My father, Jim Ford, who has died 82, worked in the coalmines of Shropshire for 40 years. Coal has been mined in the county since medieval times. Jim started at Kemberton colliery in Madeley in 1955, and later worked at Granville colliery and Lea Hall colliery – all three have now closed.
Jim was heavily involved in his union, the NUM, and was on strike in 1972 and 1974. During the miners’ strike of 1984-85, he was out for the year and he served as the treasurer of the Shropshire striking miners’ fund.
