im an ex yorkshire miner 22 years we must never forget what we did for this nation without us we coudnt have fought 2 wold wars smashing job id go back tommorow.
Great vdeo series; thank you for posting. As a railwayman, (and in retirement), I always felt an affinity with Miners.[They dug it, and we shifted it haha]. During the 84-85 strike, we had some visit our NUR branch meeting. A special breed, and their families. I think it was Manny Shinwell who called them the best people in the world. I know about the case for cleaner air; but it was a great shame when the deep pits closed. Not just for the industry, but the whole mining communities and culture. .And now the valleys are quiet.
my fatherwas a miner in barged pit we feared for him every day we relxed when he retired saying in that you wont get better people than miners its a love hate thing.if all men in the world was like welsh miners we would have nothing to worry aboat straight up realy .
Completely fascinating to see Maerdy and the pit back in the day. Little before my time, love maerdy, and it's strange to see how the res and old pit site is now compared to how it was back in the day!
Hi, it's snuff that the miners were sniffing, a bit more powerful than caffeine or smokes!, It was popular then. I have to also say that the community spirit was just as strong above ground as below ground, the pubs, pick and shovel clubs were a part of the times!. Although people could be quite poor compared to today, the community spirit was strong.
Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves.[1] It is inhaled or "snuffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering a swift hit of nicotine and a lasting flavoured scent (especially if flavouring has been blended with the tobacco).[1] Traditionally, it is sniffed or inhaled lightly after a pinch of snuff is either placed onto the back surface of the hand, held pinched between thumb and index finger, or held by a specially made "snuffing" device.
My grandfather was bullied by miners, so it's wasn't as close as they made out in this video. If you weren't in the small clicks of people, they used to bully them. In fact, some of them are in this video
290 were closed under Harold Wilson’s premierships alone (1965-1969 1974-1975) Approx 10 years The more important detail is the number of deep pits closed, disregarding small mines, sometimes privately owned Labour in total closed 371 deep pits. Clement Atlee closed 101 in the early days after nationalisation Harold Wilson closed 235 between 1964 and 1970 and 18 in the years after the miners strike during Heath’s term in office James Callaghan continued the policy of supporting the NUM by closing just 4 mines in 1977- 1979 Blair closed 10 in 10 years and Brown 1. Thatcher closed 115 deep pits. MacMillan closed the most: 246 during the times that “we never had it so good” 1957- 1963 Previously Churchill had closed 78 and Eden 35. There was little protest at mine closures during this time or throughout Wilson’s time in office. Heath closed 24 pits but disputes over pay and 2 miner’s strikes resulted in him losing power when he called a general election hoping to gain popular support in refusing to agree to the miner’s claims. This gave the NUM the impression that they held a great deal of political influence. Although the number on mines closed by Thatcher was just marginally more than Atlee it was a much greater percentage of mines remaining. Cheap imports oil and nuclear power had made British coal less profitable and the militant miner’s union had put politics before production
After the war when it was found out the old mining system could not keep the country going. Labour took over the mines from private ownership. For years the owners would not invest in mining. Starting from scratch the Labour government started bring the mines up to date. There were a lot of the smaller could not get the big machinery in. Shafts and roadways to smaller. It took a few years for the government to do a survey to find out which mines could be modernised and which to be closed. The smaller mines were closed . No miner lost their jobs. The ones who wanted to take redundancy took it. All other miners were transferred to the larger mines what were going to be modernised. The men who were transferred were kept together to drive roadways into the closed mines to get the reserves of coal which were left when their mine was closed. Government knew this would take years to modernised these mines. The coal owners just did not want to invest in them. Some of the mining systems went back a hundred years. Unsafe unventilated and pick and shovel work. The owners thought the cheapest thing to replace was the miner himself. During the war alot of POW who had been miners were forced to work in Polish and German mines. These men found out how outdated the British working system was. The mines had conveyor belts to carry the coal. Not ponies. They had compressed air, fresh water for dust suppression and used explosives to get the coal. The compressed air was for drilling machines. The miners went along with the changes especially in safety. All the hard work put in by everyone to get the mines to production levels they had never seen , was all undone by Thatcher. All for money Thatcher and her cohorts had money invested in Russian coal , oil and gas. Thatcher closed the mines nearly 40years ago. Britain is still importing millions of tons of coal a year. From a country we can not trust Russia. Now the whole of Europe has a fuel shortage. Do you honestly think the foreign owners of our fuel companies will stop putting up the price we pay know. Britain stands on 300 years of reserves of coal. These environmentalists want to think about the 10 of thousands of people who die every year because they can not pay their fuel bills
@@andrewbartlett8942 look after yourself in life without government interference and take responsibility for your actions rather than blame everybody else
i worked here in the 70s great times in them days sadly gone forever
im an ex yorkshire miner 22 years we must never forget what we did for this nation without us we coudnt have fought 2 wold wars smashing job id go back tommorow.
Great vdeo series; thank you for posting. As a railwayman, (and in retirement), I always felt an affinity with Miners.[They dug it, and we shifted it haha]. During the 84-85 strike, we had some visit our NUR branch meeting. A special breed, and their families. I think it was Manny Shinwell who called them the best people in the world. I know about the case for cleaner air; but it was a great shame when the deep pits closed. Not just for the industry, but the whole mining communities and culture. .And now the valleys are quiet.
Real men. Great times. Superb documentary.
my fatherwas a miner in barged pit we feared for him every day we relxed when he retired saying in that you wont get better people than miners its a love hate thing.if all men in the world was like welsh miners we would have nothing to worry aboat straight up realy .
My great grandfather sadly passed away in bargoed pit, it collapsed and he was killed with a few others
Completely fascinating to see Maerdy and the pit back in the day. Little before my time, love maerdy, and it's strange to see how the res and old pit site is now compared to how it was back in the day!
finally someone who know how to spell Mardy Pit
Mardy pit was a great pit real unity sadly the pit in Yorkshire has closed and has been demolished
Fascinating stuff.
They all seem a good laugh,hard workers to.
My old Man was in mardy pit and in this video
Its lovely to see the welsh mineing villages back in the day but also the camaraderie
Were some of the miners during lunch sniffing something
Hi, it's snuff that the miners were sniffing, a bit more powerful than caffeine or smokes!, It was popular then. I have to also say that the community spirit was just as strong above ground as below ground, the pubs, pick and shovel clubs were a part of the times!. Although people could be quite poor compared to today, the community spirit was strong.
@@adriandarke6707 thank you for your reply maerdy was and is a great mine
my daddy was captain of this pit :)
My uncle was miner one of the merthyr collieries my nan lost two cousins at sengennydd pit explosion
My grandfather david howells was as a coal rider in the rhondda
My father is in this too
What year was this filmed ?
84 - 85 is my guess
My grandad was a deputy down the Pit, was it like a supervisor??
Yes, responsible for a team of men & their safety.
Malc- Ex derbysire miner.
Cheers, my grandad was at Ellistown near Coalville, Leicestershire
Thrilled to get your reply. Be proud of your Grandad !!!!
Senor 250 . Apropo - My grandad (also an Ex derbyshire miner) fought in 'The Great War' and makes me proud of my Grandad
Just ask me if you need any more information regarding your grandads job. Malc.
What were the miners snorting in just wondering
Snuff
@@bridgeofworks thank you is sniff like a stimulant
Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves.[1] It is inhaled or "snuffed" into the nasal cavity, delivering a swift hit of nicotine and a lasting flavoured scent (especially if flavouring has been blended with the tobacco).[1] Traditionally, it is sniffed or inhaled lightly after a pinch of snuff is either placed onto the back surface of the hand, held pinched between thumb and index finger, or held by a specially made "snuffing" device.
@@bridgeofworks thank you for explaining this to me
@@bridgeofworks Hedges L260 with a few drops of Olbus oil or eucalyptus oil in it.
I wonder how much coal is still under the Welsh valley’s
Over a trillion tonnes i think it was discovered
My grandfather was bullied by miners, so it's wasn't as close as they made out in this video. If you weren't in the small clicks of people, they used to bully them. In fact, some of them are in this video
Last shift :(
'
Ś
290 were closed under Harold Wilson’s premierships alone (1965-1969 1974-1975) Approx 10 years
The more important detail is the number of deep pits closed, disregarding small mines, sometimes privately owned
Labour in total closed 371 deep pits.
Clement Atlee closed 101 in the early days after nationalisation
Harold Wilson closed 235 between 1964 and 1970 and 18 in the years after the miners strike during Heath’s term in office
James Callaghan continued the policy of supporting the NUM by closing just 4 mines in 1977- 1979
Blair closed 10 in 10 years and Brown 1.
Thatcher closed 115 deep pits.
MacMillan closed the most: 246 during the times that “we never had it so good” 1957- 1963 Previously Churchill had closed 78 and Eden 35. There was little protest at mine closures during this time or throughout Wilson’s time in office.
Heath closed 24 pits but disputes over pay and 2 miner’s strikes resulted in him losing power when he called a general election hoping to gain popular support in refusing to agree to the miner’s claims. This gave the NUM the impression that they held a great deal of political influence.
Although the number on mines closed by Thatcher was just marginally more than Atlee it was a much greater percentage of mines remaining. Cheap imports oil and nuclear power had made British coal less profitable and the militant miner’s union had put politics before production
After the war when it was found out the old mining system could not keep the country going. Labour took over the mines from private ownership. For years the owners would not invest in mining. Starting from scratch the Labour government started bring the mines up to date. There were a lot of the smaller could not get the big machinery in. Shafts and roadways to smaller. It took a few years for the government to do a survey to find out which mines could be modernised and which to be closed. The smaller mines were closed . No miner lost their jobs. The ones who wanted to take redundancy took it. All other miners were transferred to the larger mines what were going to be modernised. The men who were transferred were kept together to drive roadways into the closed mines to get the reserves of coal which were left when their mine was closed. Government knew this would take years to modernised these mines. The coal owners just did not want to invest in them. Some of the mining systems went back a hundred years. Unsafe unventilated and pick and shovel work. The owners thought the cheapest thing to replace was the miner himself. During the war alot of POW who had been miners were forced to work in Polish and German mines. These men found out how outdated the British working system was. The mines had conveyor belts to carry the coal. Not ponies. They had compressed air, fresh water for dust suppression and used explosives to get the coal. The compressed air was for drilling machines. The miners went along with the changes especially in safety. All the hard work put in by everyone to get the mines to production levels they had never seen , was all undone by Thatcher. All for money Thatcher and her cohorts had money invested in Russian coal , oil and gas. Thatcher closed the mines nearly 40years ago. Britain is still importing millions of tons of coal a year. From a country we can not trust Russia. Now the whole of Europe has a fuel shortage. Do you honestly think the foreign owners of our fuel companies will stop putting up the price we pay know. Britain stands on 300 years of reserves of coal. These environmentalists want to think about the 10 of thousands of people who die every year because they can not pay their fuel bills
Thatcher destroyed families
@@andrewbartlett8942 families destroyed families
Can't blame her for everything
You must be a tory .ah well everyone's got their faults
@@andrewbartlett8942 look after yourself in life without government interference and take responsibility for your actions rather than blame everybody else
How abt all the people in black face lol
There's a time and a place for everything but them pit baths sure weren't the place to come as a gay.
Such. Great film thankyou to all.the miners thatcher ruined it
Great Welsh Socialism , Little Moscow Known As Meardy Pitt .