Markham Main News Today

Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the start of the miners strike the testimonies of both the strikers and those branded scabs after they decided to return to work are revealed in a new exhibition.

Artists, writers and film-makers have long been inspired by the stories – and myths – of the 1984-5 strike. But how do those most affected by its legacy feel about the portrayals?

Since opening in 1882 more than 200 pitmen had died at Markham Colliery, including almost 70 in three incidents in 1938 alone.

In his latest return to the picketing front-line, the 84-year-old pensioner this time stood with museum staff in Wakefield locked in a bitter pay dispute with the National Coal Mining Museum for England.