Spirit of mining celebrated at With Banners Held High festival

There was music, speeches, film screenings and displays of mining memorabilia at With Banners Held High on Saturday.

Drawings of the 1984-5 miners’ strike by Maltby artist Peter Price were on display at the event after being unearthed by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

Speakers included the NUM’s Nicky Wilson, broadcaster Ian Clayton and Granville Williams, who launched his new book The Flame Still Burns, which explores how mining inspired art.

A daytime festival at the venue on Westgate was followed by a fundraising gig headlined by Ferocious Dog, with support from Parson’s Lot and The Star Botherers.

Cash was raised for the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign.

Poet Matt Abbott, who was among the daytime performers, tweeted: “Humbling as always to perform at With Banners Held High for the coal mining community. Performances, memories, planning and solidarity.”