YP Comment: Industry's mine of information
SEVENTY years after the nationalisation of the coal industry, the National Coal Mining Museum already has a rich seam of archive material for its forthcoming exhibition chronicling the history of an industry that '“ literally '“ powered Britain until Kellingley Colliery, the country's last deep mine, closed in December 2015.
Yet, as the exhibition’s title ‘By the People, For the People’ suggests, it was the miners – and their families – who sacrificed so much over the years, and never received sufficient credit as they toiled in primitive conditions underground for little financial reward. Without the extraction of coal, Britain would not be the country it is today.
As such, it’s more important than ever that the memories of miners are not lost to the nation. They’re an integral element of the UK’s social history and their recollections will, in time, help future generations to better understand past events like the totemic 1984-85 Miners’ Strike and subsequent move to green energy.