In Loving Memory of Work tells the story of the UK Miners' Strike 1984-85 through a record of the visual culture of the working class affected during this pivotal period. Curated and edited by designer/author Craig Oldham, it remains the outstanding retelling of the event and returns here in a revised, updated and expanded third edition.
The book presents photographs, posters, badges, banners and more alongside contemporary commentary to create both a fascinating document of a specific historical period, as well as an exploration of dissent more broadly, and the vital role visual material can play in the radical, even revolutionary, moment. Originally published in 2015, this Rough Trade Books edition features a raft of new material to mark the upcoming 40th anniversary of the dispute, celebrating the breadth of working class creativity while simultaneously paying homage to a devastated community.
Alongside a foreword from acclaimed film director Ken Loach, are original contributions from comedian Alexei Sayle, Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, as well as notable designers including Ian Anderson (The Designers Republic), Jonathan Barnbrook, Ken Garland, and design critic Rick Poynor. Featuring rare visual material from the collections of the Working Class Movement Library, the National Union of Mineworkers, and artist Darren Coffield, the book also includes recollections and material from Women Against Pit Closure’s co-founder, Anne Scargill (former wife of the NUM leader during the strike, Arthur Scargill), alongside female activists Betty Cook and Aggie Currie, as well as political cartoonist Alan Hardman, banner artists Ed Hall and Andrew Turner, filmmaker Yvette Vanson, Mike Mansfield QC, and designer Paul Morton. The book also explores one of the strike’s most iconic and enduring images, that of the defenceless Lesley Boulton, about to be struck by a mounted policeman during the now infamous ‘Battle of Orgreave’ through interviews with both Boulton herself and photographer John Harris.
Rough Trade Books, 200pp, 23cm x 29cm, illustrated paperback, 2023
