Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The enemy within? Remembering the striking miners of Nottinghamshire
Notts miners became notorious during the strike of ’84 for voting to continue work. There were those, however, who defied the majority, as EMILY INGRAM discovers, 36 years on
Police arrive at Nottinghamshire’s Ollerton Colliery after scuffles on the NUM picket line, in March 1984
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ON MARCH 16 1984, a series of ballots held across Britain would determine the future for 187,000 coalminers and their families.
With a vast number of pits and a workforce of about 32,000, the Nottinghamshire coalfield was a veritable powerhouse of coal production.
Due to its size and influence, it was seen by many as instrumental to the survival of the nationwide picket. Despite this, the overwhelming verdict of the ballot in Nottinghamshire was to “keep calm and carry on.”
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