T&D NEEDS Post Two: The 1978 Drivers' Strike

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi guys, here’s the second of the two requests I mentioned in Post One, again cross-posted to the PDF and Old Time forums, though I suspect in this case the latter is more likely to “bear fruit”…

This year will be the 40th anniversary of the 1978 Drivers’ Strike, and I’m looking to put together a feature about what happened, what effect it had for future generations, how it changed drivers’ views on trade unionism, and why it may or may not ever be repeated.

Were you around in the industry in 1978? Did you take part or specifically choose not to take part and why? What was the strike like in reality? I’m trying very hard not to ask leading questions here based on what I already know, but you get the gist…

Again, if you’d be willing to spare me 20 minutes of your time for a quick phone interview please post below and I’ll drop you a PM.

Thankyou!!! :grimacing: :grimacing: :grimacing:

2

Hi Lucy, I was involved in the 78 strike and would love to give you a view of my experience of it.
Oh, and thanks for the mention in T & D re; Dukes Transport.

Regards
Dave Penn;

3

Fab, thanks Dave! There’s no mad rush with this one, so I’ll drop you a PM nearer the time so we can swap contact details, if that’s ok? :grimacing:

4

I got called back off leave from the Army for the tankers driver strike 1978

5

It is probably true that the strikes led directly to 11 years of Maggie Thatcher as PM, so some good came out of them.

6

We had a sit in at TGWU in Oxford because they would not let us go back to work after our bosses agreed to pay, I led the sit in.