Month By Month

November 1983
NCB confirms 49 pits will close due to 'exhausted reserves'.

March 1984
5 - Yorkshire miners stop work over proposed accelerated closure of Cortonwood and Bulcliffe Wood. Yorkshire NUM calls total stoppage from 12 March.
6 - Scottish area NUM calls strike from 9 March.
8 - NUM national executive declares strikes in Yorkshire and Scotland official, and any other area "which takes similar action".

April 1984
19 - NUM special delegate conference supports action in all British coalfields. Resolutions for a ballot overwhelmingly rejected.

May 1984
29 - 5,000 pickets at Orgreave. Riot police deployed for the first time.
30 - Arthur Scargill arrested at Orgreave.

June 1984
6 - 10,000 pickets at Orgreave: 93 arrests; 73 police and hundreds of pickets injured.
18 - 7,000 pickets take on 4,000 police in the Battle of Orgreave.

July 1984
South Wales NUM fined £50,000 for contempt of court, refuse to pay.

August 1984
1 - Mass demonstration outside South Wales NUM in Pontypridd against threat of sequestration.
16 - £707,000 seized by sequestrators from South Wales NUM accounts.

October 1984
1-5 - Labour Party conference backs the miners.
4 - NUM fined £200,000 for contempt.
25 - Proposed Nacods strike over colliery closure review procedure called off.
25 - Sequestrators appointed to seize NUM funds.

November 1984
13 - TUC general secretary, Norman Willis, confronted by hangman's noose at miners' rally in South Wales.

December 1984
14 - Energy minister, Peter Walker, rejects further talks.

February 1985
20 - NUM accepts review procedure as agreed by Nacods and asks for talks with no preconditions.

March 1985
3 - NUM special delegate conference votes 98-91 to return to work without an agreement or amnesty.
5 - Miners return to work behind brass bands, with their supporters.