Casgliadau Arlein

Commemorative ceramic plate ‘North Wales, Point of Ayr, U.D.M.’ with four icons around rim – ‘UDM, Democracy re-born 1985’, ‘Point of Ayr Colliery’, ‘Union of Democratic Mineworkers, Nottingham Section’ and ‘Parlwr Du’. Inscription on reverse.

The Union of Democratic Mineworkers were a break-away trade union from the National Union of Mineworkers during the 1984/85 strike. They were mainly based in the Nottingham coalfield but there were groups elsewhere including a small number (around 30) in Point of Ayr Colliery. During the strike, Point of Ayr (known in Welsh as ‘Parwr du’) was the only Welsh colliery that worked during the entire strike. The other north Wales pit, Bersham, was split between ‘working miners’ and strikers for the early part of the strike but all returned to work by Autumn 1984.