Battle of Orgreave

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The images of the 1984/85 miners strike will forever be synonymous in the UK's history. The miner's wern't fighting for improved conditions or more pay but simply the right to work. The picket line at Orgreave on the 18th June 1984 turned to scenes of mayhem after police started whiping up tension by drumming on their shields and sending in horse mounted officers to beat back unarmed protesters. It is said that the miners threw stones and bricks at the police yet it is also well known that Special Branch and MI-5 planted officers in the miners crowd to whip up trouble which included covert action to help start a riot and the rubbing of pay packets in the faces of the unpaid miners to create tension and anger.

That image means a lot to me, although I was very young at the time. My folks were both working for the civil service and my Dad spent a lot of that time on strike as well which was a bit of a nightmare for our family