Photos found in attic serve as a reminder of village’s support for 1984 coal strike
A SERIES of never-before-seen photographs capturing a day in the life of a group of women and children from a former Derbyshire mining village are to go on display 40 years after they were taken.
The black and white negatives were found in an attic at the end of last year and feature a coachload of villagers from Pilsley on their way to London for a national women’s rally in support of striking miners in August 1984.
Now the images are to go on show in the village in the hope that some of those babies and children can be tracked down and re-united with their past.
The pictures were taken by former villager Lynda Skinner who was surprised at how well the film survived considering how long it had been stored in her loft.
“Not many people had cameras back then, especially women, so it offers a unique perspective to the usual images people come to associate with the strike,” said Lynda, who has handprinted each one.
“Although it was a sombre occasion most of those on the coach had never been to London before so it was also a joyful almost carnivallike adventure, something I hope I’ve managed to capture.”
News reports at the time estimated at least 20,000 mainly women and children from all over the country took part in the Women Against Pit Closure march, with Pilsley one of 34 coaches travelling from Derbyshire.
“Thinking back, in a time of no internet or mobile phones, it’s remarkable that we all managed to find the right coach at the right time to get back home,” said Lynda, a founder member of the Pilsley Women’s Miners Support Group.
Where Are They Now? opens on Thursday, August 1, at Pilsley Village Hall and will run every Thursday in August plus Saturday 31, 10am-2pm, alongside a timeline of how the village coped as the strike evolved.
Many of those featured in the exhibition went on after the strike to rebuild the village’s future as members of Pilsley Parish Council, which is helping to facilitate the free display.
“Sadly, many of those in the photographs, including a former civic head of North East Derbyshire district council, are no longer with us,” said Lynda. “But those babies and children will now be in their 40s and 50s, probably with children of their own, and living who knows where?
“This is their story, and it would be lovely to reunite them with their past on this significant anniversary.”