First days of picketing in the Nottinghamshire coalfield

12th – 14th March 1984

NUM Save-it campaign
Yorkshire NUM flying pickets at Bilsthorpe Colliery, 13th March 1984.  Photo Credit – Chad newspaper collection
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NUM Save-it campaign
Minutes of Nottingham Area NUM Area Executive Committee, 12th March 1984. Source – Nottingham Area NUM Minute Book 1984, p83-84.
NUM Protest Stickers

NUM Protest Stickers

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Picket line at Blidworth Colliery, NCB North Nottinghamshire Area, w/c 12th March 1984. Photo Credit – Chad Newspaper collection.
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NUM Save-it campaign

Nottingham Area NUM press release, 13th March 1984, condemning the type of picketing taking place in the Nottinghamshire coalfield. Source – David Amos collection.

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Nottingham Evening Post headlines, 14th March 1984. Source – David Amos collection.
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Flying pickets and police at the entrance to Ollerton Colliery, 13th March 1984. Photo Credit – Chad newspaper collection
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Working miners break through the picket line at Ollerton Colliery, 13th March 1984. Photo Credit – County under Siege (1985).
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Still from MACE video clip of Yorkshire flying pickets at Ollerton Colliery from a Central News East report, 14th March 1984.

Archive news footage of the first days of picketing at Ollerton Colliery is on the Media for Central England (MACE) website at https://www.macearchive.org/films/central-news-east-14031984-miners-picket-lines

 

 

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Chad News headlines (Kirkby Edition), 15th March 1984. Source – David Amos collection
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Working miners pass the police line at Thoresby Colliery, 13th /14th March 1984. Photo Credit – Chad newspaper collection
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Headlines Notts Free Press, 16th March 1984. Source – David Amos collection

Video clip of Picket Season, a poem written in March 1984 by Colin Varnam, a Deputy at Annesley Colliery. (1 min, 52 secs)

The flying pickets, some equipped with CB radios, descended on all of Ashfield’s pits on Tuesday evening, despite a plea from the Nottinghamshire NUM to keep away. They warned that the pickets would only bring a ‘no vote’ in Friday’s strike ballot.  Souce – Chad (Kirkby Edition), 15th March 1984.

“They have got no backbone. If miners jobs are threatened they should be out here like the rest of us. There should not need to be a vote”.  Quote from Cortonwood flying picket in the Chad (Kirkby News), 15th March 1984.

1983

Build up

1984

Strike

1985

Fallout