The strike, caused by then Chairman of the British Coal Board, Ian Macgregor, after announcing the closure of 20 pits which were deemed uneconomic, with the loss of 20,000 jobs, brought a substantial proportion of the 187,000 miners throughout the UK on strike. The strike lasted for nearly a year.

In an effort to prevent coal being imported through Wivenhoe Port, miners from Kent picketed the port operation and this became a regular feature in Wivenhoe, and widely reported in national newspapers as well as television.

Below: Photographs of pickets from the National Union of Mineworkers, Kent Area.                           Photographs by Sue Murray ARPS