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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherY Lolfa
ISBN-101800995032
ISBN-139781800995031
eBay Product ID (ePID)27062941106
Product Key Features
Book TitleCoal and Community in Wales : Images of the Miners' Strike, before and after
Number of Pages128.0 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicEurope / Great Britain / 20th Century, Social History, Photojournalism, Economics / General
Publication Year2024
IllustratorYes
GenrePhotography, Business & Economics, History
AuthorAmanda Powell
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.4 in
Item Length8.3 in
Item Width8.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
ReviewsThis book is an excellent guide featuring a range of circular walks compiled by walkers with many years of experience. The explanatory notes of routes will unquestionably be of great help to walkers of all levels to improve their awareness of the splendour of the Peak District., This is undoubtedly a moving and insightful collection that will surely become a key work for understanding the response of Wales, both as a class and a nation, to what was one of the most momentous disputes in British labour history., This volume is published to mark forty years since the beginning of the miners' strike in 1984, and conveys with clarity and emotion 'the story of defiance and solidarity against the odds' before, during and in the aftermath of the strike. All those interested in the recent social, industrial and communal history of south Wales will value this volume where the human interest is immense, and many familiar names appear here too.The lasting hardship, deep-rooted sense of solidarity and conflict so apparent during those months come through strongly in this volume. A series of evocative black and white photographs taken by journalist and editor Richard Williams (now a freelance press photographer) are supported by a well-researched and well-written text by his wife, press journalist and television editor Amanda Powell.Every so often there are concise passages in blocks called 'Richard's reflections' on the course of events. From the poignant final years of the industry to the upheaval caused by open-cast mining, Richard Williams's photographs paint a vivid picture, revealing the profound impact on livelihoods and communities. Throughout, the text is notably fair-minded to both the Thatcher government and the belligerent striking miners.Amongst the themes described in this study, which spans the period November 1981 to July 1985, are the tensions and clashes which led to the strike, the events during those months and its effects, both short term and lasting. Most of the events depicted took place in the Ogmore, Garw and Llyfni valleys, and the most prominent pits depicted here are Garw/Ffaldau colliery, Blaengarw, the Wyndham and Western Collieries, Nantymoel, and the Coegnant colliery and Maesteg washery, Maesteg.Many of the activists involved who were captured by the camera of Richard Williams during 1984-85 have been interviewed for the purpose of this study, and they are asked pointedly whether they would be prepared to repeat these experiences today. The overarching theme which comes through potently in this volume is that of a resolute extreme right-wing Conservative government, determined, through the agency of Ian McGregor, to close large numbers of coal mines (allegedly uneconomic in the view of the uncompromising Thatcher government), pitted against proud communities desperately fighting to protect their jobs and, by implication, their communities and their welfare, knowing full well that mass unemployment and economic dislocation would be the inevitable outcome. Following the failure of the strike, there was an inevitable deep-rooted sense of disappointment and frustration that the coal industry was being wound up in south Wales, as elsewhere.The implications of the strike were immense. Proud families were compelled to rely on the resources of food kitchens and freely distributed food parcels, and there were hardly any new clothes or treats for the children. Also, fewer state benefits, as a result of the enactments of the government, were available to them than to the striking miners of the 1970s.Other themes which are apparent in the volume include the prominent role of the women who campaigned with extraordinary vigour, raised funds, some later in their subsequent careers embracing political activism with gusto. Especially compelling in this context is the account of Margaret Thatcher's address to the Welsh Conservative Party Conference in Porthcawl, June 1984, when the strike was well underway, an event which provoked a fierce reaction which was well-publicized throughout the world.The accounts of the subsequent careers of some of the principal actors in this compelling story is particularly interesting, and a useful glossary of some of the more technical terms in the volume is included. Congratulations to the Lolfa for this well-produced volume.
Dewey Edition23
Photographed byWilliams, Richard
Dewey Decimal331.8928223340941
SynopsisA unique perspective on the 1984-85 UK Miners' Strike from a husband-and-wife team who reported on it in person at the time. Press photographer Williams' striking images and journalist Powell's text give an in-depth look at life in the South Wales Coalfield before and after this momentous period., "This is undoubtedly a moving and insightful collection that will surely become a key work for understanding the response of Wales, both as a class and a nation, to what was one of the most momentous disputes in British labour history." - Morning Star Back in the early 1980s, young freelance press photographer Richard Williams began documenting the decline of the south Wales coal industry. He was there with his cameras as the coal workers walked out in opposition to Margaret Thatcher's government's program of pit closures, and followed the 1984-85 Miners' Strike - a key moment in UK history - to its end and beyond, seeing miners march back to work after their year-long struggle. From a coalmining family south Wales herself, Amanda Powell was starting her career as a junior reporter on a local newspaper during the same period, and the two worked together on some of the events unfolding. They went on to marry. Williams and Powell have come together to co-author this book, each drawing on their work and experiences from this fraught period, and speaking again to contacts made at the time. The result is a book giving a unique perspective on the Miners' Strike, taking an in-depth 'before and after' look at life in the South Wales Coalfield through Powell's text and Williams' accompanying images. In this striking collection of photographs, many previously unseen, Williams' camera captures defiance and solidarity against the odds during the strike and beyond.
LC Classification NumberHD5365.M6152
