Strike

6. A Winter's Tale

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Episode notes

As winter arrives, the striking miners are feeling the pinch. They are getting no strike pay and are surviving on donations of clothing and food. The debts are mounting.

There seems little prospect of a deal with the Coal Board over pit closures, and thousands of miners are throwing in the towel and going back to work, with the prospect of a special bonus before Christmas. In south Wales only a few make this choice and they have to run the gauntlet of angry pickets as they go into work. The atmosphere starts to turn ugly, and there is violence in the air.

This leads to a tragedy: a taxi driver taking a miner to work is killed when a concrete block thrown from a motorway bridge lands on his car. Some believe this is a turning point for the strike, and that support for the miners now ebbs away.

Presenter: Jonny Owen Series Producer: Clare Hudson Executive Producer: Steve Austins Assistant Producer: Ffion Clarke Development Producer: Branwen Davies Sound Designer: Meic Parry Sound Editor: Adam Whalley Composer: Richard Llewellyn Series Consultant: Dr Ben Curtis

Strike is a Bengo Media Production for BBC Sounds