Since The 1984 85 Miners' Strike And The Loss Of The Pit In 1993

A Memory of Easington Colliery.

It's twenty five years gone March since the miners' strike but it does not seem like five minutes to me and my family.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Many families went to hell and back and some families still don't speak. I don't feel like the strike has been talked about enough since the 25 year anniversary. What with the recession and people losing there jobs and homes, I feel it is like the miners' strike all over again.
A lot of things have happened to me since the miners' strike which made me grow up very fast. The loss of Easington colliery mine in 1993 was a massive blow to the miners and their families and as Jeffrey was only 33 years old at the time, he needed to find employment as our two sons were only young. To make ends meet I took on a couple of part-time jobs which helped to pay the bills.

Since the pit closed in 1993 Jeffrey worked hard, went to college and did some voluntary work to get himself noticed; he now works as a project worker for a charity. This should prove to people out there that there is hope after you have been made redundant, look at the skills you have and put them to good use, retrain as Jeffrey did and believe in yourself - we are all special
A lot of my family and my husband Jeffrey's family are no longer with us, and my two sons are now grown up and making a life for themselves. My two sons have found getting a job hard in the past but I have always encouraged them to look at the skills they have and encouraged them to look at other ways to make a living.

Both my sons have experieced knock-backs from employers who do not have the respect for their workers, this is why my youngest son went into the R.A.F and the dole office treat people like muck (shameful), they need to remember they are talking to people with real feelings and not everyone wants to sit on their backsides. When my sons lost their jobs they hated going to the dole office simply because of this reason.

I was only twenty-one and starting out in married life when the miners' 1984-85 strike broke out, but since then and when the pit closed in 1993 I have changed dramatically in my points of view and alway feel like things are done for a reason and that we all get by some way or other.



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