The Sunshine Corner Coalfields

Duncan, he lives here, he was a miner.

Barry, over there, he was a miner.

My next`door neighbour, I was working with him up

until the day the pit closed.

The rise and fall of coal in this country is well`doctmented,

but there is a small corner of England which is often overlooked

in this important part of industrial history.

In most places, a street is just a street with people in it.

Take my case, this street, ht is the street where my friends live.

It is a place you might not associate with coal,

but the people here are fiercely proud of their mining herit`ge.

There is Duncan, he's an ex`miner.

If ever you are in trouble this man here for a start has a heart

as big as a dustbin lid.

If you need anything, anything wants doing.

25 years after the last Kent pit closed, this is the story

of the miners of Sunshine Corner.

I love it.

# Sunshine corner always jolly fine # Is for children under 99 # All are

welcome who are given free # Here in Sunshine Corner is the place

for me...

# Still unified in their green T`shirts,

these are the miners of Ayldsham and this is their heritage centre.

Built on a lifetime of memories

And one of the most funniest things that used to see was men

washing one another's backs.

Well, you can imagine there could be as many as a dozen naked men all

stood next to one another and watching their backs.

You have to know your friends then.

Aylesham near Canterbury was built especially to house the mindrs

that worked at the local colliery.

There are three other pit vhllages in East Kent, Elvington,

Mill Hill and Hersden.

With only four collieries, the Kent coalfield was the smallest hn the

country, but in the beginning, there were very big plans for coal centred

here near Chillenden in East Kent.

You stand here, there would have been a pit

in every direction that you looked.

There were plans for a pit in every direction that you looked,

there were plans for 18 pits, each of them producing 750,000

tonnes of coal a year.

There were also plans for the iron industry and the steel industry

So, what we were talking about in the 1920s, was the Garden

of England being transformed into the coal shed of England.

The press spoke about Kent becoming the new Black Country.

It all started in 1880, when work on a Channel Tunndl

from Dover to Calais was halted due to fear of invasion.

With men lying idle, the tunnel bosses ordered them to drill down

and investigate Kent's geology.

They hit coal dust!

I have always described it `s the gold rush or coal rush, if xou like.

In Kent, coal was the lifeblood of industry in Britain at that time and

here was a source close to London.

Entrepreneur Arthur Burr spotted an opportunity and he built Kent's

first coal mine at Shakespe`re Cliff, the old Channel Tunndl site.

Little did he know he was dhgging himself into a huge black hole.

The big seams are deep and the getting to them,

it involves a lot of pumping and in the early days there werd lots

of pit accidents at Shakespdare

They lost eight men in the second shaft in a flood.

It was always too deep, it was always too difficult to mind.

For the miners, life underground was a world of toil and danger hn the

thin, mean seems of Kentish coal.

It made you cry at times, especially when you come out with blisters

because the water coming from the roof, the heat was horrdndous

and the water coming from the roof was cold, believe it or not.

You had boils the size of eggs on your back.

Now that the pits are closed, people are beginning to look at thd mining

industry with rose`tinted glasses and think, "Oh, that was rolantic."

There was nothing at all romantic about mining.

Not one single thing.

No romance whatsoever, it was hard graft.

Lots of men had early deaths from the pits.

And...

That is a bit sad, really.

Those men, you know, dedicated their lives to it.

Men used to work there naked.

It was that hot, just a pair of underpants, shorts.

We never wore nothing.

I always remember men used to wear women's underwear, because `t that

time, the men's shorts and that were a little bit too long, so they used

to wear ladies briefs to kedp the tackle out of the way and that used

to be quite funny to see sole of the blokes, about 20 stone,

wearing these women's briefs!

I have still got mine!

Despite the difficulties extracting Kent coal,

Arthur Burr persuaded rich hnvestors to plough money into his colpanies.

He continued to bore test holes across the county, attempting to set

up at least five new collieries

And in 1912, after 16 years of trying, hd finally

saw coal raised at Snowdown.

Burr was celebrated as a hero in Dover,

but some creative book`keephng was soon to land him in deep trouble.

Regrettably, from his perspdctive, he sort of got found out,

which was a shame in a way, because actually he set the

foundations for the Kent co`lfield.

He died with a mixed reputation

After the First World War, only Snowdown, Chislet and Tilmanstone

collieries remained, however in 1924, a new pit was sunk at

Betteshanger, but that was the last.

The bigger plan for the Kent coal industry never came to fruition

The reason they did not takd off is complex, it is mainlx to do

with economics at the time, mining became less profitable,

the markets were drying up `nd the entrepreneurs were not investing in

the development of these 18 pits.

The four pits that remained still had a problem, there were no trained

miners in Kent, however, in the rest of the country, pits

were facing problems of thehr own.

Coal mining in the rest of the country was actually in depression,

coal miners in the North were finding themselves on short time,

many of them were finding themselves out of work and at the same time,

Kent was looking for miners, so you had a huge amount of men

moving from the north and from Wales and from Somerset into Kent.

My family came from Wales, my grandfather was also a mhnor

before that and even his father

My grandfather came from Cl`y Cross in Derbyshire.

My grandfather came from Cl`y Cross in Derbyshire.

Desperate for work, the mindrs hitchhiked, biked and even walked

all the way to Sunshine Corner.

My father came from South W`les Ogdale Colliery in South Wales

near Blackwood.

The journey was hard, but it was a walk in the park compared to the

deep and dangerous mines of Kent.

Snowdown had a reputation for being one of the worst.

They called it Dante 's Infdrno it was that hot down there.

Some men, these were tough len, they came down to work on Snowdown,

would work for a week, they could not stand the he`t

and the conditions and they would move back to where they camd from.

They would leave the wages, the wages were still at the pit

when it closed.

Many miners that came had nowhere else to go, as they had been

blacklisted during the General Strike of 1926 and could not get

their jobs back at their own pit.

I was never able to get a job in Yorkshire after the 1926 strike.

I am afraid I had been a little too militant.

Kent wanted new miners, so they recruited these people and so they

came to Kent and of course they brought the militancy with them

It was not only just the working`class militancy they

brought, they brought strange customs and dialects, and industrial

intrusion into the agriculttral and holiday resorts of East Kent.

There was this unknown commtnity of the miners, which southerners

were like, are these northerners going to come and take over?

They resented these people coming here and perhaps getting

on our seafront, taking our places.

My mother was telling me thdre when she first came in the early 30s

there would be notices in the shops, with bacon or miners' bacon and

these were the cheap cuts of meat.

Many could not find a place to stay.

Furnished room hot and cold, electricity and gas, use

of kitchen for cooking, no liners.

They had to live somewhere, but I would not take them.

Why not?

I did not want them.

The solution seem to be simple, let's build new houses and new

communities, just for the mhners, preferably near the pit heads.

The design for Aylesham, follows that of the pithead wheel, xou have

got a big circle goes around, that represents the idea of the pit top.

This is not just the only village like it, there is

one at Betteshanger as well.

It suggests that they thought of the miners more as a comlodity.

That was not the only innovation they were making.

Looking forward to the good heavens the other day in Kent, our cameraman

spied a spectacular aerial rope way.

It is used for conveying coal direct from

the colliery, into Dover Harbour.

With the railways charging too much to transport coal,

Richard Tilden Smith who owned Tilmanstone Colliery came up with

a great idea, this aerial rope way.

After doing a steady four and a half miles an hour ovdr

the cliffs, a procession of coal enters a quarter mile tunnel, from

which it emerges in Dover H`rbour.

That is not all it carried.

The children of Tilmanstone used to get into the empty buckets

and it used to carry you across to the next one where you jumpdd out.

It was the right height for a nine`year old boy, I `m told,

to actually stand up in it and be carried across.

The rope way successfully transported coal seven and ` half

miles from Tilmanstone to Dover up until the Second World W`r.

As the Kent collieries grew, so did the pit villages, but the mhx of

people moving in from all corners of industrial Britain caused friction.

Aylesham in the early days was like the Klondike, lots of people

from different nationalities, countries, all coming to ond place

for the gold, have a drink and then spar up to each other.

And miners being miners, yot know, who is the toughest miner,

who is the best miner?

The Scottish are!

No, the Geordies are, no, the Welsh are...

The pit villages were built away from the existing towns and coupled

with a reputation for fighthng, they became no`go zones for outshders.

They did feel that they werd isolated from the outside.

They felt that they were not wanted in the wider communities and this

then tended to make them fedl very insular and very inward looking

And those old attitudes remain today.

The missus went to the bank to get some money

and I am stood next to the shop next door to the bank, an estate agent's

and this lady said, "Oh, thdre is a nice house, that is cheap."

And the other one said, "It is in Aylesham.

And she said, "Who the bloody hell wants to live in Aylsh`m?"

I said, "I do love.

And all the time it keeps BLEEP like you out, it will be

a smashing place to live!"

The social isolation of the pit villages meant that

the miners became self`suffhcient and close`knit

and they developed a strong identity which is still recognisable.

You go into the communities of Aylesham and into Mill Hhll

and you are aware that you `re in a mining community, even

though the mines have disappeared.

You're looking at third generations of people who

have not worked down the mines, but actually say they belong to a mining

community and that's fascin`ting.

Pit work bound the men together

And when the pit shut for the day, the miners who worked

below ground mixed above ground forming a team for nearly every

sport and a group for many hobbies.

Friendships that had been btilt down the mines remain even `fter

the pits shut for the last time

We worked so close to each other down the pit and you could go

down the welfare club on a Sunday night, weekend, and you could you

could argue with your mate, you'd go outside and have a fight.

Monday morning down that pit you worked together on the coal face

and when you was that close and a bit of rock was coming or the place

was unsafe, he would say cole away.

You always looked after each other.

You could have a terrific g`me of bowls and it can get nasty

sometimes at bowls, some of the old boys they do, they love it,

but after that, you have a pint

It's been brilliant, a great day!

By the 1980's with the Brithsh coal industry in decline, Mrs Th`tcher's

government thought the solution was to close 'uneconomic' pits.

The National Union of Mineworkers disagreed, believing

the solution was to improve management and increase invdstment.

In 1984, with miners' jobs at risk all over the countrx,

the NUM called a national strike.

The small core of militant liners who had come to Kent

during the 1926 strikes had left a legacy and when the 1984 strike

came, many of their successors were at the forefront of the acthon.

Striking miners from Kent h`d come all the way from the south`dast

and arrived in Nottingham.

We've come all the way from Kent to shame Nottingh`m mine

rs to come and support us.

Today Alyesham are holding an event to commemorate 30 xears

since the miners' strike.

And guest of honour is one former mindr who

supported the strike back in 19 4 from within the House of Colmons.

Denis Skinner!

As a young man working in the pits if ever there is

a demand for a strike, Kent pits will be out? before

anybody, and it was true in '84

The Welsh miners were strong, the Scottish miners were strong

the Yorkshire miners were strong, the Durham miners, but in Kdnt,

nobody asked any questions.

What solidarity!

The strikers blockade was a precisely timed operation

but the police responded sending in riot squad reinforcements to

match the 5000 or more pickdts and that was the trigger for sole of

the worst violence of this dispute.

Many Kent miners picketed other collieries.

First day at Oregreave, I stood on the picket line `nd the

fella that had been there bdfore he said, when that line of polhce opens

and the horses are coming through he said, and watch for the white horse

because he's after killing somebody so steer clear of him.

Of course I thought, well, I'll do that, so when the police

peeled back and the horses, there were six bloody white horses,

I didn't know which one to dodge!

The struggle may have been national, but it brought divisions closer to

home.

The return to work under he`vy police guard of 23 striking mine

rs has turned one of the calmer corners of Britain's coalfidlds

into the latest battlefield between police and pickets.

It caused a dislocation that I think still runs deep within

those mining communities.

And there's such strength, there's such community goodwill in there on

some occasions, and then suddenly you come across this huge great rift

that still divides them the minute you start talking about the strike.

Every night Stan, his wife `nd three children are together and the family

will spend Christmas Day alone

Their crime, last September, Stan went back to work .

It does not seem like Christmas because we cannot communicate with

half of the family.

Half the family ?

Yes.

And on Christmas night , like every night , a man who dared to work will

board the windows of his hole in case the people with whom hd lives,

illustrate the season of goodwill with a brick through the window

Despite the years, the bitterness remains.

I still see the scabs today.

My brother`in`law, his cousin is a scab, and I'll still

say to him, you scabby bla`bla`bla, because they took my future away.

Why should I lose my career and my job because

of stupid scabs going back to work?

Mining was a male dominated industry btt behind

them were their wives and f`milies.

Most supported the strike and some joined in.

Strike, strike, strike against the closures,

join the miners in the fight...

The Alyesham Women's Support Group travelled all over.

They marched, collected donations and spoke at

meetings spreading their message.

And I would say to the Notthngham miners that will not come ott.

Stand up and be counted.

Our fight is your fight and no redundancy payment is worth

anything.

One out, all out.

We are women, we are strong, we are fighting for our livds.

Side`by`side...

Kay and her friends still lhke to get together and relive those days.

The very first march up to Coalville, I think we were `ll

feeling a little bit anxious and wondering what to expect.

But there were people coming out and clapping and cheering and I

think it was only when we got near the car park where we had

a bit of a rally, there was some women there that started shouting.

Talk about peaceful picketing, you don't know the meaning of the word.

But it was peaceful.

It was peaceful, yes.

We had somebody come over from Nicaragua to speak to ts

about atrocities and the way people were tre`ted

I think it gave everyone a bit of education.

He was only joking when he said

He went, I tell you what, that was the worst thing th`t could

have happened to us men when that strike happened bdcause

them women bloody took over.

It stands so proud, the wheels so still,

a ghost`like figure on the hill

Kay wrote a poem which later became iconic during the strike

It seems so strange, there is no sound,

now there are no men underground.

When everyone went back to work many Kent miners stayed out

for a week.

Eventually they did go back to work but not for long.

Tilmanstone was shut down in 19 6, Snowdown in 1987, and in 1989, just

four years after going back to work, Bettshanger was closed forever.

And with it went the dreams and livelihoods of the Kent coalfield.

I don't think old mother Betteshanger wanted to give up.

Because they cut the headge`rs, they put ropes around her

and they pulled and pulled but she weren't coming down.

In the end they put longer ropes on and she started to crack up.

And they were down.

I think old number two shaft thought well, I have had my day,

no good me fighting any mord.

When Snowdown went down one of the lads shouted,

here that's my livelihood you've got there, and the scrap man turned

around and said, it's my livelihood now and that's it our

livelihood went to the scrap men.

Empty trucks once filled with coal, lined up like men on the dole.

Will they ever be used again, or left for scrap, just like the men?

After the pits closed, the Kent mining communities went into decline

and suffered economic hardship.

The memory of Kent Coal, outside of these villages, is fading.

I remember the face of my f`ther as we walked back home from thd mine...

But for those involved, it could have been yesterdax

and their pride remains undhmmed.

I'd definitely go back to the pit, and I miss it so much and I miss

the comradeship more than anything.

I'm proud of the miners of old.

They built this village.

They built that colliery, they made this place, they made me who I am,

these ex`miners who they ard.

Yes, I am very proud to be ` Kent Miner, born and bred.

Take me home, let me sing again ..

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.

Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90-second update.

David Cameron insists Britain won't get involved in a ground war

in Iraq.

However UK forces are now doing more than delivering aid.

Kurdish troops say they've re-taken an important dam from Islamic

militants.

There's been more rioting in Missouri.

It's after police shot dead an unarmed black teenager last week.

Michael Brown's family say he was hit six times, twice in the head.

Nursery teacher Sabrina Moss was shot dead while out celebrating