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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Celebrating the women of the coalfields
Banners will be raised in Durham on Saturday to celebrate the Women Against Pit Closures movement. PETER LAZENBY reports
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WOMEN from Europe, the United States and across Britain will gather in Durham on Saturday to celebrate the Women Against Pit Closures movement (WAPC).
The movement, which was founded in Barnsley in South Yorkshire in 1984 during the miners’ strike against pit closures, is credited with prolonging the year-long strike for at least four months through its fundraising and political campaigning.
Thousands of women from pit communities mobilised. For many, the strike changed their lives for ever.
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