pickvance Dot Rodgers Emma Nunnington (Northend Printers) Frances O’Grady (TUC) Gary Rivett (The Stories of Activism Project, University of Sheffield)

LGSM (Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners) Louisa Briggs (Museums Sheffield) Helen Jackson Jack Czauderna Jan Gardner Janina Struk Jean Spence Jenny Fortune Jon Hughes Juliet Portchmouth Julia Armstrong Justine Jenkinson Karen Connolly Kate Flannery Keith Hodgson Lisa Bellamy Loveday Herridge Maureen O’Leary Mike Jackson

Mike Powell Nathan Ryder (Ryder Design) National Coal Mining Museum Neil Parry Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign Sally Green Sarah Blandy Sheffield Archives Sheffield Newspapers Sheffield Trades Council South Yorkshire NUJ Susie Ryder Terry (Tex) Rodgers Tom Poland Yorkshire Post newspaper

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the story of the women who set up camp to stop pit closures.

ISBN 9 7 8 1 9 9 9 7 0 2 6 2 5

9 781999 7 0 2 6 2 5 >