Page 114 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

shortage of the sort that had won them victory in the 1972 strike. The
government strategy, designed by Margaret Thatcher, was threefold: to build
up ample coal stocks, to keep as many miners at work as possible, and to use
police to break up attacks by pickets on working miners. The critical element
was the NUM's failure to hold a national strike ballot, which enabled a
minority on an area basis to keep working and kept other unions from
supporting it.

The strike was ruled illegal in September 1984, as no national ballot had been
held. It ended on 3 March 1985.

My Miners’ Strike

The first year of my two-year RBO stint
was massively disrupted by the strike.

In all I was despatched on 8 Mutual
Aid excursions, for a week each time.
These were 5 or 6 days away at a
time, assigned to picket and traffic
control duties. Convoys of striking
miners would drive at funeral pace
to slow down coachloads of working
miners getting to pits. Morning duty
began at 06:00 hours and often
consisted of intercepting these Figure 47 Me and my tit-hat
drivers to enable the working miners
to reach their pits safely. (the Prime Minister has rushed through legislation
authorising the use of the ‘intercept’ strategy). Afternoons were spent either
on picket duty at a pit, thwarting striking miners’ efforts to stop working miners
crossing picket lines. Days were long and tiring, not booking off and
collapsing into bunks until after 9pm. Next day it would start all over again.

Whilst the early weeks saw many heated and physical exchanges, these died
down as weeks turned into months. The striking miners called us ‘Thatcher’s
Boot Boys’ at the beginning, no doubt from the violent exchanges in the first
weeks.
However, by the third or fourth week the majority realised we had no choice,
we were paid to uphold the Law, protect life and property and preserve
peace and order. As police officers we weren’t allowed to express a public
opinion about such things, governed as we were by our oath to act with
fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human
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rights and according equal respect to all people, cause the peace to be
kept and preserved and prevent all offences against people and property.