The 'iron willed women' who were a force to be reckoned with during the Miners Strike
The iron-willed women who fought for their communities during the Miners Strike will feature in a new film coming soon.
A documentary screening of 'Iron Ladies' is coming to Redhills in Durham on October 10 and it is packed with memories of their year-long struggle.
At the forefront of a national battle
It tells of working-class women who, during the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike, found themselves at the forefront of a battle.
Women from the coalfields have shed light on their experiences of the year long struggle, and how they became the backbone of the Strike.
Their actions reshaped the landscape of political activism for working-class women. Iron Ladies tells their stories.
The film features many women from across the Durham coalfields, including Heather Wood, who organised 14 of the Durham miners support groups during the strike.
‘There were enough of us up and down the country that we were able to stand for a full year’
Heather said: There are so many lessons we can learn from the womens support groups during the strike - not least that we didn’t wait for someone to come along and give us permission to get things done.
“We didn’t wait to be granted hygiene or health and safety certificates, so we could get the miners and their families fed. We just got on with it - I helped set up 14 support groups across the Durham coalfields.
Heather added: “There were enough of us up and down the country that we were able to stand for a full year - on picket lines, feeding families in the welfare halls and at rallies. We were a force to be reckoned with then and you know what - we are still here, decades later. But the ultimate lesson from the strike is that together we can achieve great things.”
‘Ordinary women became extraordinary leaders’
Lynn Gibson is also featured in the film. Today Lynne manages Durham Energy Institute, and she continues to play an essential role in Womens Action for Positive Change (formerly Women Against Pit Closures).
Lynn said: "The women of National Women Against Pit Closures taught us that solidarity extends far beyond the workplace—it lives in kitchens, community halls, and soup kitchens where ordinary women became extraordinary leaders."
The film screening will be followed by a special Q&A session with contributors Heather Wood, Juliana Heron and Lynn Gibson, and hosted by former County Durham MP Laura Pidcock.
The screening is on October 10 from 7pm and costs £10.80 – £15.12. To find out more, visit here.