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For eight days in May 1926 thousands of workers went on strike in support of the miners, who were being asked by the private mine owners to accept a 13% pay cut and lengthier shifts. In response, the Government recruited a large militia of special constables to maintain order, equipping them with truncheons. This truncheon was carried by my father to protect buses from arsonists. Had he realised the poverty in which the miners lived, I doubt he would have volunteered at all. The outcome for the miners was miserably bleak. They were forced to accept the original conditions and some did not find employment for many years afterwards. (The strap is a replacement).