Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1962-1986 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2.5 A boxes (1.5 A box catalogued; 1 A box uncatalogued)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Betty Heathfield (1927-2006) was born into a mining family in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. She attended Chesterfield Girls' School and won a university scholarship, which she did not take up for financial reasons. Instead she left school at sixteen to work as a secretary in a local engineering company and became interested in left-wing politics, joining the Young Communist League. In 1953 she married Peter Heathfield, a miner who became the general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers. She was active in her own right in labour politics in Chesterfield, as a member of the Co-Operative Women's Guild, and a founding member of the Derbyshire Women's Action Group. She became one of the spokeswomen and leading members of the national Women Against Pit Closures organisation during the miners' strike of 1984-1985. Alongside Anne Scargill she led the support campaign for miners' families - organising financial aid, holidays for children, and touring the USA and Canada to raise support for British mining communities. She also took part in an oral history and writing project to document the experiences of women during the action. After the end of the strike, Heathfield studied for a politics degree at Lancaster University. She was also involved in a Women's Co-operative Guild Age Exchange Theatre Company project on the history of the Guild. After suffering from Alzheimer's disease she died on 16 Feb 2006.
Repository
Archival history
GB 106 7BEH 1962-1986 fonds 2.5 A boxes (1.5 A box catalogued; 1 A box uncatalogued) Heathfield , Betty , 1927-2006 , women's campaigner
Betty Heathfield (1927-2006) was born into a mining family in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. She attended Chesterfield Girls' School and won a university scholarship, which she did not take up for financial reasons. Instead she left school at sixteen to work as a secretary in a local engineering company and became interested in left-wing politics, joining the Young Communist League. In 1953 she married Peter Heathfield, a miner who became the general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers. She was active in her own right in labour politics in Chesterfield, as a member of the Co-Operative Women's Guild, and a founding member of the Derbyshire Women's Action Group. She became one of the spokeswomen and leading members of the national Women Against Pit Closures organisation during the miners' strike of 1984-1985. Alongside Anne Scargill she led the support campaign for miners' families - organising financial aid, holidays for children, and touring the USA and Canada to raise support for British mining communities. She also took part in an oral history and writing project to document the experiences of women during the action. After the end of the strike, Heathfield studied for a politics degree at Lancaster University. She was also involved in a Women's Co-operative Guild Age Exchange Theatre Company project on the history of the Guild. After suffering from Alzheimer's disease she died on 16 Feb 2006.
Collection stored in The Fawcett Library Office until Jan 1994 when the decision was taken to treat the collection as an archive. The interview transcripts were anonymised in Jun 2006.
The archive consists of transcripts of interviews with members of the Women Against Pit Closures group collected by Betty Heathfield, relating to their involvement in the 1984-1985 miners' strike. It includes a draft of an unpublished book by Betty Heathfield about the strike entitled 'Women of the Coalfields' based on these oral history interviews. This portion of the collection is available in the form of transcripts that have been anonymised to protect the identity of the interviewees.
The archive also consists of transcripts of oral history interviews, collected by Betty Heathfield, with older members of the Women's Co-operative Guild (WCG) and working papers and drafts on the history of the Guild; papers relating to the WCG and Age Exchange Theatre Company, 1983. This portion of the collection is uncatalogued and not yet available.
This collection is partially available for research. The catalogued portion of the collection is available for research, uncatalogued material remains unavailable.
English
The Papers of Jean McCrindle, including records of Women Against Pit Closures, are also held at The Women's Library, ref: 7JMC. The records of South Wales Women Against Pit Closures are held in Glamorgan Record Office. Additional oral history material is catalogued in Strand 8.
Finding aid created by export from CALM v7.2.14 Archives Hub EAD2002. Edited for AIM25 by Sarah Drewery.
In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
08/02/2008 Associations Womens organizations Mining Coal mining Sex distribution Sex Women Marriage Marital status Married women Social behaviour Social participation Womens participation Organizations Strikes Labour disputes Labour relations Heathfield , Betty , 1927-2006 , women's campaigner Women's Co-operative Guild
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Collection stored in The Fawcett Library Office until Jan 1994 when the decision was taken to treat the collection as an archive. The interview transcripts were anonymised in Jun 2006.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The archive consists of transcripts of interviews with members of the Women Against Pit Closures group collected by Betty Heathfield, relating to their involvement in the 1984-1985 miners' strike. It includes a draft of an unpublished book by Betty Heathfield about the strike entitled 'Women of the Coalfields' based on these oral history interviews. This portion of the collection is available in the form of transcripts that have been anonymised to protect the identity of the interviewees.
The archive also consists of transcripts of oral history interviews, collected by Betty Heathfield, with older members of the Women's Co-operative Guild (WCG) and working papers and drafts on the history of the Guild; papers relating to the WCG and Age Exchange Theatre Company, 1983. This portion of the collection is uncatalogued and not yet available.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
This collection is partially available for research. The catalogued portion of the collection is available for research, uncatalogued material remains unavailable.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
The Papers of Jean McCrindle, including records of Women Against Pit Closures, are also held at The Women's Library, ref: 7JMC. The records of South Wales Women Against Pit Closures are held in Glamorgan Record Office. Additional oral history material is catalogued in Strand 8.
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Notes area
Note
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- Organizations » Associations
- Organizations » Associations » Womens organizations
- Mining
- Mining » Coal mining
- Sex distribution
- Sex distribution » Sex
- Sex distribution » Sex » Women
- Marriage
- Marriage » Marital status
- Marriage » Marital status » Married women
- Social behaviour
- Social behaviour » Social participation
- Social behaviour » Social participation » Womens participation
- Organizations
- Labour relations » Labour disputes » Strikes
- Labour relations » Labour disputes
- Labour relations
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
In compliance with ISAD (G): General International Standard Archival Description - 2nd Edition (1999); UNESCO Thesaurus, December 2001; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English