In the upstairs rooms of the Sea Scouts’ building, right on the front at Seaham Harbour, a group of enthusiast historians have mounted a display of photographs, maps and ephemera including a magnificent set of pictures from the Miners’ Strikes in 1984 and ‘85. The photographs are printed as composites on large poster-sized sheets of a soft, low-contrast medium, (possibly museum rag) and pinned to boards in the corridor at the entrance.
There are little squares of paper and a pencil placed with each board, so that if you’re in the photo, or know the names of anyone, you can add it to the historical record they’re building here. There are many photographs showing attempts being made to carry on some kind of ordinary life in the Easington Colliery A streets, while surrounded by rank after rank of policemen in full riot gear, helmets, shields, batons drawn.
What may not be clear to many casual observers is that often the policemen pictured here are the neighbours, cousins, brothers of the very people whose noses are being broken. There was no attempt to bring in police teams from other towns. Pitting friend against friend was just one of many tactics being used to demoralise and bring down these communities.
Some of the pictures show the quiet moments, like this woman warming her feet at the two bar electric fire in a hall somewhere. There are pictures of children in the streets, of the familiar outline of houses, streets right on the line. There’s an echo here of photographs of the Belfast divide in the same era – a community under siege, forced to wage a war even with itself.
Martin Parr has posters in the Baltic right now, calls to meetings to support the striking miners. He’s made quite a collection of them, we’re told. Here, in the heart of the Durham coalfields, are the real thing: photographs taken by people who lived and worked in these communities. There’s a card showing the names of the photographers. This work really deserves a wider showing, in a gallery, heritage centre, where it can be seen by a wider audience.
In the meantime, it’s open for one more day: tomorrow, Tuesday 17th, until 4pm.
The photographers are: Chris Kirkup, Keith Pattison, Peter J Arkell, Ray Risling, Sean Smith and Kathy Arkell. I hope you’ll all forgive my cameraphone here, but it’s important that people hear about this work.
Keith Pattison has several of the photographs on his website. Click through:
His Easington work is apparently at Tate Liverpool, where it might be possible to see it. Widely exhibited at the time, and quite rightly, too. Peter Arkell now works for a number of trade unions and charities as well as supplying the editorial market. Again, click through:
It’s hard to be certain, but it’s likely that the Guardian photographer Sean Smith is one and the same. We’re linking his name to a slide show from the Guardian website showing his work in that other, newer conflict: Afghanistan. Please let us know if that’s not the same photographer.
We can’t find links for Chris Kirkup, Ray Risling or Kathy Arkell (except that the British Picture Library Association is looking for her contact details here). It might just be that they’re not on the internet. If you know, let us know. An offer has been made to traditionally hand print some of the photographs for the Heritage Group, if they haven’t already been printed, and if negatives still exist.
So, while you’re there looking enviously at all this terrific work, go through into the main hall and have a look at the maps and the pictures of Sunday School outings, the banners, the photographs showing the recovery of the George Elmy lifeboat. Fascinating stuff.
Great work from the East Durham Heritage Group, and thank you particularly to Mr Maitland who showed us round with such care and enthusiasm.
Lest We Forget
In the upstairs rooms of the Sea Scouts’ building, right on the front at Seaham Harbour, a group of enthusiast historians have mounted a display of photographs, maps and ephemera including a magnificent set of pictures from the Miners’ Strikes in 1984 and ‘85. The photographs are printed as composites on large poster-sized sheets of a soft, low-contrast medium, (possibly museum rag) and pinned to boards in the corridor at the entrance.
There are little squares of paper and a pencil placed with each board, so that if you’re in the photo, or know the names of anyone, you can add it to the historical record they’re building here. There are many photographs showing attempts being made to carry on some kind of ordinary life in the Easington Colliery A streets, while surrounded by rank after rank of policemen in full riot gear, helmets, shields, batons drawn.
What may not be clear to many casual observers is that often the policemen pictured here are the neighbours, cousins, brothers of the very people whose noses are being broken. There was no attempt to bring in police teams from other towns. Pitting friend against friend was just one of many tactics being used to demoralise and bring down these communities.
Some of the pictures show the quiet moments, like this woman warming her feet at the two bar electric fire in a hall somewhere. There are pictures of children in the streets, of the familiar outline of houses, streets right on the line. There’s an echo here of photographs of the Belfast divide in the same era – a community under siege, forced to wage a war even with itself.
Martin Parr has posters in the Baltic right now, calls to meetings to support the striking miners. He’s made quite a collection of them, we’re told. Here, in the heart of the Durham coalfields, are the real thing: photographs taken by people who lived and worked in these communities. There’s a card showing the names of the photographers. This work really deserves a wider showing, in a gallery, heritage centre, where it can be seen by a wider audience.
In the meantime, it’s open for one more day: tomorrow, Tuesday 17th, until 4pm.
The photographers are: Chris Kirkup, Keith Pattison, Peter J Arkell, Ray Risling, Sean Smith and Kathy Arkell. I hope you’ll all forgive my cameraphone here, but it’s important that people hear about this work.
Keith Pattison has several of the photographs on his website. Click through:
His Easington work is apparently at Tate Liverpool, where it might be possible to see it. Widely exhibited at the time, and quite rightly, too. Peter Arkell now works for a number of trade unions and charities as well as supplying the editorial market. Again, click through:
It’s hard to be certain, but it’s likely that the Guardian photographer Sean Smith is one and the same. We’re linking his name to a slide show from the Guardian website showing his work in that other, newer conflict: Afghanistan. Please let us know if that’s not the same photographer.
We can’t find links for Chris Kirkup, Ray Risling or Kathy Arkell (except that the British Picture Library Association is looking for her contact details here). It might just be that they’re not on the internet. If you know, let us know. An offer has been made to traditionally hand print some of the photographs for the Heritage Group, if they haven’t already been printed, and if negatives still exist.
So, while you’re there looking enviously at all this terrific work, go through into the main hall and have a look at the maps and the pictures of Sunday School outings, the banners, the photographs showing the recovery of the George Elmy lifeboat. Fascinating stuff.
Great work from the East Durham Heritage Group, and thank you particularly to Mr Maitland who showed us round with such care and enthusiasm.
Go and see this if you can, there’s still time.
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