12 rare photos of the 1984 miners' strike around Yorkshire

It was the year that proved to be defining moment in the history of coal mining.

The miners’ strike started in Yorkshire in the spring of 1984 and within days half the country's mineworkers had walked out in a row over pit closures. The biggest industrial dispute in post-war Britain pitted thousands of miners and their trade union against then prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her government, which supported plans to shut 20 coal pits. These rare photos, plucked from the YEP archive, showcase the raw emotion of the dispute at pits around God’s own county. READ MORE: 21 of the best photos take you back to Yorkshire in 1983 YEP RETRO NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our free monthly email digest of Leeds nostalgia

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