Battle of Orgreave exhibition seen by Sunderland couple

Bob and Juliana Heron, deeply involved in the events of 40 years ago, recently visited the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art to experience Mike Figgis’s film, The Battle of Orgreave, and view photographs from a local newspaper in an accompanying exhibition.

Bob, a former colliery fitter at Eppleton Colliery, didn’t need the film to recall the infamous Battle of Orgreave on June, 18, 1984 - as he was there on the day and still bears the scars to prove it.

As a Sunderland City Councillor and former city Mayor, Bob’s involvement in the strike remains a defining part of his life.

His wife, Juliana, also former city Mayor and a long-serving Sunderland City Councillor representing Houghton Ward, ran the Eppleton Miners Wives Support Group during the strike. Her activism in supporting miners’ families was crucial.

Juliana and Bob Heron went to see see the Jeremy Deller ‘Battle of Orgreave’ film and photo exhibition (Image: SUNDERLAND CULTURE)

Recalling the events, Bob described the terrifying scenes.

“I was about 30ft from the front of our line when the police in front of us parted ways and a big gap appeared," he said.

"We were thinking ‘what’s going on here’ then these galloping horses came through the gap and headed straight for us.

“It was utterly terrifying and I saw lads getting cracked over the head by police officers and being knocked out of the way by horses. The police were lashing out at anyone near them, there were so many head injuries.”

Bob was knocked down a bank by a policeman who barged him with a shield, and when he got to his feet he felt a tugging at his leg. It was a police dog.

He added: “I shook the dog off and was then running back towards the lads when this policeman shouted ‘look at your leg’.

"I looked down and my leg was in shreds and covered in blood – I knew I was in trouble.

“Other policemen directed me to an ambulance which took me to the hospital. The hospital was very busy and the A&E area had been split into a section for police and a section for us. I asked the doctor which one had more staff. He said they were equally staffed.”

He needed ten stitches for the dog bite and has now been left with a permanent scar on his leg from this ordeal.

Meanwhile back in Eppleton, Juliana, who was initially a nurse, was raising three children at home when word started coming through of something happening at Orgreave

“There were whispers that something big was happening and obviously I knew Bob was there," she said. I saw him on the news and just went crackers.”

Juliana, along with her friends Florence Anderson and Heather Wood, set up the Eppleton Miners Wives Support Group.

Juliana Heron helped to set up the Eppleton Miners Wives Support Group (Image: SUNDERLAND CULTURE)

She said: “We were already providing meals and food parcels and taking part in marches, but we wanted to do more.

“We took over the Eppleton Miners’ Welfare Hall and were given equipment from the colliery kitchens.”

They ran a cafe, serving over 1,350 meals in one week, and provided weekly food parcels to single miners not receiving any benefits.

The group’s work inspired both Bob and Juliana to enter politics. Bob became a councillor in 1991, with Juliana following in 1994.

Reflecting on the strike, Bob said: “I was angry then and I’m still angry now, 40 years later. What happened at Orgreave and other places shouldn’t have happened.

“Eppleton pit closed months later and at the same time, the village’s only other big employer Pearsons the builders also closed, so it was a devastating time. So many young people- including one of our sons- left and didn’t come back, there was just nothing for them.”

Juliana added “It was the injustice and unfairness that made us so angry. Whole communities were based around the pits- it wasn’t just the jobs and employment we had welfare halls, we had football and cricket teams, the pit was the centre of everything and all of a sudden they were being taken away by our own Government.”

Juliana is passionate about keeping the memory of those times alive and has recently appeared on The One Show, BBC News and Politics North recounting her experiences.

“We’re all getting older, but the miner’s strike must never be forgotten because we’re still living with the consequences," she said.

"Our communities are still suffering to this day and we mustn’t let people forget that the start of this was the closure of the pits.

“The film and photographs at the NGCA help to keep those memories alive.”

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The NGCA exhibition includes The Battle of Orgreave Figgis’s film based on Jeremy Deller’s 2001 re-enactment, featuring footage of the event and interviews with key figures.

The display also features photographs of pickets, marches, and everyday life during the strike.

The free exhibition and film run at NGCA’s Collection Space inside the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until November 3, offering a poignant reminder of the strike’s impact on communities and the enduring legacy of those tumultuous times.