Miners' Strike campaigner recognised for lifetime of community service
She may be 'Just a Pit Lass' but she's in line for an honorary degree. Tony Henderson reports
A woman who played a leading part in the regional and national fight against pit closures during the Miners’ Strike is to be awarded an honorary degree by Durham University.
Miner’s daughter Heather Wood, who has dedicated her life to serving communities across County Durham and beyond, told her story of growing up in the Easington pit community in her 2023 book, Just a Pit Lass.
She said: “It’s always been a goal of mine to write my story, which in so many ways is the story of many working class folk. Our history is not often written by those who lived it. I have no doubt it will never win any great place in the literary world but it’s there, it’s down and it’s all true.
“It’s my story but it’s also a story that is representative of the strong mining families of the British coalfields. My hope is that those reading it will get a sense of the community spirit and the friendships that made mining villages special.”
Heather will receive her Honorary Master of Arts degree during the university’s winter congregation ceremonies at Durham Cathedral from January 8–9.
She said: “I am deeply honoured to be receiving an honorary degree from Durham University. I thank those who nominated me, for recognising the work I have done in my community and beyond.
“But nothing I have achieved has been mine alone, it has been built on the love and support of so many others. This honour is for me, and for working class women in colliery villages across Britain.”
During the Miners’ Strike of 1984–85, she founded Women’s Support Groups to provide food and care for affected families. Her commitment to social justice later led to election to Durham County Council, where she championed the interests of older people, the preservation of local heritage, and the protection of public services.
Heather’s creativity and activism have extended to the arts. She has toured plays locally and internationally, and assisted filmmaker Ken Loach, also taking roles in his films Sorry We Missed You and The Old Oak.
During the Miners’ Strike, women banded together in cramped conditions to cook and serve meals to their hard-pressed communities, made banners, marched, raised funds, stood on picket lines and counselled those who were finding it hard to cope.
Heather was fully committed to the struggle and was part of the drive to commemorate the strike’s 40th anniversary with a national day of events held in Durham.
Heather said: “Before the strike, we knew something was going to happen. Margaret Thatcher was out to get the mines. The union was fighting to maintain the mines, the jobs and communities. We knew we had to get the support of the women. If we didn’t, the men would have been forced back to work.
“It was a mass movement of women across the country. We celebrate how strong and resilient the women were. Some of us still can’t believe we did what we did.”
Heather, who helped set up 14 support groups across the Durham coalfield, took part earlier this year in a documentary film, titled Iron Ladies, from independent film and distribution company Shut Out the Light, which features women describing their experiences during the strike - from fundraising and running kitchens to supplying meals to mining families, to joining the picket lines.
She said: “There are so many lessons we can learn from the women’s support groups during the strike. We didn’t wait for someone to come along and give us permission to get things done. We just got on with it.
“There were enough of us up and down the country that we were able to stand for a full year - on picket lines, feeding families in the welfare halls and at rallies. We were a force to be reckoned with then, and you know what — we are still here, decades later.
“But the ultimate lesson from the strike is that together we can achieve great things.”
She also appears in a film on what it was like to live and work in pit communities, the mining culture and the strike. The film Hollowed Ground: The People of the Durham Coalfield is by County Durham-based Lonely Tower Film & Media.
Another film produced to mark the 40th anniversary and which also includes Heather is In The Veins, which portrays how one of the longest industrial disputes of the 20th century has affected the people, places and identity of individuals and communities involved in the strike.
Created by the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive and Teesside University, the film also uses over a century of archive footage to reflect on the mining heritage of Yorkshire and the North.
Ben Lamb, senior lecturer in media and television at Teesside University and executive co-producer of In The Veins, said: “We are indebted to the community curator group who were instrumental in shaping the film.
“They lived, worked and breathed mining communities, at the coalface and in the community. It shows the strength and tenacity of miners and their families who over the years fought for a fair wage, better working conditions and in 1984 fought hoping to keep jobs and community.”
Honorary degrees will also be awarded to Vice Admiral Andrew Burns, Sir Bob Murray, and Yasmin Khan.
Durham University Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Professor Karen O’Brien, said: “Our four honorary graduates have demonstrated exemplary leadership, service and vision.
“Each has shown exceptional commitment to improving lives, whether through transforming communities, advancing national service, or championing equality and inclusion.
“They are inspirational role models for our students and graduates, demonstrating that dedication and courage can change society for the better.”
Vice Admiral Andrew Burns, who will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree, is a Durham alumnus and one of the Royal Navy’s most senior officers.
He rose through the ranks to command ships and international task forces, shaping defence strategy at the highest level. Appointed Fleet Commander in 2021, he became responsible for global naval operations.
An Honorary Doctor of Letters will go to Sir Bob Murray. As chairman of Sunderland AFC for two decades, he oversaw a new era for both club and city, delivering the Stadium of Light and the Academy of Light. His leadership reached the national stage through his instrumental roles in completing Wembley Stadium and creating St George’s Park, the home of England’s national teams.
In 2001, he founded the Foundation of Light, one of the UK’s largest football charities, which now helps more than 40,000 people every year through education, health, employability and community programmes.
Yasmin Khan will receive an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree. She is the founder and director of the Halo Project, an award-winning charity that supports Black and minoritised victims and survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and honour-based abuse.
At Durham University, she established the Student Halo Hub to promote student safety and awareness on campus.