00:00 2024 is the 40-year anniversary of the 1984-85 British coal miners' strike.
00:06 Beginning in Yorkshire, the strike, coordinated by the National Union of Mine Workers,
00:11 spread to other collieries through the North, Midlands, Wales and Kent,
00:16 including Aylsham's own Snowdown Colliery.
00:19 I was picked in during the strike at Snowdown Colliery,
00:22 and sometimes we went to Tilmerstone, and for a little while we was picked in at the power station in Thurrock.
00:29 The strike was an attempt to prevent the further closures of collieries across the nation
00:33 and protect miners' livelihoods.
00:35 Whilst striking, the Aylsham mining community faced financial hardship,
00:40 outbreaks of violence and a prolonged police presence in their community.
00:44 We had a strike that lasted a year and a week,
00:48 and we went back after that without any of what we went out on strike for in the first place met.
00:54 And then three years after that, the pit closed.
00:57 So the worst celebration didn't come into the actual event,
01:01 although there is a lot that we can celebrate.
01:05 The result of the strike, in favour of the government,
01:08 marked a major decline for British coal production and union influence in British politics,
01:13 making it one of the defining events of Thatcherite Britain.
01:16 During the year-long strike, the community relied on its internal strength
01:20 in the face of financial hardship.
01:22 Almost everyone in the area knows someone who was in some fashion involved
01:26 or affected by the strike.
01:28 To commemorate the strike, the Kent Strike Commemoration Group,
01:31 based out of Aylsham Heritage Centre, will be holding an event on the 11th of May.
01:35 There will be an opportunity for the community to hear speeches, local music
01:39 and view exhibitions detailing the area's storied mining history
01:42 and the lasting impact of the strikes.
01:44 I just think that a history of any place is important,
01:49 and the history of Aylsham is quite unique.
01:54 It still is a mining community, yeah.
01:56 They haven't got many clubs left, but they've got the rattling.
01:58 We've still got that community atmosphere, I think.
02:02 So we've got several people lined up, local people mainly,
02:06 that can sing one or two songs,
02:09 mainly with a mining theme or a leftist sort of theme to the songs.
02:14 It's not going to be the only event this year.
02:17 There's going to be other events being held throughout the year as a commemoration.
02:23 Events such as these help to educate new residents about Aylsham's proud mining heritage
02:27 and ensures that the memory of the strike endures.
02:30 Benjamin Jesse for KMTV in Aylsham.
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