I’m Rebecca Wells. As part of my final year (2024/25) studying English Literature at Keele University, I was given the opportunity to pursue a work placement and was fortunate to secure a position in the University Library’s Special Collections and Archives. Following my engagement with historical literary materials during my degree programme, I was excited to gain further insight into archival processes. I would like to thank Helen Burton and Ashleigh Coffey for their support throughout my placement.

North Staffs Miners’ Wives Action Group

A collection of materials new to the Archives relates to the formidable North Staffordshire Miners’ Wives Action Group, kindly donated to Keele by surviving member, Rose Hunter. The Group formed in response to the 1984 miners’ strike and members have been actively campaigning for over 40 years. The archive spans the Group’s activism from inception to the present day and comprises correspondence, reports, minutes, diaries, performance scripts, song sheets, interviews, photographs, recordings, campaign literature and press cuttings. It will be some time before the archive is fully accessible. In the meantime, enquiries should be directed to special.collections@keele.ac.uk.

Trentham Pit

The focus of my research is the collection of handwritten diaries which detail the daily activities at the NSMWAG’s protest camp at Trentham Pit. In January 1993 the women towed a caravan to the Hem Heath colliery entrance and set up camp to protest the closure of the Trentham super pit.

The diaries are rich in humour and light-hearted banter despite the ongoing struggles of maintaining occupation and campaigning against national pit closures.

Operation Mushroom

The diaries provide an insightful account of the three-day-sit- in known as Operation Mushroom (named after the shape of the concrete winding tower). On 12 May 1993, members Bridget Bell, Brenda Procter and Gina Earl descended No. 2 pit shaft and chained themselves to machinery for 80 hours. A fourth member, Rose Hunter, remained outside to manage communications.

The diary entries display a sense of light-hearted camaraderie amid the seriousness of their protest. Gina is advised to ditch the fluorescent pink backpack she has brought with her to store supplies, in an attempt to remain incognito.

Following negotiations and supporters’ threats to march into the pit with 100 demonstrators, the occupation of shaft no. 2 comes to an end on the morning of 15 May 1993. When the protesters emerge, they are greeted by the smiles and tears of family and friends. The diary entries document the overwhelming display of community, particularly from fellow female comrades. The reception from the local media and all their supporters leads them to burst into song, generating an atmosphere of unwavering positivity and resilience.

Creative Voices “Fighting on!”

As a literature student, I’m drawn to the Group’s creative output, and I’ve enjoyed exploring the broad range of posters, poetry, plays and songs produced as a part of their campaigning. Founding member Bridget Bell gained some stage experience from a young age through her political activism and encouraged her fellow members to use performance as a means of spreading their message.

Nice Girls

‘Nice Girls’ marks the first extended documentary of the women’s story, with the inclusion of some of the Group’s best-known campaign songs and the dramatization of their activism amid the miners’ strike and pit closures. Local theatre director Peter Cheeseman’s vision for the documentary, along with the utilization of archival materials, helps produce a performance through which the women’s activism could be seen and celebrated.

The Miner Birds

Alongside my research, I had the pleasure of attending a March 2025 performance of ‘The Miner Birds’ at the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The play is by award-winning writer and academic Lisa Blower and tells the story of three women’s experience occupying Trentham Colliery. Lisa has been instrumental in bringing the NSMWAG archive to Keele through her collaboration with NSMWAG to mark their 40th anniversary.

The performance encouraged audience participation, and many attendees were friends and family of the cause, which created an inclusive environment built on a shared passion for justice. The cast and crew handed out leaflets and LED candles, replicating the women’s campaigning and the candlelight vigil held during the pit occupation. As the performers began to sing their anthems ‘No Going Back’ and ‘Women of the Working Class’, audience members sang along, creating a deeply affecting atmosphere reminiscent of past protests and rallies.

Rose Hunter

In conversation with Rose Hunter, I had the opportunity to ask about her experience as spokesperson for the Group, and what this archive means to her and the rest of the community. She gives much of the credit to Bridget Bell for seeing the importance of collecting the Group’s history over the years, stating that they were mostly “living in the moment”. She’s grateful that the archive has found a home at Keele where it can be preserved and made available.

Rose goes on to say, “everything we do is a collective. I might spearhead it…but then I go out and say, ‘right who can help me with this?’ I have been very lucky”.

The Group remains active, and the archive continues to accumulate. In Rose’s words, “We’re not done yet.”