Miners strike 1984



spitfire said:
Lots of it difficult to extract. There is a big fault line a few miles out under North Sea which basically fucked the seams up
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Not what I have been told from the lads who worked the seams at Wearmouth, Westoe and Vane Tempest.
But hey ho, a lot of things have been misconstrued and ignored over the years.
 
Butcher's Coat said:
Not what I have been told from the lads who worked the seams at Wearmouth, Westoe and Vane Tempest.
But hey ho, a lot of things have been misconstrued and ignored over the years.
Click to expand...
Don’t get me wrong there is plenty out there but they were getting further and further away from the shafts to extract it. The big coastal super pits Westoe, Wearmouth, Dawdon, Easington etc were already about 6 miles or so out under the North Sea mining coal. That’s quite a long way. The further you go out the bigger the challenge becomes with regards ventilation etc. Remember you can’t just sink further shafts out at sea to get air down there, so it means more and more and bigger equipment to do so and it all adds to the cost of getting the coal out. There are a number of seams out there. Some had names like Hutton and Maudlin etc., but generally they were referred to by letters - c, d, e, f, g, etc. The seams were of different thicknesses and those pits were more or less getting to the limits of mining the higher seams and were left mining the yard seams which were about 3 foot high. Of course a 3 foot seam is not as productive as a 6 foot one. Nottinghamshire had lots of high seams which contributed to their fuck you attitude as it could be easily extracted. There is a massive coal field out under the sea and at Dawdon they got Thyssen in to drive a roadway out into it so see how viable it was. It would secure the life of the big coastal pits for years. Anyway, and my memory fades now so I may have distances incorrect, they drove this roadway out to take a look. They used lasers to guide it and it was as straight as fuck. Pretty advanced technology at the time. They got about 9 miles out I think and hit a fault line which basically turned the seams vertical and hence made them “unworkable”. The cost to get it out would have been huge whereas there were easier pickings elsewhere at the time. Look at the history of mining in Durham. A lot of places only exist because a pit was sunk there. The distances between them were small so they were effectively mining coal local to them, but of course there was only a finite amount they could mine between them. The coastal super pits were breaking new ground in what they were doing going so far out to sea to get coal, sadly the poor geology they found was a big blow. Well that’s what I remember but of course my memory fades now.
 
spitfire said:
Don’t get me wrong there is plenty out there but they were getting further and further away from the shafts to extract it. The big coastal super pits Westoe, Wearmouth, Dawdon, Easington etc were already about 6 miles or so out under the North Sea mining coal. That’s quite a long way. The further you go out the bigger the challenge becomes with regards ventilation etc. Remember you can’t just sink further shafts out at sea to get air down there, so it means more and more and bigger equipment to do so and it all adds to the cost of getting the coal out. There are a number of seams out there. Some had names like Hutton and Maudlin etc., but generally they were referred to by letters - c, d, e, f, g, etc. The seams were of different thicknesses and those pits were more or less getting to the limits of mining the higher seams and were left mining the yard seams which were about 3 foot high. Of course a 3 foot seam is not as productive as a 6 foot one. Nottinghamshire had lots of high seams which contributed to their fuck you attitude as it could be easily extracted. There is a massive coal field out under the sea and at Dawdon they got Thyssen in to drive a roadway out into it so see how viable it was. It would secure the life of the big coastal pits for years. Anyway, and my memory fades now so I may have distances incorrect, they drove this roadway out to take a look. They used lasers to guide it and it was as straight as fuck. Pretty advanced technology at the time. They got about 9 miles out I think and hit a fault line which basically turned the seams vertical and hence made them “unworkable”. The cost to get it out would have been huge whereas there were easier pickings elsewhere at the time. Look at the history of mining in Durham. A lot of places only exist because a pit was sunk there. The distances between them were small so they were effectively mining coal local to them, but of course there was only a finite amount they could mine between them. The coastal super pits were breaking new ground in what they were doing going so far out to sea to get coal, sadly the poor geology they found was a big blow. Well that’s what I remember but of course my memory fades now.
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Superb stuff that Spitty lad. Kind of stuff my Dad would ramble on about for hours if anyone was around to listen. He knew the geology of East Durham like the back of his hand.

Many’s the night he talked of working the Busty seam. At least I think he was talking about coal.

Found this whilst having a quick look around

evenwoodramshawdistricthistorysociety.uk

GEOLOGY, THE DURHAM COALFIELD etc.

This section will provide some basic information about the geology of the Durham Coalfield and some interesting images relating to the coal extraction methods. We are not geologists or mining engin…
evenwoodramshawdistricthistorysociety.uk evenwoodramshawdistricthistorysociety.uk
 
Butcher's Coat said:
Millions of tonnes of coal deposits still left underneath our coastline marra.
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Only one third of the north eastern coalfield has been 'mined' (apparently)

My dad worked at Cambois and Bates' (Blyth) until it closed. Dad was a sparky - my grandads were a deputy, with the other being a rolleywayman. The latter they wouldn't let retire early, as he was one of the last of his kind - finished at Woodhorn. Ended up working for 52 years - started at 13. Crazy.
 
Hair Flick said:
Superb stuff that Spitty lad. Kind of stuff my Dad would ramble on about for hours if anyone was around to listen. He knew the geology of East Durham like the back of his hand.

Many’s the night he talked of working the Busty seam. At least I think he was talking about coal.

Found this whilst having a quick look around

evenwoodramshawdistricthistorysociety.uk

GEOLOGY, THE DURHAM COALFIELD etc.

This section will provide some basic information about the geology of the Durham Coalfield and some interesting images relating to the coal extraction methods. We are not geologists or mining engin…
evenwoodramshawdistricthistorysociety.uk evenwoodramshawdistricthistorysociety.uk
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I’m going to take that as a compliment mate, and not that I am some sort of rambling old git of a similar age to your da.;)

There is so much more to be spoken about that time in history, and yet I have no doubt come April 8th and I start my annual Thatchers dead thread I will have a few on here commenting on how wrong I am to hold the views I do :lol:

It’s a welcome change for me to contribute something informative instead of sparring with the empty headed politics board numptys isn’t it? :lol:
 
spitfire said:
Don’t get me wrong there is plenty out there but they were getting further and further away from the shafts to extract it. The big coastal super pits Westoe, Wearmouth, Dawdon, Easington etc were already about 6 miles or so out under the North Sea mining coal. That’s quite a long way. The further you go out the bigger the challenge becomes with regards ventilation etc. Remember you can’t just sink further shafts out at sea to get air down there, so it means more and more and bigger equipment to do so and it all adds to the cost of getting the coal out. There are a number of seams out there. Some had names like Hutton and Maudlin etc., but generally they were referred to by letters - c, d, e, f, g, etc. The seams were of different thicknesses and those pits were more or less getting to the limits of mining the higher seams and were left mining the yard seams which were about 3 foot high. Of course a 3 foot seam is not as productive as a 6 foot one. Nottinghamshire had lots of high seams which contributed to their fuck you attitude as it could be easily extracted. There is a massive coal field out under the sea and at Dawdon they got Thyssen in to drive a roadway out into it so see how viable it was. It would secure the life of the big coastal pits for years. Anyway, and my memory fades now so I may have distances incorrect, they drove this roadway out to take a look. They used lasers to guide it and it was as straight as fuck. Pretty advanced technology at the time. They got about 9 miles out I think and hit a fault line which basically turned the seams vertical and hence made them “unworkable”. The cost to get it out would have been huge whereas there were easier pickings elsewhere at the time. Look at the history of mining in Durham. A lot of places only exist because a pit was sunk there. The distances between them were small so they were effectively mining coal local to them, but of course there was only a finite amount they could mine between them. The coastal super pits were breaking new ground in what they were doing going so far out to sea to get coal, sadly the poor geology they found was a big blow. Well that’s what I remember but of course my memory fades now.
Click to expand...
The E90 at Dawdon held 30 years worth of coal according to Ray Card chief engineer, around 1987. Then they hit water, (allegedly) 5 roadheaders, a mix of dosco lh1300s, and Anderson Boyes, (Anderson Strathclyde) roadheaders were delivered to Dawdon, as well as numerous Eickhoff shearers. None were salvaged, along with the countless thousands of tons of copper cable, and pommels which powered them.
 
Mag_Lurker said:
If anyone is interested, here are some photos - mainly from Bates, Blyth and it's last days. Taken by an old mate of mine's dad;

www.flickr.com

high pit wilma

Explore high pit wilma’s 51 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com
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Some good pics on there especially the underground ones.
Amnorrageordie said:
The E90 at Dawdon held 30 years worth of coal according to Ray Card chief engineer, around 1987. Then they hit water, (allegedly) 5 roadheaders, a mix of dosco lh1300s, and Anderson Boyes, (Anderson Strathclyde) roadheaders were delivered to Dawdon, as well as numerous Eickhoff shearers. None were salvaged, along with the countless thousands of tons of copper cable, and pommels which powered them.
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And all would have added up to making the pit unprofitable on Thatchers balance sheets. I know you worked in the fitting shop so will have seen first hand the amount of gear being supplied just at Dawdon. It was the same at the other big million ton pits. The more we look back the more you see what a big set up and stitch up it all was in the end.
 
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spitfire said:
Some good pics on there especially the underground ones.

And all would have added up to making the pit unprofitable on Thatchers balance sheets. I know you worked in the fitting shop so will have seen first hand the amount of gear being supplied just at Dawdon. It was the same at the other big million ton pits. The more we look back the more you see what a big set up and stitch up it all was in the end.
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They updated the already most up to date washery in, probably the uk, as well as building the rapid loading sysem and land sale bunkers. Then there was the new shale belt to the chems heap. All to unbalance the books. And don't get me started on the millions chucked at the turning the tide project to clean the beaches. The longshore drift would have done it for fuck all.
 
My dad and uncle said that when Cambois was closed in 68, the pit had been buying top class machinery for a while, but then selling it on at a huge loss to Bates' at Blyth, in order to keep the latter open. I imagine dodgyness like that will have been going on all over.

Bloody 'creative accounting'.
 
spitfire said:
Don’t get me wrong there is plenty out there but they were getting further and further away from the shafts to extract it. The big coastal super pits Westoe, Wearmouth, Dawdon, Easington etc were already about 6 miles or so out under the North Sea mining coal. That’s quite a long way. The further you go out the bigger the challenge becomes with regards ventilation etc. Remember you can’t just sink further shafts out at sea to get air down there, so it means more and more and bigger equipment to do so and it all adds to the cost of getting the coal out. There are a number of seams out there. Some had names like Hutton and Maudlin etc., but generally they were referred to by letters - c, d, e, f, g, etc. The seams were of different thicknesses and those pits were more or less getting to the limits of mining the higher seams and were left mining the yard seams which were about 3 foot high. Of course a 3 foot seam is not as productive as a 6 foot one. Nottinghamshire had lots of high seams which contributed to their fuck you attitude as it could be easily extracted. There is a massive coal field out under the sea and at Dawdon they got Thyssen in to drive a roadway out into it so see how viable it was. It would secure the life of the big coastal pits for years. Anyway, and my memory fades now so I may have distances incorrect, they drove this roadway out to take a look. They used lasers to guide it and it was as straight as fuck. Pretty advanced technology at the time. They got about 9 miles out I think and hit a fault line which basically turned the seams vertical and hence made them “unworkable”. The cost to get it out would have been huge whereas there were easier pickings elsewhere at the time. Look at the history of mining in Durham. A lot of places only exist because a pit was sunk there. The distances between them were small so they were effectively mining coal local to them, but of course there was only a finite amount they could mine between them. The coastal super pits were breaking new ground in what they were doing going so far out to sea to get coal, sadly the poor geology they found was a big blow. Well that’s what I remember but of course my memory fades now.
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As you seem to to know. How come the coal is in certain places in the north east but not in the likes of Cumbria or North Yorkshire?
Always seemed strange tunnelling into the seas when you could go in land?

I got an a in geography o level so really should know 😂
 
stapler said:
But that is not what any of the judges found and it is flat contrary to what Rule 43 in the NUM rules said. National action required a ballot (according to the rule) and the only role Conference had was to pass a resolution for the ballot.
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What you are suggesting, and not necessarily a bad thing mind, is that one of the biggest, bloodiest, working class wars against a government who were trying to subjugate any form of collective workers solidarity , that changed the face, morals and attitudes of countless people in the UK was nothing more than a wildcat strike.

Fair enough....but even if the Government tried, through the courts to rule the strike illegal it wouldn't have worked. Cos wildcat strikes weren't illegal in them days. Remember these were different times.

NUM rules were set by members of the National Union of Mineworkers and if they wanted to go to conference and vote on a motion that said contrary to Rule 43 if she starts announcing pit closures we will walk out a ballot is not necessary. Then they were quite within their rights to do it.
 

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