Jonny Owen reaches the end of his highly personal exploration of the strike and finds out what happened afterwards. Saddled with debt after a year with no wages, mining families now face the closure of their pits and the end of a whole way of l

7. Going Back

May 9th, 2024 36m 41s

As the miners and their families celebrate Christmas, desperation is setting in. South Wales NUM leaders are seeing some of their members close to cracking up, and they fear the union will collapse if the drift back to work continues across the

6. A Winter's Tale

Apr 30th, 2024 32m 30s

As winter arrives, the striking miners are feeling the pinch. They are getting no strike pay and are surviving on donations of clothing and food. The debts are mounting.There seems little prospect of a deal with the Coal Board over pit closures

5. Deal or No Deal

Apr 23rd, 2024 32m 50s

There are efforts behind the scenes to get a deal between the National Union of Mineworkers and the Coal Board to bring the strike to an end. It’s a dark time for Labour leader Neil Kinnock as he tries to persuade both sides to agree on how pro

4. The S Word

Apr 16th, 2024 34m 1s

Nottinghamshire was the flashpoint of the miners' strike – ninety per cent of the men there carried on working, and so their pits carried on mining coal and keeping the lights on across Britain. For the ten per cent who were out on strike, it w

3. The Enemy Within

Apr 9th, 2024 34m 19s

A miner and two photographers remember the violent events of June 18, 1984 at Orgreave. Thousands of police and thousands of miners arrived at the coking works in Rotherham for a set-piece confrontation.The miners wanted to stop the coke from g

2. Into The Fray

Apr 2nd, 2024 32m 10s

Unofficial picketing brings over 140,000 miners out on strike. Miners families in South Wales know there are tough times ahead but support is solid: within days none of the pits are functioning.It’s a tougher choice for men like John Maddock in

1. Backbone of Britain

Mar 26th, 2024 33m 33s

The miners’ strike of 1984-5 had a profound impact on Britain’s politics, economy and society. For those on strike, and their families, it felt like an existential struggle to save not only their jobs, but their communities, and the life they k

Introducing Strike

Mar 19th, 2024 4m 36s

The 1984-85 miners’ strike was a gamechanger for Britain. For Jonny Owen - who was 13 and growing up in South Wales - it was personal. He seeks to find out what really happened.

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