Backbone of the Nation - Mining Communities and the Great Strike of 1984-85

A powerful new history of the Great Strike in the miners’ own voices, based on more than 140 interviews with former miners and their families

Forty years ago, Arthur Scargill led the National Union of Mineworkers on one of the largest strikes in British history. A deep sense of pride existed within Britain’s mining communities who thought of themselves as the backbone of the nation’s economy. But they were vilified by Margaret Thatcher’s government and eventually broken: deprived of their jobs, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives.

In this groundbreaking new history, Robert Gildea interviews those miners and their families who fought to defend themselves. Exploring mining communities from South Wales to the Midlands, Yorkshire, County Durham, and Fife, Gildea shows how the miners and their families organized to protect themselves, and how a network of activists mobilized to support them.

Amid the recent wave of industrial action in the United Kingdom, Backbone of the Nation highlights anew the importance of labor organization—and intimately records the triumphs, losses, and resilience of these mining communities.

About the author

Robert Gildea

Summary

A powerful new history of the Great Strike in the miners’ own voices, based on more than 140 interviews with former miners and their families

Product details

• Authors: Robert Gildea, Gildea Robert
• Publisher: Yale University Press Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2024
• EAN: 9780300277906
• ISBN: 978-0-300-27790-6
• No. of pages: 496
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 198 mm x 36 mm
• Subjects: Education and learning > Teaching preparation > Vocational needs; Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Oral History, European History, Midlands, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / General, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Labor & Industrial Relations, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Scotland, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / 20th Century, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Wales, South Wales, Trade Unions, British & Irish history, North & North East England, Social and cultural history, Central Scotland, North West England, C 1980 To C 1990, c 1980 to c 1989, North and North East England, Strikes, Mining Industry, Industrialisation & Industrial History, Industrialisation and industrial history, Extractive industries, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Labor / Unions