This report is from the north east of England paper 'The Sunday Sun' (15 July 1984):
'Durham looked like a city under siege yesterday as town centre pubs stayed closed and shops shuttered. But the mass invasion of miners from all over the country to take part in the biggest protest march in the pit dispute turned out to be fairly peaceful affair. Police kept a low profile and, despite some rowdy behaviour by a young element, there were only three arrests for disorderly conduct and obstruction.
About 10,000 people took part In a march through the city that replaced the traditional gala celebrations, cancelled by Durham Miners' Association in a cost-cutting move because of the dispute.
Banners were paraded by contingents from every British coalfield, but pride of place at the head of the parade - led by Bearpark and Esh Colliery Band - was the Bearpark banner. The pit, the smallest in the Durham coalfield, closed for good in the early days of the strike because reserves were exhausted. Another banner that passed by to loud cheers was that of Cortonwood Lodge- the pit whose threatened closure sparked off the strike.
Trouble flared briefly in Durham's market square when about 50 youths clashed with police after the rally. Bottles and beer cans were thrown and three arrests were made as extra police arrived on the scene.
There was an amazing scene when a bronzed teenage girl ran across the square with the back of her black-and-white frock torn away exposing her bare bottom. She was last seen running along the riverside'.
I don't remember the latter episode, which seems an odd thing to report in the paper. But I was there, drinking cider and gravitating towards the 'rowdy young element' scuffling with police as was my wont at the time. I recorded in my diary: 'We sat in the market square there were about 50 people there, mainly young miners. We sang anti-police songs, eventually the cops lost their sense of humour and moved in to arrest somebody. A fight ensued'. Apart from that my main memory is of the rally at the end. Peter Heathfield and Arthur Scargill from National Union of Mineworkers spoke, but when Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock came to the platform a lot of miners turned their back on him and headed out of the park rather than listen to him, disgusted by what they saw as the Labour leadership's half hearted support for the strike.
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| 'A priest and some punks in debate after the speeches at the rally' |
Following report is from The Miner (July 1984), the NUM's newspaper: 'Tens of thousands turned up to register a single, cast iron Geordie pledge on what is traditionally the Labour movements proudest day: The North East of England is rock solid and would only be content with a 101 per cent miners' victory in defence of jobs and communities'.
There's some very evocative uncut film footage from the day at the Yorkshire Film Archive reminding me of some of the visual elements of the strike, not just banners but hats covered in badges and the ubiquitous yellow 'coal not dole stickers'. The sounds of the strike too, colliery brass bands and people chanting 'Maggie Maggie Maggie, Out Out Out!' and singing 'we shall not be moved'.
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| From the film: 'Whittle Miners Wives Support Group - Coal Not Dole'. Whittle Colliery in County Durham closed in 1987. [post last updated 10/8/2022 with addition of report from 'The Miner'] See previously: 'Sound of police truncheon against body': David Peace's miners strike soundscape Miners demo in Mansfield 1984 Miners support in Kent The 'Here we go' chant What did you do in the strike - my mix of music from the strike |
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