The 1984/5 miners strike was one of the longest strikes in UK history. It started in Yorkshire in early March 1984 in protest at intended pit closures by Margaret Thatcher’s government. The president of the National Union of Mineworkers at the time, Arthur Scargill called a national strike and because this was later declared illegal, striking mineworkers were deprived of any income.
Margaret Thatcher branded the striking miners “the enemy within” setting the tone for police and strikers facing each other across picket lines outside pits and other industrial sites requiring coal.
Women played a large part in the strike and formed support groups as soon as the national strike began on 9 March 1984.
We’d like to hear from people who took part in the miners strike or who knew women and men who were involved. Was your community divided by the strike? What were your memories of the time?
We’d also like to hear from people whose families were involved in mining. Do you have photos or stories of what life was like when the pits were operating? The closure of the mines devastated many communities but 30 years on, are there positive stories of renewal?
We’ll use the most interesting contributions in our reporting.
You can share your photos, stories and memories by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button on this article. You can also use the GuardianWitness smartphone app or the new Guardian app and search for ‘GuardianWitness assignments’ . Or you can email guardian.witness@theguardian.com
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• This article was amended on 26 February 2015 to correct the name of the National Union of Mineworkers and to correct a mention of “general strike” to “national strike”.
