I am interested in talking to former industrial workers who worked in industries such as coal mining, steel production and ship building from the 1950s to the 1990s, which went into steep decline during the 1980s and 1990s.
I have spoken with Richard Judd and Peter Shaw from the group and they were happy for me to post here.
There are a lot of people now in their 50s and upwards who lived through the last days of Britain’s great heavy industries and experienced their demise and the impact of this on local communities.
This is a vital piece of social history which should be recorded and disseminated to the population now as well as being a source of information for future generations. Could you pass on this message to people who you think may be interested in sharing their stories.
The aim of this work would be to publish a book.
I am interested in the following aspects of their lives amongst others.• Growing up in industrial communities as a child• Movement from school into that industry• Day to day life within that industry• Community activities linked to that industry• Relationship with unions• Strikes and industrial strife• Political beliefs and whether they have changed through time• How their involvement in the industry ended• Their life since leaving the industry• Any impacts on their health of working in the industry• How communities have changed since the industry closed down• How they think younger people in their community view their industry, and how do younger people themselves reflect on these industries which closed before they were born
You can contact me on rhindson@yahoo.com.
At the moment I would like to do phone or Zoom type meetings which I would record, or people could write down their thoughts in emails or old-fashioned mail.
I look forward to hearing from you.
History of Consett Steelworks 