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Coal Mining in Britain | The story of mining from the coal face to the strike
About this collection
Coal mining has been an essential part of British industry since Roman times. This collection looks at the hardship of the day-to-day toil beneath the earth as well as the effects of industrial action and political upheaval on the communities themselves. We remember the forgotten heroes of World War II, the Bevin Boys, and meet four generations of a Durham mining community.
This is the story of British coal mining, told through BBC radio and TV broadcasts from the last 70 years and a gallery of images from the 1930s.
Features
- County Durham Miners, 1938
County Durham Miners, 1938
Image Gallery
Scenes from Craghead as featured Joan Littlewood's 1938 radio broadcast.
- Coal - with Joan Littlewood
- The Long Street: Road to Pandy Square
- A Year in the Life: Craghead 1968-1969
A Year in the Life
Craghead: 1968-1969
A turbulent time for a mining village in the North East of England.
Coal Mining in Britain Collection
- Programmes (21)
- Galleries (1)
Street Musicians
Welsh Miners' Choir
Two recordings of a Welsh male-voice choir.
Woman's Hour
Two Generations
How do the experiences of two miners from separate generations differ?
The Long Street
Road to Pandy Square
Remembering Tonypandy's role in the 1921 National Coal Strike.
Man Alive
Packing Up and Moving Out
Two mining families make the decision to move from Northumberland to Nottingham.
What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?
The story of the men who spent World War II down the mines.
A Year in the Life
Craghead: 1968-1969
A turbulent time for a mining village in the North East of England.
Man In His Place
Durham: 1: A Man's Life
Exploring the culture and social history of the Durham coal fields.
Omnibus
Shafts Of Sunlight
Where there's muck, there's brass... and pigeons and lurchers and bingo too.
Nationwide
Pit Animals
The diminishing role of animals in Britain's coal mines.
Bevin Boys
Recollections of conscription in the coal industry during World War II.
Panorama
The Coal War
Is the ongoing miners' strike turning moderates into militants?
Panorama
Is The Coal Face Crumbling?
The miners' strike continues with both sides predicting victory.
Panorama
How Much Longer?
A 'Panorama' report broadcast in the final weeks of the miners' strike.
Letter From A Mining Village
A personal perspective on life in a 1930s mining community.
A Year in the Life
Twenty Years On: Craghead
Revisiting the story of miners from a documentary made in 1969.
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