0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:02 > 0:00:06- A revolution took place - in 20th century Wales.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- In the countryside - and the big cities...
0:00:10 > 0:00:13- ..the lives of thousands - of ordinary Welsh people...
0:00:14 > 0:00:19- ..were transformed by political, - economic and technological changes.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23- The old Welsh way of life ended - and a new one was born.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27- Witness to it all were the BBC's - journalists and film crews.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31- The fruits of their labour can be - seen in thousands of film cans.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35- Many haven't been opened - since the day they were broadcast.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40- I'm going to share some of the best - from this forgotten era.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44- The films, the stories - and the characters...
0:00:44 > 0:00:48- ..that, between them, - record our nation's history.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00- For centuries, the majority - of Welsh people...
0:01:00 > 0:01:02- ..were farmers and smallholders.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04- But during the last 200 years...
0:01:04 > 0:01:07- ..thanks to the natural - riches underground...
0:01:08 > 0:01:12- ..the country was transformed - by the mining industry.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17- Thousands flocked to work - in the mines and quarries.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- But oppression and unfairness - were part of the bargain.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26- During the 20th century, - this fired an industrial crisis...
0:01:26 > 0:01:31- ..that threatened the communities - built off the back of the rock.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35- Before the First World War...
0:01:35 > 0:01:38- ..the biggest industry - in North Wales was slate.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43- Across Snowdonia, thousands of men - laboured in the sun and rain...
0:01:43 > 0:01:46- ..cutting the blue stone - in the quarries.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50- But in Blaenau Ffestiniog, - the best slate was found...
0:01:50 > 0:01:54- ..beneath the ground - so it had to be mined.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- We'll follow some men - at their work.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06- As we go deeper, every 100 feet or - so, we see tunnels or levels...
0:02:06 > 0:02:08- ..leading into the mountain.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22- They climb carefully - onto the steep rock...
0:02:22 > 0:02:27- ..to the point where they'll set - the powder to blow up the rock.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- LOUD EXPLOSION
0:02:46 > 0:02:49- The work of the quarryman - was hard and dangerous.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52- The quarry was the only - major employer...
0:02:52 > 0:02:56- ..in a community such - as Blaenau Ffestiniog...
0:02:56 > 0:02:59- ..as by the former unionist - John Llewelyn recalled.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- The quarry owners were cruel men.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- They put the worker down - at all times.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10- They took advantage of a place - like Blaenau Ffestiniog.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14- When I left school, there was no - place to go except for the quarry.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16- The quarries were full.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20- They'd think nothing of sacking - a man if he opened his mouth...
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- ..because they could do - without him.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26- The workers' response?
0:03:27 > 0:03:28- In unity there is strength.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- After years of clashes - between the unions...
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- ..and the Penrhyn quarry master, - in 1900...
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- ..the Bethesda quarrymen's union - fought its most bitter battle.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44- In November of that year, - it was warned...
0:03:44 > 0:03:48- ..the quarry would close if - the men caused further problems.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- Before the end of the month, - the works closed for two weeks...
0:03:53 > 0:03:54- ..to teach them a lesson.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59- But the two weeks turned into - a long three-year strike.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- Bethesda was divided - by the Great Strike...
0:04:03 > 0:04:05- ..like a split in a piece of slate.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- Huge meetings were held in Bethesda - at the time.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- The atmosphere - must have been heated.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14- Yes. Very, very heated.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- What was responsible for that, - Mrs Parry?
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- Well, some went back to work - in the quarry.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27- That's what caused the biggest - predicament here.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31- Some did, and I don't want to - repeat what they were called.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35- This ripped the community - in Bethesda in half.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40- Yes. It created bad feeling - in the area at that time...
0:04:40 > 0:04:45- ..when they returned to the quarry - and left the others behind.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50- Lord Penrhyn went to the quarry...
0:04:50 > 0:04:56- ..after the first small group - crossed the picket line.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01- He gave every one of them - a sovereign.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- One of the men who had accepted - the pound...
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- ..as Lord Penrhyn - was leaving the quarry...
0:05:08 > 0:05:11- ..he said, "Hip, hip, hooray - for Lord Penrhyn".
0:05:11 > 0:05:16- And he was given a name that - stuck for the rest of his life -
0:05:16 > 0:05:17- Huw Hip Hip.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21- 'There is no traitor in this house'
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- The name given to a strike breaker - was "cynffonwr".
0:05:26 > 0:05:30- This is an englyn for a cynffonwr - in the quarry.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35- It is a diligent tongue
0:05:35 > 0:05:37- And a false smile
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- That is needed
0:05:40 > 0:05:43- To get a sum - for every bit of gossip
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- Before passing it to the official.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- This is an English one. The work - of RJ Roberts, Liverpool...
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- ..but now in Tan Rallt, - Ffestiniog.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54- A canny sort and keen is he
0:05:54 > 0:05:58- Worry too for a tale to carry.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- Bosses who find him busy
0:06:02 > 0:06:04- And poor use, this employee.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10- In the south, workers weren't - chipping slates...
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- ..but rather digging for coal.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- In 1898, the miners followed - the quarrymen's example...
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- ..and formed the South Wales - Miners' Federation.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23- The union's biggest battle came - in 1926...
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- ..when the owners insisted they - work longer hours for less pay.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- When the miners refused, - they were locked out of the pits.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37- We had to fight, we weren't - asking for anything extra...
0:06:37 > 0:06:40- ..for the wages we received...
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- ..and to keep the hours - as they were.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49- In that respect - I think our fight was fair.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- Britain's labour unions united - behind the miners...
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- ..calling for a country-wide - general strike...
0:06:58 > 0:07:00- ..to start on 3rd May 1926.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- I remember going out picketing - on the main road...
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- ..between Wrexham and Ruabon, - the A483...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11- ..to stop the lorries.
0:07:11 > 0:07:17- There were slogans and posters - behind the drivers saying...
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- .."Food Only", - but we'd check every lorry...
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- ..to make sure it was food. - Sometimes it was coal.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- They had to tip the coal away.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32- Unity between the unions - lasted for nine days.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- Then the TUC turned their backs - on the miners...
0:07:36 > 0:07:40- ..and reached an agreement - with the government.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44- The feeling was that the union - leaders had tricked the people.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49- It split the labour movement from - top to bottom, no doubt about it.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55- The miners remained on strike - on their own.
0:07:55 > 0:08:01- For months, their families had no - choice but to scrape a living.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06- As time went by...
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- ..I could see children's feet - poking out of their shoes.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12- Their clothes were ragged.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17- You could see where their mothers - had stitched the clothes.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20- The only food you could get - depended on how much...
0:08:20 > 0:08:23- ..the shopkeeper would allow you - to have on tick.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25- We set up a committee of three.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30- There could only be three - because nobody could know...
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- ..what was going on expect for - the three committee members.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- The owner of this coal mine...
0:08:39 > 0:08:43- ..owned the estate in this area.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- He had a huge amount of land.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- He had fields on which - he bred cattle.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52- On this land he grew potatoes...
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- ..turnips and kale.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- As a committee, - we decided we had to borrow...
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- ..some of the potatoes and kale.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- There was nothing for it - but to share scarce resources.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- They always thought about - the children...
0:09:10 > 0:09:15- ..and the pregnant women who were - expecting babies at the time.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19- At that time, - those women suffered a lot.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- They also cared for the elderly.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- They showed a lot of kindness.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- The men would work up on the tips.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- Sometimes they'd work - in the pouring rain...
0:09:31 > 0:09:35- ..from morning until night, - collecting coal and wood...
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- ..so the old people - could have some heat.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- As the weeks turned into months, - some went back to work.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- Only one went back to work. - His name was Stiffy, and his son.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- The police would take him - back and forth to work.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55- They were afraid - when they brought them down.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- They had a lorry, - they put them in this lorry.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- The men would be on the mountain - pelting the lorry...
0:10:03 > 0:10:06- ..but the next day they'd covered - the lorry in wire...
0:10:06 > 0:10:08- ..so it would get - stuck in the wire.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- It was like that for three weeks.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- About 100 went to jail.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- They had these truncheons - and they'd hit the children.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22- All those who had to go - to the surgery...
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- ..the doctor had orders...
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- .."Report everyone - that has got a head injury."
0:10:27 > 0:10:31- He reported those who needed - stitches and they'd go to jail.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35- Many did go to work at that time.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40- Of course, there was a lot - of bad feeling against them.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- The children also suffered.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- But after the strike ended...
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- ..those families left the valley.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- By the end of the year, - the strike had been broken.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- The miners were forced to accept - the working conditions...
0:10:59 > 0:11:01- ..offered from the start.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05- It was an extremely difficult time.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- The union had been destroyed.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- Thousands couldn't go back to work.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- There was no demand for coal - and the mines had closed down.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- In the mines and quarries, - Welsh workers had united...
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- ..to fight for a better life - for them and their families.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30- But in the coming years...
0:11:30 > 0:11:35- ..they'd experience bigger - trials and battles.
0:11:35 > 0:11:35- .
0:11:41 > 0:11:41- Subtitles
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:11:47 > 0:11:51- For centuries, the people of Wales - have earned their crust...
0:11:51 > 0:11:53- ..by mining the Earth's riches.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56- On the banks of - the River Mawddach...
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- ..mining has been a way of life - since Roman times.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- Meirionnydd.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- It's a land of riches for the poet - and the artist.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07- But there is another type - of treasure here.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- It hides deep in the darkness - of the rocks.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- It's a treasure many have been - hunting for years.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18- Thousands and thousands have been - spent in an attempt to find it.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- The hidden treasure here is gold.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23- At the end of the last century...
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- ..hundreds of workers toiled - in the area's mines.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- Now the last person left - in the Bontddu area...
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- ..with memories of the old times - is Jack Williams.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- Yes, there's a lot of gold - in this river.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44- It's washed down from these - mountains over the ages.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- Over the thousands...
0:12:47 > 0:12:49- ..of years that have existed.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54- It's still in the cracks - and the crevices.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- You'll find it down here.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- The gold to make wedding rings - for the Queen, her sister...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05- ..and Princess Anne - came from these seams.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- Oh, yes, there's plenty in this pan - to make a ring.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13- You don't need much...
0:13:14 > 0:13:15- ..to make one.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- But the gold in the rivers - are just a sign.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- A sign of where this treasure - came from.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27- You have to follow it underground.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29- One of the many mines - that were opened...
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- ..in the middle of the last century - was Clogau near Bontddu.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37- It's on Jack Williams' land.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- He, his father and his - grandfather worked there.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44- Jack's memories are used - by the poet WD Williams.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50- Crows sleeping in what was once - great, that's how I see it now.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55- You wouldn't have said that - at the start of the century.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57- At the start of the 20th century...
0:13:58 > 0:14:02- ..between 200 and 300 men - worked underground at Clogau...
0:14:02 > 0:14:06- ..earning pennies for bringing - the treasure to the surface.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- It was a bit of a temptation, - unfortunately.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- Gold at that time - was 4.00 an ounce.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17- You'd only need a thimble-full to - be able to buy four pairs of shoes.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19- You had to be a Christian - not to be tempted.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21- Yes, you did.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22- Yes, you did.- - When shoes cost a pound.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- No man could live here for more - than 30 years...
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- ..without the romance of gold - seeping into his soul.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38- The tradition then was to stay - in the local farmhouses...
0:14:39 > 0:14:42- ..in the areas of Bontddu - and Cwm Hirgwm here.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47- When they stayed in the houses, - after living there for a while...
0:14:47 > 0:14:49- ..they'd fall in love - with the maids.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- They'd get married and live here...
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- ..just as WJ Griffith - described the quarryman.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- "He loved the girl from the hills
0:14:58 > 0:15:03- "And he raised the giants - of the hills on his knee".
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- Not many of the old workers - live here...
0:15:06 > 0:15:11- ..but their children are still here - and keep the traditions alive.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19- # He sang in the choir - and won an award
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- # He knew he had to travel - the hard path
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- # He loved the girl from the hills
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- "And he raised the giants - of the hills on his knee".
0:15:32 > 0:15:34- Time after time - in Wales' history...
0:15:35 > 0:15:38- ..people flocked to the areas - where there was work.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42- In North Wales, the Dinorwig quarry - was at its height...
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- ..employing 3,000 workers.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49- But after the Second World War, - the industry collapsed...
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- ..thanks to cheap slate - from the Continent...
0:15:52 > 0:15:55- ..and the popularity - of new tiled roofs.
0:15:57 > 0:16:03- In 1969, a BBC film crew recorded - the end of Wales' largest quarry.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- In a mountain in Snowdonia - there was a quarry.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11- In the depths of Elidir Fawr - was Dinorwig.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- They said it was the - world's biggest quarry.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- It was so big, a person - could go for a walk...
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- ..from Egypt, through Abyssinia - to California...
0:16:31 > 0:16:34- ..calling on Matilda - as they went by...
0:16:34 > 0:16:36- ..and all that without - leaving the quarry.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- A huge quarry with grand names - to its galleries.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- Apart from the Matilda gallery - and the countries...
0:16:43 > 0:16:48- ..50 galleries, levels and sinks - were worked on at the same time.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52- They stretched from the banks of - Llyn Peris to the summit of Elidir.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59- But that's a bygone age - when men were boys.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04- Today, no track is open - for Wil Bach and his sons.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- Not even the one that went straight - into the belly of the quarry.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13- It's been ta-ta to everything - in Dinorwig for about a month.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- Nobody on the mountain was older - than William Williams.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20- Over the years, he was the gaffer.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24- He led his sons through a tunnel - at the bottom of the quarry...
0:17:24 > 0:17:26- ..to the hole.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- I wouldn't go to the quarry now.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- I'd look for - a better suited job now.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40- The only reason I came here was - there was nowhere else to go.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42- There was only the quarry.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46- About 35 of us came to the quarry - together as young boys.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48- # Our boys
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- # Our boys
0:17:50 > 0:17:54- # The square isn't big enough - for our boys
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- # The English have failed
0:17:57 > 0:18:01- # To break the hearts of Welsh boys
0:18:01 > 0:18:06- # The square isn't big enough - for our boys. #
0:18:07 > 0:18:11- Between the start of the Second - World War and the 1970s...
0:18:11 > 0:18:15- ..the number of Welsh quarrymen - had fallen from 7,000 to 1,000.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- # The English have failed
0:18:18 > 0:18:22- # To break the hearts - of Welsh boys... #
0:18:22 > 0:18:26- The history of how many ordinary - and poor Welsh people...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- ..lies under this heap?
0:18:29 > 0:18:32- These are the slabs - that were rejected.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36- Hands and eyes have examined - every slab in its time...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- ..before rejecting it.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- There is no longer a battle - with the mountain here...
0:18:42 > 0:18:44- ..but rather a game - of hide and seek.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48- The men didn't return here - in their dozens...
0:18:48 > 0:18:53- ..at the sounding of the horn, but - one by one at the break of dawn.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- They haven't come here to rip - from the rock...
0:18:56 > 0:19:00- ..but to scratch the dry bones...
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- ..from what once was.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05- How many used to work here, - Dafydd Roberts?
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- There were 400 back in 1933.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09- How many are here now?
0:19:09 > 0:19:10- How many are here now?- - Four.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14- One family like hens scratching on - the surface. What do you do here?
0:19:15 > 0:19:18- Just looking for something - that was left behind.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20- Just like this.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26- We can use this. Whatever we need, - we get it from this heap.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28- Like these damp course slates.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34- They go into the foundations - to stop the damp from rising.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Here's one of the boys working.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40- Aren't you frightened here - sometimes?
0:19:40 > 0:19:43- Are there any ghosts - of old quarrymen here?
0:19:44 > 0:19:47- There aren't, but there are some - as well, if you see.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- You get a feeling and then you - find something in the rubble...
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- ..that's been thrown away - or left behind.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- Then you start to think who was he - and what kind of person was he?
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- But nothing's been left underneath - these slates?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05- You'd be surprised. A horseshoe - or some leather from a shoe.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- I'll tell you what else is there, - lots of clay pipes.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11- A few slates with writing on it...
0:20:11 > 0:20:14- ..or a name on another.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18- I found a piece of slate before - with my grandfather's name on it.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21- The date was October 1850.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- He was killed here - some 20 years later.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- This morning, this lorry was - supposed to be here first thing.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- It didn't arrive until midday.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- Do you know where it had been?
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- Carrying slate - from Liverpool docks...
0:20:42 > 0:20:44- ..to the Nantlle Valley.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- Slate from where?
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- Slate from Italy.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- Good night.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- Cheap imports had also reduced - the demand for Welsh coal.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- It was the death knell - for an industry...
0:20:59 > 0:21:02- ..that had been an integral part - of life in South Wales.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06- The pits were built. - People came to work in them.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Houses were built within striking - distance to the mines.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- Communities flourished between - the men who worked together...
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- ..and their wives who were at home - trying to make ends meet.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- Then, the demand for coal stopped.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- Gas and oil replaced it.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29- There were protests, threats, - demonstrations and promises...
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- ..but one after the other - the mines closed.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36- Behind me is the Rhondda Valley.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- At the turn of the century, - just in this valley...
0:21:40 > 0:21:44- ..69% of the men - worked underground.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48- 40,000 earned their daily crust - by mining the coal...
0:21:48 > 0:21:50- ..in 40 mines.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- This was just one valley.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- Apart from this one, - you had the Swansea Valley...
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- ..the Ogmore Vale, Cwmamman - and the Vale of Neath.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- In North Wales, - you had Rhos in Wrexham...
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- ..and Point of Ayr in Flintshire - as well as many other pits.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- The way these people earned their - wages was a national romance.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14- But the last chapter of that - romance was announced today.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- At the end of 1966...
0:22:20 > 0:22:23- ..the Clydach Vale colliery - in the Rhondda Vale closed.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- It was a union stronghold.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32- Two years earlier a huge explosion - had killed 31 miners here.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36- It is very serious.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- Look around you.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44- All these houses and the families - that live in them.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- What's here for them?
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- Clydach Vale without a colliery.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- Clydach Vale without - thousands of workers...
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- ..walking these roads - day and night.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01- What about the future?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- Where can you have another - industry?
0:23:07 > 0:23:12- No other industry came to replace - the mines and the quarries.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- But what's still alive - in the land...
0:23:15 > 0:23:19- ..is the community and - cooperative spirit...
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- ..that was shaped in the depths - of the ground...
0:23:22 > 0:23:24- ..and in the shadow of the rock.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50- S4C subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:23:50 > 0:23:51- .