The Last Stand - The 1984/85 Miners Strike in East Wales, by Ray Lawrence

The Last Stand - The 1984/85 Miners Strike in East Wales, by Ray Lawrence
A4 booklet, with clear plastic cover and glued binding. Privately produced by the author in 2012, 112 pages. (RLWSO)

From the introduction: 'This was no ordinaty strike. On our part it wasn't about wages or greed, it was about the survival of a way of life, of comradeship, and good safe communities. All that has long gone, like the pits themselves. I have tried to relate the story as it happened, and not be too biased, which is a struggle, believe me!' Contents include: Introduction, the background, the strike, there we go, and a brief history of the individual pits.

The booklet is illustrated throughout with several black and white photographs and maps.

Ray Lawrence, who wrote this booklet, was born into a mining family in a village in the Ebbw Vale in South Wales, and he spent much of his working life as a miner at the Celynen South Colliery in Abercarn. Whilst working as a miner at Celynen he was also a local official for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and he took an active part in the miners strike of 1984-85

Please note, this booklet was printed, produced and bound privately, and so lacks the 'finish' of a proffessional publication (i.e the photographs that illustrate the booklet are photocopy quality, the binding may be a little skewed, etc). But none of this detracts from the fascinating and detailed information the booklet contains, and it remains a must read/reference for anyone interested in the subject.

The condition of the booklet is generally ok. The clear plastic cover has some minor scuffs, and their is light nibbling and wear along the inside page edges and corners, but the spine binding is intact, and all pages are intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Please note their is a small price sticker on the rear side cover