Monday 3rd March 2025 marks 40th years since the end of the 1984/5 Miners’ Strike. Four decades on from one of the longest industrial disputes of the 20th century, it’s an important time to reflect on the rich history of mining in the UK, how it has affected the people, places, and identity of those that were involved.

The Yorkshire and North East Film Archive and Teesside University have come together to produce ‘In the Veins’, a short film that resonates through time, using over a century of archive footage to shine a light onto the face of the mining heritage of Yorkshire and the North East of England.

For centuries, men toiled in the bowels of the earth to build a nation, creating prosperity and improved standards of living, before experiencing the gut-wrenching end to livelihoods, a cost to people and their communities that is still having an impact across the generations.

A story of hardship and hope, division and defiance, perseverance and pride; the film is not a history lesson, it’s an emotional journey that digs deep into the heart of a community built on coal. 

The full version of ‘In the Veins’, which runs for 24 minutes, is now available to view on the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyQxrchc8bc