Miners' strike: Notts men not 'scabs'
On the 25th anniversary of the miners' strike, ANDY SMART speaks to an industry historian who says it is time to put the record straight
MINING expert Eric Walker believes Notts pitmen deserve a better history than one scarred by the label of 'scab'.
Although he is now 83-years-old and said his last goodbye to the pits three decades ago, Eric Walker is still passionate about his industry and proud of the men who risked their lives to turn the coal.
And he says it is time "the myth that Notts men were scabs" was ended.
"Notts men weren't scabs, they were sensible people," he maintains.
AUDIO: Listen to Eric talking about his days as a miner
At the height of the miners' strike in 1984 when men from the Yorkshire coalfield, together with Scottish and Welsh workers, led by firebrand NUM president Arthur Scargill, downed tools to fight against pit closures, Notts miners refused to join them without the approval of a national strike ballot.
From that moment, the working miners of Notts were targeted. It was the rise of the flying pickets, organised squads of strikers, mainly from Yorkshire, who converged on Notts by the carload to stand at the picket gates and dare men to cross the lines.
As the numbers grew, the scenes turned ugly. At places like Ollerton, Bilsthorpe and Newstead, working miners were brought to the pithead in reinforced buses.
They had to run a gauntlet of stone-throwing and abuse – chants, and even songs, portrayed them as "scabs".
Although the majority of Notts miners continued to work, many remained loyal to their union and refused to cross the line. Communities were split, friendships ended, families divided.
"There was some intimidation, particularly in the villages," said Eric Walker.
He remembers at Babbington, the handful of men who went on strike were suspended from the welfare in case of trouble.
But Mr Walker, mining son of a mining father who maintains his link with the industry through a remarkable museum of artefacts he has collected, is convinced that it could have been avoided.
If Arthur Scargill had held a national vote in favour of strike action he believes it would have brought the Notts miners out.
"All the meetings of Notts miners had indicated that would be the outcome," said the Strelley pensioner who worked underground at local pits including Clifton, before changing direction and finishing his days as a strata control engineer.
"These were solid union men who voted for nationalisation and believed in it. It was a religion. They were the last people to want to destroy something their fathers had fought for. They had never backed away from a fight. In 1972 and 1974, the big increases in miners' pay were gained by pressure from Notts miners."
But, as Eric explained, in 1984 the traditionally moderate Notts men suddenly found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
On one hand, the left-wing leadership of the miners hell bent on bringing down the Conservative government; on the other Margaret Thatcher's determination to smash the unions.
"The majority of Notts men were reaching retirement age. Ten years earlier, when the first lot of redundancies were made, payments of only £400 to £500 had been won from the NCB for miners taking early retirement or ill health retirement.
"But fears of a strike had upped the ante and redundancy payments for men went up as high as £23,500 with a pay-off equal to 90% of wages as dole money.
"What man in his right mind could afford to sacrifice that?
"It was made perfectly clear that should they contemplate a strike, they would lose this redundancy payment.
"They owed it to their wives and children who had supported them through short time working, who encouraged and supported them in a very dangerous occupation, who nursed them through sickness and injury. "The Notts miners knew that eventually, the pits they worked at – Newstead, Annesley, Babbington, Hucknall, New Hucknall and other pits in the Notts coalfield – were doomed."
That had been outlined in the late Sixties by Lord Robens in his plan to meet British coal demand from just 50 pits, a plan later shelved in the face of soaring oil prices.
"They saw no sense in losing a generous redundancy pay-off with no comparison whatsover to redundancy payments in any other industry.
"The government had achieved the split, pitting one miner against another, yet today, that blemish of being labelled a scab still prevails in families and communities.
"Like the grafitti on walls, it is obscene and wants removing, it needs washing away."
6 Comments
by Mark Ex Markham Pit South Wales, CARDIFF, WALES
Thursday, February 10 2011, 11:29PM
“An overheard conversation in Nottinghamshire;
"What did you do in the strike dad? Well, I was nominally part of a great union son, who believed that unity is strength. Some of its members in other areas faced huge job losses and the decimation of entire coalfield communities by a Tory goverment ideologically hell bent on breaking the union and privatising what would be left of a vital state owned industry. Some of the members in other areas started to come out on strike to defend their jobs and communities and sought our support. We desperately wanted to come out and join them and some of our men did, but Scargill wouldn't let us put a cross in a box to rubber stamp it. So most of us said nuts to them and carried on working, merrily waving our payslips at them out of the coach window for a whole year. We set up a new union the UDM, a bit like your grandad joined in the 1930's set up by a man called Spencer. We were the darlings of the right wing press and the Tory goverment. They'll look after us we thought, after all we doing their bidding. Inevitably the industry in other areas went to the wall but we were alright so that was ok....until our Tory friends shafted us around 1992 anyway and closed us down, even though we were breaking productivity records. We were betrayed! We looked around for support but apart from a sympathy/ funeral march in London they was no one left to call on.... serves us right on reflection I suppose."
I'm sorry mr Walker and the others with troubled consciences up there, but you betrayed your comrades in South Wales and elsewhere, ultimately yourselves and you know it. You took the decision to cross the lines, you knew what it meant and what it made you and no amount of spin 26 years on changes that. I'm no apologist for Scargill, who was a donkey leading lions in my opinion. he may have had delusions of "bringing down the goverment" but the rank and file were simply concerned with defending jobs and communities against vengeful industrial vandalism. It's facile to argue that Notts miners were caught in the middle. You had a clear choice and effectively took the Tories side, a factor they'd banked on given your history, thus becoming an intrinsic weapon to be manipulated by them in achieving their ends. I took no pleasure in the, " we told you so" reality of the Notts closures of the in the 90's but there weren't may tears shed down here either.
I remain in awe of the sacrifice of those Notts/ south Derbyshire/ Leicestershire men who went on strike in the teeth of hostility from their so called comrades. The behaviour of the rest of you was a disgrace and will be forever remembered as such I'm afraid.”
by tony holmes, castleford
Sunday, March 07 2010, 10:40PM
“when workers are on strike you dont cross picket lines.”
by david, notts
Friday, May 01 2009, 3:32PM
“I suggest you read up on Arthur on Answers.com. Says that he never hid the fact that he was a communist. His father Harold too was a communist. You should never try to remove a truly democratically elected government by any other means than an election. Scargill was an undemocratic leader. He didn't allow the miners a national ballot. His actions divided communities and families. Some division remains to this day. To do this was an act of evil. Oh and by the way I worked underground.”
by Bill, Hucknall
Tuesday, April 21 2009, 11:25AM
“Twisted minds below somehow they have the events of history confused, they don't even know what a communist is, and I doubt they ever worked underground. It was Thatcher that planned to close the industry, Scargill tried to save it. Your organisation lay down and couldn't get off its knees. You forget we took unoficial strike action for the nurses in the early 1980s if it was good enough not to cross a nurses picket line, there should not have been a problem when other areas asked for our suppport in not crossing a picket line.”
by Malc, ex, Newstead
Tuesday, March 10 2009, 6:46PM
“Communist leader Scargill used the miners for his own political ends that was to bring down the Goverment of the day. From the day he fixed the election for himself to be elected the minning industry was doomed, no Goverment could rely on the coal industry for Generation of power with such a arrogant , struting mouthy , ignorant , communist but the fools followed his rants to the end and payed the price, i have no simpathey with them . All the idiots that support Scargill are to blame for the total collapse of the minning industry. Thank god he was defeated.”
by jim, ex newstead
Tuesday, March 10 2009, 4:17PM
“Well said Eric and it proved to be right Scargill and his thugs did Thatchers work for her, and now I think there are only 3 pit left . Big pat on yer back Scargill .”