Pennod 1 Adam Price a Streic y Glowyr

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-I would have done it again

-and Dadi would have done it again.

-I always regret

-the casualties in any war.

-It doesn't change my view

-about the war.

-You have to consider

-the number of miners on strike.

-Some of them had lost their homes

-and families as well.

-There was a battle

-between two sets of values.

-Two sets of principles.

-If you'd have come out,

-the strike would have been won.

-Oh, Adam, you're naive.

-Oh, Adam, you're naive.

-

-Working-class people are not dull.

-If you hadn't seen it for yourself,

-you wouldn't believe it.

-Ready?

-Generations ago...

-..there was an army

-that rejected the status quo...

-..that turned

-their world upside down.

-My name is Adam Price.

-I've gone from Westminster

-to Harvard...

-..and challenged

-the British Establishment.

-A campaign group

-led by Adam Price MP...

-..to impeach Tony Blair for his

-reasons to enter the Iraq War...

-..has been criticized.

-It's the monumental catastrophe

-of the Iraq War.

-The worse foreign policy disaster

-since Suez.

-Without my experiences

-of the 1984-85 Miners' Strike...

-..I wouldn't possess this confidence

-or be the person I am today.

-It's fair to say,

-I'd be a very different Adam Price.

-We start with a story that grabbed

-the biggest headline of the year.

-The Miners' Strike spurred violence

-and split communities and families.

-Will it result in a strike?

-I've always favoured a strike,

-but not this time.

-I'm a militant, but not this time.

-This is my father, Rufus Price...

-..speaking on the news

-on the first day of the strike.

-I can see that he's uncertain.

-He wants to support the strike...

-..but worries about its effects

-on the other miners.

-This is me, at the family home

-in Tycroes during the strike.

-We were 100% behind the strike.

-Possibly, I was more supportive

-than anyone else.

-I recall my father going on strike

-as if it were yesterday.

-I was 15 when the strike started

-and 16 when it ended.

-It's a crucial time

-in any person's life.

-I went from being a child...

-..to becoming a young adult

-trying to find my own identity.

-Undoubtedly,

-the Great Strike of 1984-85...

-..represented

-one of the most pivotal chapters...

-..in the modern history of Wales.

-If you turn away from the miners,

-in this, our hour of need...

-..I warn you,

-when they come for you...

-..there'll be nobody left

-to fight for you.

-CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

-People tried to take ownership

-of the strike...

-..because of its symbolic powers.

-We'll fight

-and we'll die in the attempt.

-CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

-I tend to view the strike

-from one perspective...

-..and choose to ignore

-some of the facts...

-..that sit uncomfortably with me.

-The local economy was quite stable.

-The colliery laid the foundation

-for a high employment rate.

-The strike hit like an earthquake.

-The miners' leaders gathered...

-..to discuss

-the Coal Board's threat...

-..to close five pits

-in England and Scotland.

-I started worrying

-about the consequences for me...

-..my family and community.

-The workforce at Cortonwood

-in Yorkshire had walked out.

-The conference ordered the

-South Wales miners to follow suit.

-I've got to cast my mind back...

-..and reacquaint myself

-with the young 15-year-old Adam.

-I'll talk to some of my heroes

-from this era...

-..but also to some of the people

-I loathed.

-Who knows what the outcome will be?

-My opinion about the strike

-might be completely transformed.

-As the son of a coal miner

-on the picket line...

-..and a proactive mother

-in the support groups...

-..it was an inspirational time

-for me, and remains so today.

-It was a unique period

-which saw communities join forces...

-..to protect our way of life from

-the might of the Tory government.

-To discover more about the strike...

-..and its significance

-30 years later...

-..I've returned home

-to Mam and Dad in Tycroes.

-I want to see if I still view

-this historic strike...

-..in the same light.

-We're turning into Teglan Park

-and driving towards the house.

-It's the bungalow on the corner.

-Hello?

-Hello?

-

-How are you?

-It's great to see you.

-It's great to see you.

-

-And you.

-Sit down.

-Sit here, Adam.

-Sit here, Adam.

-

-OK. Right.

-For me, when I think about it...

-..the Miners' Strike

-was certainly the nucleus...

-..in forming my political stance.

-Sometimes, you need a cornerstone...

-..that reminds you

-of your identity...

-..and where your values

-and morals lie.

-Memories of the strike

-always come to mind.

-Do you recall the first day

-you walked out?

-I came home and told your mother.

-It wasn't nice at all.

-Was Betws among the first to strike?

-Was Betws among the first to strike?

-

-Yes, they walked out.

-So, Betws was quite militant.

-So, Betws was quite militant.

-

-Yes, it was.

-When your father told me

-they were going to strike...

-..and it was getting so bad

-that they were shutting pits...

-..he said they'd have to fight.

-In the beginning, I wasn't willing.

-Who wouldn't be

-when you've got a family?

-You're thinking,

-"How is this going to affect us?"

-Your father kept saying

-that we had to fight for the jobs.

-If we don't, we'd get oppressed,

-they'll push us down...

-..and it won't be there

-for future generations.

-Men will stand fast

-with their women behind them.

-That is what we did.

-That's all the vegetables

-I can afford to buy.

-What about tinned meat or salmon?

-What about tinned meat or salmon?

-

-Oh, no.

-You were part

-of the women's support group.

-You were on the phone to Amsterdam

-waiting for a shipment from Russia.

-Yes, France.

-You were also standing

-on the picket line...

-..and had to deal with the might

-of the state against you...

-..but you used your skills

-and tried to work out a strategy.

-For me, there was quite

-a positive side to the strike.

-I remember visiting the picket line

-at Betws Colliery.

-Adrian, my brother, was with me.

-Adrian, my brother, was with me.

-

-Yes, yes.

-More picketers gathered

-outside the pit today.

-Most were from the Cynheidre,

-Betws and Abernant lodges.

-But 300 policemen enabled miners

-who wanted to work...

-..to cross the picket lines.

-I remember wearing my uniform

-and getting ready for school.

-I had my bag in tow.

-I was eager to join the fight...

-..but Adrian

-was holding me back again!

-I was quite surprised.

-I'd watched it on the television...

-..but I hadn't witnessed it

-up close.

-Blood was smeared

-over the miners' faces.

-It turned nasty that day.

-I saw two policemen

-walk over to you.

-They were going to grab your arm

-and take you away.

-I came over and said,

-"Hey, that's my son."

-They just stared blankly at me.

-You said, "Hey, Dad!"

-"Let them take me to jail."

-That's what happened.

-I wanted to be a martyr

-for the cause.

-I didn't expect it to happen.

-You're my son

-and nobody was going to touch you.

-He knew it was right.

-It was right

-because they were oppressing us.

-They were pushing us down

-and taking livelihoods away.

-It wasn't a very nice time

-but I feel the same as you.

-We were in it

-and it was a courageous thing to do.

-Would you do it all again?

-If you were given the choice,

-would you strike again?

-Yes, I would have done it again

-and Dadi would have done it again.

-I recall the family discussing...

-..the possibility of Dadi

-having to return to work...

-..and I opposed it.

-When I think about it,

-I feel quite overwhelmed.

-Personally, I thought the strike...

-..represented the best

-in humanity and society.

-You said that the South Wales miners

-didn't have to come out.

-They weren't striking on behalf

-of themselves or their wages.

-It was a matter of principle.

-They fought for others...

-..and their right for employment

-within our communities.

-It almost reduces me to tears...

-..as it brought out the best

-of our culture and humanity.

-It's central to my identity.

-It's difficult for me

-to be objective about it all...

-..because the strike

-defines who I am.

-It's as important to me now

-as it was back then.

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-I'm Adam Price.

-I'm stepping back in time...

-..to discover more

-about the 1984-85 Miners' Strike.

-I'm the son of a coal miner

-who was on strike.

-Our enemies were Ian MacGregor,

-the National Coal Board head...

-..and Thatcher's Tory government.

-Where there is discord,

-may we bring harmony.

-Where there is error,

-may we bring truth.

-I'd watch them on television

-every night.

-I grew up in the Thirties

-with an unemployed father.

-He didn't riot. He got on his bike

-and looked for work.

-He kept looking until he found it.

-It angers me to think of how their

-decisions about the coal industry...

-..affected my family

-and millions of other coal miners.

-Since Margaret Thatcher

-was elected in 1979...

-..everyone knew that she'd try

-to close numerous pits in Britain...

-..especially in Wales.

-I agree absolutely.

-When Arthur Scargill

-became president of the NUM...

-..strikes ensued at Welsh pits...

-..and the miners successfully saved

-several coal mines.

-Despite these victories

-in the early 1980s...

-..the Tories were determined

-to close the coal mines...

-..with many South Wales pits

-in jeopardy.

-Thank you. Bye.

-During the Miners' Strike,

-I learnt how to hate.

-The people I hated were the Tories.

-Thatcher, Tebbit and Lawson.

-They called us the enemy within.

-It is the work of extremists.

-The enemy within.

-But they were the enemy to me.

-I couldn't understand

-how they could sleep at night.

-How could they

-destroy communities...

-..and not give a damn about

-what happened to us as families?

-I've come to London

-to meet some of these people...

-..to try and understand

-these so-called principles...

-..that formed their actions

-during the 1984-85 strike.

-Good morning, Nigel.

-I'm Adam Price.

-Very pleased to meet you.

-I'm grateful to you

-for giving this undertaking...

-..that you will let me see

-the cut version beforehand.

-Will you ask a question in Welsh?

-Well, yes.

-I had not that long left

-the Department of Employment.

-During the strike, I was at the

-Department of Trade and Industry.

-There was a real problem

-with the coal industry.

-It was losing something like

-1.5 million a day.

-That couldn't be tolerated.

-It made complete economic nonsense.

-The only way

-of staunching this huge loss...

-..which had to be met

-by the taxpayer...

-..was to close uneconomic pits.

-The last thing Margaret Thatcher

-wanted was a strike.

-She appointed me

-as Energy Secretary in 1981...

-..and said, "Nigel,

-we mustn't have a coal strike."

-She had been part

-of the Heath government...

-..that was brought down

-by the coal strike and Scargill.

-These are the drivers

-we're talking about.

-This has been taking place

-when the cameras aren't here.

-Get a photograph of this.

-Once it had happened...

-..she went into

-a sort of war mood.

-It wasn't only Scargill who thought

-he could bring down the government.

-A large part of the press

-and Members of Parliament...

-..were concerned about this.

-It was the risk we ran when dealing

-with the Argentine junta...

-..with the fascist dictatorship

-when they invaded the Falklands.

-Resisting bullies

-runs the risk of getting hurt.

-We had to run that risk.

-There was a discussion

-about preparing for the next time.

-Indeed.

-Unlike the dispute

-in Heath's time...

-..we wanted to be ready and that

-the power stations were stocked.

-We could not as a nation

-afford to see a third government...

-..after Heath and Callaghan,

-toppled by industrial action.

-That would have been madness.

-Come the Miners' Strike,

-you become the Chancellor.

-You had to fund this dispute.

-When I came in, there had been

-no preparations at all.

-If there were a strike...

-..the problem would be

-to keep the lights on.

-They had to have

-the stocks of coal...

-..within the power stations.

-Scargill lost his strike

-because, to my amazement...

-..he called it in the spring...

-..so the peak winter demand

-was already over.

-There was no way, it seemed to me,

-that Scargill would win.

-Do you feel any pangs of regret...

-..looking at the communities

-in Yorkshire and South Wales...

-..whether it could

-have been done differently?

-I always regret

-the casualties in any war.

-It doesn't change my view

-about the war...

-..whether it was in the Falklands

-or South Wales and Yorkshire.

-No. I remain the same as ever.

-Changes had to happen.

-KLAXON

-You cannot live in the past.

-We might as well

-have continued subsidizing...

-..the production

-of horse-drawn carriages.

-Economies move on. Change happens.

-Is the Miners' Strike

-up there with the Falklands War...

-..as one of the central moments...

-..without which Thatcherism

-might not have happened?

-Let me put it this way.

-We could have survived

-as a government...

-..by surrendering

-the people of the Falklands...

-..to fascist generals

-in South America.

-We could have done that.

-We couldn't have survived

-as an administration...

-..surrendering British industry

-to Mr Scargill.

-He was a man of infinite vanity...

-..who thought he could

-bring the government down.

-We had to establish that democracy

-and the rule of law prevailed.

-I don't have regrets

-about what we did.

-I have regrets

-that there were casualties.

-People whose lives were ruined

-one way or another.

-Was Britain a better country

-because the strike was lost?

-I never saw it

-as a victory over the miners...

-..nor did the government.

-It was a victory over Arthur

-Scargill and what he stood for...

-..which was basically an attempt to

-bring down the elected government.

-I was a young Scargillite.

-I'm surprised I was able to have

-a sane chat with these politicians.

-However, it does raise questions...

-..that would leave the young Adam

-annoyed and poised for a dispute.

-The decisions that the Tories took

-destroyed entire communities.

-They felt they were in the right...

-..and, to some extent,

-have no regrets.

-It would have been impossible for me

-to sit down with Baroness Thatcher.

-For me, she encapsulates

-this era of significant decisions.

-It would be impossible for me

-to sit and converse with her.

-We've shown that working people

-are not prepared to lie down...

-..under this Thatcher government

-and accept the destruction of jobs.

-There was a battle

-between two sets of values.

-Two sets of principles.

-Unfortunately for me,

-and I still feel this way...

-..it was their principles

-that triumphed.

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-I'm Adam Price.

-I'm on a journey to discover more

-about the 1984-85 Miners' Strike.

-The strike began following the

-Tories and Coal Board's decision...

-..to lay off more than

-20,000 coal miners in Britain...

-..starting with the closure

-of a colliery in Yorkshire.

-Arthur Scargill's response

-was to call for a general strike.

-Rumours were rife

-of more job cuts...

-..and there was a hit list

-of coal mines under threat...

-..that included many from Wales.

-However,

-there wasn't a national ballot.

-Every pit

-had an individual ballot...

-..with the majority in Wales

-voting against strike action.

-Betws Colliery,

-where my father worked...

-..was among the minority

-in favour of strike action.

-Despite picketing,

-nearby collieries decided to work.

-Do the boys at Betws look upon

-the strike in the same light today?

-I haven't spoken to them about it

-since it happened.

-I'm meeting a group of them

-at the welfare hall in Ammanford.

-How are you?

-How are you?

-

-Yeah, alright.

-The picket line

-has turned this strike around.

-Yesterday, the Union

-thought they were doomed...

-..with 18 out of 28 lodges

-refusing to strike.

-But this morning, pickets stopped

-work at two out of three mines.

-We wanted a national ballot

-and it's not working.

-We won't pass the pickets

-at Nantgarw.

-It's 30 years since the strike and

-we can look back and reflect on it.

-Do you recall the first day

-of the strike?

-I remember it.

-We were aware of what was happening

-at the pit in Yorkshire...

-..and that something was looming.

-How did Betws Colliery vote?

-Every pit had to vote.

-What was the result at Betws?

-What was the result at Betws?

-

-To walk out.

-Did you vote with a show of hands?

-Did you vote with a show of hands?

-

-Yes.

-Everyone put their hands up

-but one or two opposed it.

-After the ballot had taken place...

-..the miners at Betws

-decided to come out...

-..and everyone came out.

-I remember the time

-when we had to vote.

-There were pickets outside

-the gates on Monday morning.

-We had only voted on the Sunday.

-Adam mentioned

-that his father was a miner.

-I'll always remember

-being on the picket line...

-..with hundreds of bobbies present.

-One of the bobbies

-was being horrible.

-He was holding a truncheon.

-He started to beat the boys

-over the head.

-We thought, "We'll get him now."

-"Rufus, come here!"

-Rufus came with us

-to entice this bobby.

-He ran at us with his truncheon.

-The boys let Rufus through

-to wallop and floor him!

-It was only a little jab

-and nobody spotted it.

-The old boxer still had it in him!

-Some pits voted against the strike

-in South Wales.

-How did you feel about them?

-We had been told many times

-that Betws was a safe pit.

-We knew that the other pits

-were on the hit list.

-I couldn't understand

-why they didn't vote to walk out.

-You staged a walkout

-to save the other pits...

-..but they didn't bother

-saving themselves.

-The majority

-strongly oppose the strike...

-..but almost nobody

-crossed the picket line.

-Everyone drove away peacefully.

-What was the reception like...

-..when you picketed at other pits?

-Everyone else was walking out and

-other pits across Wales followed.

-Union officials were confident...

-..that the coalfield

-would cease working within 24 hours.

-Be honest, what were you thinking?

-A fortnight, three weeks,

-a month or six weeks?

-How long did you think

-the strike would last?

-Myself,

-I didn't think much about it.

-We would remain on strike

-until we either win or lose.

-That's how I felt.

-You were taking each day as it came.

-You had to.

-Not many people

-expected it to last for a year.

-We were all suffering.

-Everyone felt the same way,

-as if they were working.

-The spirit was alive.

-We all knew what was happening

-but our spirit kept us going.

-You have to consider

-the number of miners on strike.

-Some of them had lost their homes...

-..and even their families...

-..because of what happened.

-Did you still think

-that you could win?

-I have to say it...

-..it was a trade union

-that lost us the strike.

-NACODS.

-They had a ballot to walk out.

-If they hadn't been working...

-..every single pit

-would have been out.

-Why didn't they walk out?

-We knew that most of the boys

-from around here...

-..were more than ready to strike.

-I don't know what happened

-at that time.

-I'm still waiting for an answer.

-By late March...

-..the South Wales collieries

-firmly supported the strike...

-..but it was a different story

-for the rest of Britain.

-Some pits in Yorkshire and most

-in Nottingham and the Midlands...

-..voted against the strike...

-..and returned to work

-to continue producing coal.

-The National Union of Miners

-had one last chance...

-..to entice all UK coalfields

-out on strike.

-They turned to the union

-for colliery officials - NACODS.

-I was intrigued to find out

-why they didn't support the strike.

-I'm meeting a NACODS union member...

-..to try and interpret their reasons

-against walking out with the miners.

-A strike by NACODS would be

-a massive blow to the Coal Board.

-Every pit in Britain would have to

-close, including the working pits.

-Bleddyn, NACODS.

-I never fully worked out

-what the acronym stood for.

-The National Association of Colliery

-Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers.

-The deputies would deputize

-for the colliery manager.

-Our word was law underground.

-We were like a site foreman.

-The area voted, by and large,

-against a strike...

-..but were you surprised

-that the men still came out?

-I wasn't surprised. I was dismayed.

-I was a colliery official

-and wasn't in the NUM any more.

-The day the strike started...

-..I was in the yard

-at Merthyr Vale Colliery.

-The night before, the men

-voted overwhelmingly to work...

-..as did most of them

-in South Wales.

-Their local leaders

-stabbed them in the back.

-They telephoned HQ

-and their NUM bosses.

-The next day, they arranged pickets

-to picket out their own men.

-The men had more sense

-than their leaders.

-They knew it was a bad idea.

-There might not be any work

-at Nantgarw tomorrow.

-A second vote was carried

-after the first one failed.

-It urged miners

-not to cross any picket line.

-There was a great deal

-of intimidation.

-I saw men being threatened

-if they didn't strike...

-..and that was where

-it all went to hell in a handbasket.

-Was it intimidation

-as I can accept there were...

-There was intimidation.

-I accept

-there were incidences of it.

-Does it explain why 23,000 men

-were on strike for a year?

-Wasn't it a sense of solidarity?

-Wasn't it a sense of solidarity?

-

-It did become that.

-Did you understand it?

-Did you understand it?

-

-Absolutely, I understood it.

-There was a sense of helplessness

-and having to strike.

-As a trade union principle...

-..you don't cross a picket,

-but two-thirds voted to work.

-You can't have a vote

-then try to intimidate you out.

-If you had come out,

-the strike would have been won.

-In what way...

-In what way...

-

-Right.

-Step back a bit

-because you're wrong.

-If you had come out,

-the strike would have been won.

-Oh, Adam, you're naive.

-I was 15 or 16

-but I don't think I was that naive.

-The NUM couldn't get their members

-out on strike.

-If you think our members were

-going to strike, then you're mad.

-There was a lot of bitterness.

-It happened because of divisions

-caused by the NUM taking itself...

-..and the rest of the industry,

-like lemmings over a cliff.

-It was stupid, arrogant...

-..and is best summed up

-as being suicidal vanity.

-I don't accept that miners,

-their families and communities...

-..weren't fully conscious of

-the struggle they were engaged in.

-They weren't fooled by the leaders

-as they were doing it consciously.

-They weren't fooled.

-I said they were betrayed.

-They were betrayed by other unions,

-not just by NACODS.

-Betrayed by NACODS and other unions?

-Come on.

-You are now spouting the line...

-..that Scargill and the extreme left

-have for years.

-You have to stand

-behind your principles.

-You have to plant your flag in the

-ground and say what you stand for.

-And lead people to destruction

-for your own vanity?

-You have a duty

-not to lead them to ruin.

-The NUM led them to ruin...

-..against their wishes

-and common sense.

-They knew they weren't going to win.

-You can plant your flag...

-..but not in the backs

-of working people.

-We were facing ruin.

-The razor blade

-was put in our hands.

-We refused to cut our own throats...

-..and I'm proud we stood up.

-The NUM gave you the razor.

-It was suicide.

-Working-class people are not dull.

-If you're going to lead people,

-you have a responsibility.

-They decided to work

-and their leaders ignored them...

-..and conspired, unconstitutionally

-and undemocratically...

-..to take their members

-down the path of ruin.

-It's a reading of history

-that I don't recognize, Bleddyn.

-The day that strike started,

-I regretted it.

-I thought

-it was going to be a disaster.

-It was like watching

-a train crash in slow motion.

-You can see it happening

-but you can't stop it.

-It is painful to watch.

-The notion

-of my father's fellow miners...

-..who were tough men...

-..deciding to strike out of fear

-doesn't wash with me.

-Some of his comments were insulting.

-An insult to the sacrifice...

-..made by miners and their families

-during the strike.

-.

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-YELLING

-YELLING

-With South Wales

-firmly behind the strike...

-..the NUM decided to picket

-coalfields and coking plants...

-..in other areas of Britain

-that were still working.

-The experiences of miners

-in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire...

-..were a complete contrast

-to the relative peace in Wales.

-He's kicking me!

-One village

-on the outskirts of Sheffield...

-..witnessed violence

-that was more like a civil war...

-..than an industrial strike.

-It was in these fields...

-..that one of the strike's

-most dramatic events was played out.

-Orgreave Coking Plant

-fed the steel industry.

-The miners stopped picketing

-on the coalfields...

-..and flocked to this area

-from all directions.

-My father was among the hundreds of

-Southwalians who came to Orgreave.

-He was a member of the A team,

-or the flying pickets.

-He travelled by bus overnight

-with the boys from the welfare hall.

-However, they didn't expect

-the ferocious response...

-..that came from the police

-and the state on that day.

-The miners wanted to stop the coal

-from entering the coking plant...

-..just like the other picket lines.

-Arthur Scargill placed

-a huge symbolic importance...

-..on this special picket line.

-This powerful industrial weapon

-was at risk.

-If they could stop the lorries,

-there was a possibility of winning.

-If the police

-could block the miners...

-..the picket line

-would have been a pointless tactic.

-Everything was put on the line

-up in Sheffield.

-Are you in?

-Are you in?

-

-Yes.

-I came here with Harry Selwood,

-who picketed with my father...

-..to try to discover

-what really happened...

-..at one of the strike's

-most harrowing events.

-It was a fine, beautiful day.

-It was one of the best summers

-we had in a while.

-It sounds like an idyllic setting.

-It sounds like an idyllic setting.

-

-Yes, it was.

-The coking plant stood on my left.

-Just past the coking plant

-was a large wheat field.

-You could see it in the distance.

-The coking plant

-was in that direction.

-The village was located

-where the wind turbines stand.

-That's where the buses parked.

-Everything has changed.

-It's difficult to picture it.

-In this direction...

-..there was a meadow full of wheat.

-The boys sat down in the field

-and ate sandwiches.

-Some of them removed their tops

-and sunbathed.

-The police horses

-were lined along that edge.

-It sounds like something

-out of a film.

-It's like a medieval battle

-with a cavalry on the hilltop...

-..standing among the wheat.

-It felt like

-they were going to charge.

-I've never witnessed

-anything like it.

-My father was with you.

-My father was with you.

-

-Yes, I was with your father.

-He didn't move from my side.

-When did you realize

-that something was awry?

-The police inspectors

-were using loudhailers.

-They were shouting orders

-at the policemen.

-More support, Mr Simpson!

-More support!

-The police were standing

-on the front line.

-They were holding

-large perspex shields.

-They were shouting

-and also holding batons.

-Have you seen the film Zulu?

-They were tapping their shields

-like the Zulus.

-You could hear them,

-trying to scare us.

-Now and again,

-they'd move to one side.

-A dozen would run out equipped

-with large shields and batons...

-..ready to strike anyone

-who stood in their path.

-They didn't come to arrest you

-but to assault you.

-The front line opened up again

-and the horses galloped out.

-They used this tactic

-and the miners would flee.

-If you were in their way,

-the horses would trample over you.

-They didn't care at all.

-We were like lambs to the slaughter.

-There was no way in this world

-that the miners could win.

-They couldn't win this battle.

-We weren't expecting a fight.

-I'd never seen anything like it.

-I recall my father

-returning home that night.

-He was covered in cuts and bruises

-from head to toe.

-That didn't bother your father.

-We were strong lads

-and we were fearless.

-We were used to working

-in dangerous surroundings.

-He admitted that he was shocked

-to see the police horses.

-It all came down to luck

-as to whether you were arrested...

-..or even assaulted.

-I'm telling you.

-If you hadn't seen it for yourself,

-you wouldn't believe it.

-The police had planned it.

-They wanted to make a show of it.

-They wanted to break the miners.

-The snatch squad had taken you.

-They were the men

-holding the shields.

-I was grabbed, kicked and beaten

-before being thrown into the van.

-Did they hit you?

-Did they hit you?

-

-Yes, they did whatever they wanted.

-Once you stepped over the lines,

-they attacked and lashed out.

-They wanted to hurt you.

-Luckily,

-it didn't happen to your father.

-YELLING

-Get on your feet!

-Did a court case proceed?

-Yes, it was held

-at Rotherham Crown Court...

-..but it was thrown out.

-I just wanted to go back to work

-and return to normality.

-I had a young family

-and everyone was suffering.

-Was it all worth it?

-Looking back, was it worth it?

-Looking back, was it worth it?

-

-No, it wasn't worth it.

-I lost a year's worth of wages

-which could never be replaced.

-No holidays, nothing.

-It's happened

-and that's the end of it.

-As I roam around

-these open fields...

-..it sends shivers down my spine...

-..knowing there's nothing here

-to mark this battle.

-It's a forgotten battle,

-to a certain degree.

-Hopes and dreams

-were laid to rest on this land.

-It was the high point of almost

-a century of trade unionism...

-..and in a sense,

-of the British working class.

-In terms of the miners...

-..it signalled an end

-to all their aspirations.

-They are buried in this land

-outside Orgreave.

-I was keeping a big secret.

-This isn't picketing.

-This is murder.

-Dad!

-There are two sides to every story.

-You were behind the strike.

-You were behind the strike.

-

-One hundred per cent.

-S4C Subtitles by Tinopolis

-.