A documentary produced by Trade Films film that compares the hopes raised by the nationalisation of the coal mines in 1947 of better industrial relations and the industrial conflict within the coal mining industry in the 1980s. Waves crash onto Horden Beach in County Durham, the water dark with coal waste. Title: An Island Built on Coal From the cliffs above, a conveyor travels from Horden Colliery carries coal waste out into the North Sea where it is dumped. The camera pans across an...

A documentary produced by Trade Films film that compares the hopes raised by the nationalisation of the coal mines in 1947 of better industrial relations and the industrial conflict within the coal mining industry in the 1980s. Waves crash onto Horden Beach in County Durham, the water dark with coal waste. Title: An Island Built on Coal From the cliffs above, a conveyor travels from Horden Colliery carries coal waste out into the North Sea where it is dumped. The camera pans across an industrial landscape towards the colliery itself with its winding wheels in the distance. From a bridge a British Rail diesel locomotive pass underneath pulling wagons of coal away from the colliery and into the mists and across a viaduct. In voiceover two individuals provide details of the decline in both the number of coalfields in Durham and Northumberland and the numbers of people who now work in the coal industry. The frontpage of the Hartlepool Mail newspaper from the 22nd October 1985 and a headline referring to the closure of Horden Colliery. Interview with Ervin Lyons, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Horden Miners Lodge with regards the pit and the good relationship between the men, the management and the union. As he continues to speak about the change in attitude since the end of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike a man walking along a track past several allotment and pigeon crees at Horden, in the hazy distance the mine and colliery wheels. A group of children stand around a large bonfire that includes an effigy of a man in glasses, possibly Ian MacGregor, then chairman of the National Coal Board. Standing beside a large rock with a hatched or axe carved into it is Jimmy Brown, also of the NUM Horden Miners Lodge, who talks about the significance of the carving being a symbol of the unions and management ‘burying the hatched’ when the mine was nationalised in 1947. Over newspaper headlines of the day Jimmy provides further details, he looks up at a flagpole next to him where a flag once flew. A clip from an edition of the National Coal Board (NCB) cine-magazine Mining Review from 1948 on nationalisation changes to interviews with G.C. Shepherd C.B.E. NCB Member for Industrial Relations 1969-80, Ned Smith NCB Director General of Industrial Relations 1983-1985 and Sir Norman Siddall CBE NCB Chairman 1982-1983 about the significance of nationalisation. Over archive of coalmining and miners Lawrence Daly NUM General Secretary 1968-1984 talks about the conditions of mines pre-nationalisation and why he and his members saw nationalisation as ‘the greatest event of our lives’. Another clip from the 1948 edition of Mining Review featuring banners being paraded through Durham as part of the annual gala and Herbert Morrison, Leader of the House of Commons 1945-1951 making a speech from the speaks platform a Durham Racecourse as part of the gala about the importance of ‘the great experiment’ that was nationalisation. Lawrence Daly and G.C. Shepherd talk about how the NCB was formed and its aims intercut with more footage from edition(s) of Mining Review. A third clip from the 1948 edition of Mining Review featuring a group of men sitting around a table with a voiceover stating that this committee was looking at how the NCB and new deal’ was to be run. Ned Smith talks about the establishment of what he describes as new ‘industrial relationship machinery’. Title: NUM Conference 1947 President, Will Lawther Another clip from a 1947 edition of Mining Review in which Will Lawther making a speech from a stage about strikes, he finishes, and the watching delegates applaud. Other clips follow by Arthur Horner, then General Secretary of the NUM who talk about change in the attitude of the men towards management following nationalisation and a commitment on both sides to seek a settlement with both Lawrence Daly and G.C. Shepherd intercut in with their comments. Another clip featuring Will Pearson, the Scottish Secretary making a speech critical of this new relationship which is followed by Lawrence Daly who comments about those who saw the NCB as being no different from the mine owners of old and looking back following the end on the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike how right these men were. Another clip from a 1949 edition of Mining Review that features a cricket match between miners and NCB management. The extended clip over Lawrence Daly talks about the attitude of the men to work in collaboration with management and G.C. Shepherd who talks about not only being a member of the NUM, but also a board member on the NCB. As Mr Shepherd continues to talk a photograph of an Ashington Miners Lodge banner featuring Nationalisation followed by an interview with David Hopper NUM Durham Area Secretary who is critical of people like G.C. Shepherd as he can’t see his position as an NUM official as being compatible with that of being part of NCB management. At a colliery coal comes along a conveyor and are washed and grades on shaking sieves. Outside the colliery wheel turns. A clip from a 1962 edition of Mining Review about what the NCB is doing to increase productivity and reduce output is intercut with Ned Smith who talks the reasons why this was needed and Sir Norman Siddall who talks about Labour government policy with regards closures of non-productive pits. David Hopper is critical of these decisions as it was the miner who brought the brunt of these changes, Ned Smith goes onto talk about the effect these decisions had on the coal industry especially, he explains in West Durham where all the coalfields were ‘closed down’. As he talks a map of the West Durham Coalfield made from candles, the candles are extinguished to represent all the mines that closed. Title: Between 1947 and the end of the 1960’s, 104 County Durham colliery were closed Another clip from a 1964 edition of Mining Review featuring miners from West Durham being send by train from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to other pits around the country. Lawrence Daly talks about the growing resentment and militancy by those miners, and their families, who were being forced to move to other mines, they began to feel like ‘industrial gypsies’. Another clips from a 1968 Mining Review of a protest march through London against pit closures that features a group of men onboard a coach and posters being held up that read ‘STOP the SLAUGHTER of the COAL INDUSTRY’ and ‘BRITISH COAL BEFORE FOREIGN OIL’. Lawrence Daly, David Hopper and Sir Norman Siddall talk about the growing discontent within certain parts of the NUM, the low wages paid to miners which lead to the 1972 Miners’ Strike. Another clip from a 1972 edition of Mining Review about the 1972 Miners’ Strike changes to black and white news footage of a picket and Lawrence Daly and David Hopper talking about their actions during the dispute and what was achieved. Sir Norman Siddall follows on by talking about some of the consequences of the dispute with regards wages and the increase in the price of oil. As he talks about oil a Shell tanker travels along a dual carriageway passing under a bridge, part of a clip from a 1975 edition of Mining Review on the impact of importing crude oil and the cost of running down of the coal industry. Lawrence Daly talks about the 1974 Miner’s Strike, how this impacted the general election the same year and the return of Harold Wilson’s Labour government and negotiating for favourable terms with Michael Foot, then Minister for Employment. Another clip from a 1974 edition of Mining Review about the potential longevity of coal in Britain followed by Sir Norman Siddall and Lawrence Daly who both talks about plans of expansion within the industry and a sense of hopefulness during this period. Interview with Billy Etherington NUM Durham Mechanics General Secretary who is critical of the ‘plan for coal’ with gave job security over wages and conditions. Another clip from the 1974 Mining Review about the importance of the North-East coastal coalfields with plans to take these coalfields into the year 2000. In a local newspaper a job advertisement for miners needed for the five large coastal coalfields of Seaham, Dawdon, Blackhall, Horden and Easington, the catch phrase ‘People will always need coal’. Interviews with George Atkinson NCB North East Area Industrial Relations Officer about the decision by British Steel Corporation (BSC) to import coal rather for their Redcar works. He and Ervin Lyons from the NUM Horden Miners Lodge talk about the consequence on the industry of losing this important customer and the costs that need to be paid with regards the modernisations of those North-East coastal collieries. A clip from a 1983 edition of Mining Review about the decline in the demand for coal. Interview with Sir Norman Siddall about attending his first miners conference as Chairman of the NCB and the plans he proposed to save the industry. As Ervin Lyons talks about the reduction in manpower he saw at Horden Colliery and image taken during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike of pickets and Ervin explaining the reason why he and his members voted to strike was to make a stand against pit closures. Both George Atkinson followed by Billy Etherington and Ned Smith give opinions of the strike intercut with more black and white still images of police and protesters during the dispute. As Ned Smith talks about his belief that the miners were being forced back to work miners in helmets and overalls coming up a set of steps, possibly at the start of a shift. The film slows down until it stops one man at the top of the steps. Ervin Lyons, Ned Smith and David Hopper each talk about the changes that have taken place within NCB management since the end of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike that includes the sweeping away of traditional arrangements towards a new provocative style of ‘hard management’. G.C. Shepherd is disillusioned with this move throwing out all that was agreed in 1947 under nationalisation. Billy Etherington believes that any gains that have been made between unions and management in the past 20 years have been ‘obliterated’. More coal comes along a conveyor and is loaded onto a collier, in voiceover George Atkinson explains that while relationships between management and men have deteriorated since the end of the strike, the ‘operational results’ has risen. He poses the question should there be a certain amount of animosity between manager workers if it improves productivity? From an elevated position the terraced streets around the village of Horden below, at its centre the church of St Mary. Over general views of the village with the colliery in the misty distance David Hopper gives an argument for the saving of the mine while George Atkinson explains in economic terms why this will be probably won’t be possible. Lawrence Daly looks back on the industry since nationalisation and what has been learned and believes should be protected from competition. A final clip from a 1983 edition of the Mining Review and the final comments by Billy Etherington on what he would like to see in the future with a new form of nationalisation with proper worker participation. A photograph of a group standing in front of a National Union of Mineworkers Durham Area banner. As part of the banner what appears to be a poster that reads ‘The NCB is Closing Our Colliery Y?’. Several children sit or stand at the front of the photograph, in voiceover Ervin Lyons talks about how the closure of the colliery will affect them the most. Title: In 1947 there were 134 pits in County Durham. Today there are 9 A clip from an edition of Mining Review from 1966 about the amount of coal available for mining off the North-East coast and the assured future collieries in Northumberland and County Durham. Another edition from 1961 featuring a visit by Lord Roben, then Chairman of the NCB to a mine with Ervin Lyons in voiceover lamenting the short life span of collieries such as Horden with much of the coal promoted in Mining Review still being underground. Over the closing credits waves once again crashing onto Horden Beach. Credit: Interviews conducted by Huw Beynon Camera Maxim Ford, Paul Otter Camera Assistants Peter Woodhouse, Kelvin Richards Sound Graham Denham, Marion Dain Electricians Charles Titchmarsh, Brian McEvoy Film Editor Mike Leggett Assistant Editor Kirin Davids Photographs Keith Pattison, Chris Davies (Report) Rostrum Camera John Leatherbarrow Title: With thanks to Horden Miners Lodge, NUM Durham Area, Ross Forbes, NCB Film Branch, NCB (North East Area), NCB Opencast Executive (Northern Region) Title: By a large majority, Horden Miners voted to continue their fight against closure. They took their case through the new independent procedure. In finding against them, Mr Stewart Shields QC said: “I did not think that the social consequences of closure are matters which in this case I can take into account, though I am very conscious of the harmful effects of closure on the area and its community.” On February 7th 1986, the National Coal Board confirmed the closure of Horden. Today, there are 8 pits in County Durham Credit: Researched, produced and directed by Trade Films Ltd End title: Made under the ACTT Workshop Declaration, and with the financial support of Channel Four and the British Film Institute. © Trade Films Ltd 1986