Barnsley Museums Natters

The interviews in this episode were recorded on 12th May 1984 at a large Women Against Pit Closures rally at the Barnsley Civic Hall. The event was much larger than expected with an estimated 10,000 women travelling from all parts of the country to the event at the civic hall and had 40 speakers. You are about to hear speeches by Ann Hunter (chairperson of rally), Lorraine Hunter, two miners' wives from Nottinghamshire and Arthur Scargill. Interviews with Chris Hall (of Barnsley Women Against Pit Closures), various miners' wives, nurses from South Wales raining community, miners' wives from Wales, and Susan Sykes, miner's wife from Grimethorpe.Special thanks to Sheffield Archives for digitising the cassette and allowing us to make it available in this podcast.

Throughout the year we are going to share highlights from Brian Elliott's oral history collection, a local historian and published author who has generously donated his sound archive to Barnsley Archives and Local Studies which we are now making available online for the first time.

Betty Cook was a founding member of the Barnsley Miners Wives Action Group which led to the formation of The Woman Against Pit Closures in Barnsley. This interview was recorded in 2009 as part of The South Yorkshire Women In Industry lottery funded project.It is being shared for the first time as part of Barnsley Museums' year-long programme of events marking 40 years since the Miners' Strike. For more details, visit our website