Mining Men: Britain’s Last Kings of the Coalface

Story of the last generation of British miners, told through the lives of the different men who left the schoolyard and carved out their masculine identities at the coalface, exploring how they navigated the year-long miners' strike, pit closures and later life above ground. The story of the last generation of British miners- fathers and sons, brothers and comrades, big hitters and broken men, strikers and scabs. Mining Men explores how these men felt when the pits were closed and what happened next, including former miners who became factory workers, detectives, driving instructors, counsellors, the local mayor and one who even ended up working on Fleet Street. Featuring accounts from Ayrshire to the South Wales Valleys, from the 'People's Republic of South Yorkshire', to the 'Sunshine Corner Coalfields' of Kent, each chapter offers a different perspective of the industry. Britain's last deep coalmine closed in 2015, yet just fifty years ago the mining industry was a juggernaut, employing over 250,000 workers. Combining new personal interviews with extensive archival research, Emily P. Webber illuminates the extraordinary history of the industry once considered the backbone of Britain. By situating the miners' strike of 1984-85 in a longer history of the coalfields, we can understand why miners and their families fought so hard against pit closures, and what happened after the pit wheels stopped turning. Vivid, evocative and richly alive with minute detail, Mining Men uncovers what the mining industry once meant to its workers and their communities, and what Britain lost when it was gone.

About the Author :
Emily P Webber completed a PhD at the University of Reading and University of Exeter, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Her research focused on masculinity and the British mining industry from nationalization in 1947 through to pit closures at the end of the twentieth century. Over the last few years, she has spoken to over a hundred miners, collecting their memories of the industry, and travelled across Britain's former mining communities. She was previously the Research Manager of the Imperial War Museum and contributed to several public-facing publications and acted as a curator for the award-winning Holocaust Exhibition. She is passionate about bringing history to wider audiences - and was recently selected as one of fifteen successful candidates for the Television Festival's TV PhD Talent Scheme. She was also awarded the University of Reading's PhD Researcher of the Year award for the Humanities. She has presented her research at conferences both in the UK and overseas, including at Northwestern University, the Institute of Historical Research, and the University of Birmingham, and she has published in History Workshop Journal, Contemporary British History and Twentieth Century History. She has also written for Time Out London.

Review :
[A] hugely impressive book… a compelling, unflinching account that rattles by as a great human saga, full of tales of tragedy, gallows humour and camaraderie Fascinating ... An engaging history of post-war British mining An absorbing and enjoyable read, Mining Men offers an interesting exploration of an important chapter of Britain’s industrial and social history, and an illuminating peek into the lives of those who risked everything to warm our hearths...thoughtful and nuanced 'Mining Men is a rare thing – a book which comes from generous, sustained and informed listening. Emily Webber has collected and curated stories from the life and death of an industry which defined Britain. She pays tribute to the miners in her subtle, evocative prose. It is a skilful book, full of compassion. She has done the industry and the "kings of the coalface" proud.'' 'A powerful, enlightening study of the beauty and brutality of British coal mining, and a hymn to the men who were born into and lived through the mining way of life - told through their authentic voices, it is essential reading for those who care about the social and political effects of coal mining history, and the history of us working-class.' I read this book at one sitting… Webber is a historian who can write with the creative style, flair and passion of a novelist… A thoroughly interesting and informative read that often moved me beyond words and which will be of interest to all By telling the real-life stories – emotional, witty, surprising – of the works who went down to the coalface, Webber offers a panoramic history of an industry that used to power Britain all day and night