Film Number

12950

Title

[MINERS' MARCH AND RALLY IN MANSFIELD]

Producer

WFA Media & Cultural Centre

Date

1984

Gauge

U-m

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Running Time

22 mins 35 secs

Description

To the sound of a brass band, miners and their supporters march with banners and placards in Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. Questions put to the marchers reveal the strength of feeling in the crowd, as people stress the fight is for their children’s and grandchildren’s employment prospects as well as the economic future of their area. Though they express confidence that the strikers will be victorious, one miner criticises the media coverage, saying that the dispute is primarily a fight for jobs but is portrayed as a political battle between the NUM president Arthur Scargill and the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Others talk about the lack of solidarity in the mining community, the strike being a bitterly divisive issue in the East Midlands. The march through Mansfield ends in a rally, where Arthur Scargill addresses the crowd. Continued in 'Miners and supporters at the Mansfield rally'.

This title was digitised and preserved as part of the BFI Heritage 2022 programme. It is available to view for free via BFI Replay in UK Public Libraries - https://replay.bfi.org.uk/