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A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Collective Memory in the Mining Communities of South Wales. David Selway. PhD History. University of Sussex. May 2017. Statement I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature:………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Thesis Summary. Coal mining communities across Britain have often been argued to have possessed powerful collective memories of past struggles, though such memories have, as yet, been little studied. This thesis is a study of the collective memory of the interwar years within the mining communities of south Wales, and explores the ways in which the great strikes and lockouts, underground accidents, the interwar depression, and clashes with police and strike-breakers were remembered by the men and women of the coalfield. Using nearly 200 oral history interviews that were recorded in the 1970s, alongside newspapers, political and trade union records, novels and other sources, this study examines collective remembering as a reciprocal interaction between the public representations of the past, and the memories and attitudes of individuals. It argues, firstly, that individual memory did not just reflect or rework discourses about past events, but was itself an important agent in shaping and creating collective understandings of that history. Those individual memories remained integral to those collective memories, rather than being subsumed within or subjugated by them. It also suggests that the relationship between individual and collective memory should not be seen as necessarily oppositional, nor as between two distinct and separate types of memory, but rather as a spectrum. Secondly, it argues that the experiences of the inter-war years were understood and remembered within a number of distinct temporalities. Strikes and protests were often recalled within a linear framework, accidents underground were understood as a cyclical experience, whilst the depression was seen as a discontinuous rupture. It thus argues that conceptions of historical time were not singular, but plural and overlapping, and were themselves shaped and transformed by historical events. It thus traces understandings of time and how these changed at a popular level, rather than an intellectual or cultural one, through examining the memories, thoughts and attitudes of the men and women of the south Wales coalfield. 2 Contents. Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… 3 List of Abbreviations used …………………………………………………………… 5 List of Illustrations used. …………………………………………………………… 6 Map of the South Wales Coalfield. …………………………………………………………… 7 Introduction. …………………………………………………………… 8 Chapter I ‘Do you remember 1926? – Collective Memories of Protests, Strikes and Lockouts. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 36 Chapter II Death Underground – Collective Memories of Mining Accidents. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 83 Chapter III Hard Times – Collective Memories of Hardship, Unemployment and the Inter-War Depression. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 118 Chapter IV Enemies and Outcasts – Collective Memories of Police and Blacklegs. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 158 Conclusion. …………………………………………………………… 194 Appendix I. …………………………………………………………… 208 Bibliography. …………………………………………………………… 220 3 Acknowledgements. My first thanks are to Hester Barron who has been a wonderful supervisor, and has been incredibly kind and supportive ever since I first sent her a research proposal back in 2013. Her advice, suggestions, comments and questions have been invaluable throughout the last few years, and I am very grateful for all of her help and support. I received a full-scholarship from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for my PhD, without which I would never have even begun researching or writing this thesis, and I am immensely grateful for their support. The history department at the University of Sussex has been a great place to work, and I would like to thank all of the people there who have helped to create such a stimulating and supportive environment. Robert Cook in particular has been very generous with his time in reading, commenting and offering excellent suggestions on parts of this thesis, whilst Paige Thompson and Fiona Allan have always been very helpful and reassuring. Prior to Sussex, I was at the University of Exeter for both my undergraduate and masters degrees, and I would like to thank my supervisors there – Andrew Thorpe and David Thackeray – for all of their past help and encouragement. I would also like to thank the researchers of the Coalfield History Project – Hywel Francis, David Egan, Alun Morgan and Merfyn Jones – as well as Alun Burge and Philippa Dolan. Though I have, unfortunately, yet to meet any of them, without their efforts and the interviews that they recorded in the 1970s, this thesis would, quite simply, not have been possible. I would also like to thank the transcribers who worked on the project, namely Mrs M.M. Robinson and Mrs C.M. Jones, many of whose transcripts I was able to use in my research. I am also very thankful to all of the men and women with whom the interviews were carried out. The interviews are a fantastic and seriously under-used resource, and I hope that both the interviewers and the interviewees would appreciate the use that I have made of them. Those interviews are all held at the South Wales Miners’ Library at Swansea University, and I am sincerely and deeply grateful to all of the staff there, particularly Mandy and Martin, and Rhian, Jules, Sian, Gareth, Caroline and Jo. They have all been extremely helpful over the many, many weeks that I have spent there, and have made it the most welcoming and friendly place in which to work. The rest of the South Wales Coalfield Collection is held at the Richard Burton Archives (also at Swansea University), and I would also like to thank the archivists there 4 – in particular Sue, Katrina, Eliza and Elisabeth – for all of their help and kindness as well. I am also very appreciative of the help of archivists and librarians at the Gwent and Carmarthenshire record offices, Newport and Cardiff public libraries, the Mass Observation Archive at the University of Sussex, and the British Library in London. Various parts of this thesis have been presented at a number of conferences over the last few years, and the questions and feedback that I have received from these events has also been very useful. In particular, Neil Evans, Martin Johnes, Steven Thompson and Ceri Thompson have been very generous in sending invaluable suggestions and comments on both my work and on the history of south Wales in general, and I have greatly appreciated their time and their help. I have also met many other people at these conferences who have provided suggestions, read pieces of work or otherwise provided encouragement. In particular I would like to say thank you to Richard Davies, Diarmaid Kelliher, Ariane Mak and Ewan Gibbs. Daryl Leeworthy deserves especial thanks for having been especially generous with his help, suggestions and always insightful questions over the last few years, and it was he who also provided me with the phrase ‘mosaic of memory’ which I have used in this thesis. I would also like to say thank you to the many friends and colleagues I have made at Sussex. Angela Campos has been very kind with her friendship and with suggestions. Jessica Hammett has also been a great friend, has very kindly read and commented on certain sections, whilst also making some invaluable suggestions on readings when I first started. Michele Robinson, Sally Palmer, Oliver Hill-Andrews, Ahmet Ari, Cathrin Yarnell, Emma Doubt, Alex Elliott, James Cullis and Cornelis Schilt have also made my experience at Sussex a much more enjoyable one and I am very grateful to all of them. Beyond Sussex, the friendship of many other people has also kept me going over the last few years. In particular, I would like to thank Frederick Cooper, Scott Brent, Sarah McDonald, Caroline Hurley, Thomas Fowles, Dettie Ellerby, Simon Mackley, Phil Child, Anna Jackman, Al Oakley, Rhian Keyse, Ben Gwinnutt, Huw Norman, Rhys Hodge, Kendra Hughes, Ethan Mapes, Victoria Ong, Berglind Rosa Birgisdottir, Aisha Feisal, Max Haller, Oscar Haugejorden, Alex Page, Abi Stark, Rob Simmons, Daire Cantillon, Chelsea Olsen and Steven Duivenvoorden. Finally I would like to say thank you to my parents and my two sisters, Angharad and Megan. I would never have made it this far without any of them and their emotional and practical support. Thank you. 5 Abbreviations. AL – Aberdare Leader. CHP – Coalfield History Project. CLC – Central Labour College. CWM – Colliery Workers' Magazine. DMA – Durham Miners’ Association. GFP&RL – Glamorgan Free Press and Rhondda Leader. ILP – Independent Labour Party. MFGB – Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. MO – Mass Observation. MOA – Mass Observation