The end of the miners' strike
A quarter of a century ago, on March 3 1985 the miners' strike, one of the most acrimonious industrial disputes in Britain, came to an end. This clip from a Ö÷²¥´óÐã Wales documentary Last Pit In The Rhondda shows the men of the Maerdy Colliery marching back to work after the year-long strike.
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Twenty-five years on and the impact of the strike still resonates. Wales History has a series of short films that feature people who were directly affected by the strike. InÌýTheÌýEnemy Within, ex-miner Anthony Thomas tells how the passage of time has not healed his wounds. "We went from being the salt of the earth and the people who kept things going, to being the scum of the earth"
In The Singing Miner, Paul Traherne of The Aber Valley Male Voice, who was a colliery official and member of NACODS recalls that "My father's greatest worry was that there would be brother against brother or father against son and that we would all fall out because of the dispute".
Also interviewed is Paul's daughter, Catherine, who was very young at the time of the strike. She remembers something big was happening because her mum would say "quick, come and watch the news, you might see your dad on there."
Watch the personal video stories The Enemy Within and The Singing Miner or browse our collection of personal films relating to the strike.
Do you remember the end of the Miners' strike? We'd love to hear your memories of that time. Leave a comment below.
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