Fonds GB 106 7BEH - HEATHFIELD, Betty (1927-2006)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 106 7BEH

Title

HEATHFIELD, Betty (1927-2006)

Date(s)

  • 1962-1986 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

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

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Women's Library

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

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area