Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Britain's Black Diamonds

Episode 4 of 20

Melvyn Bragg reveals archive footage telling the history of modern Britain. In south Wales, he looks back to the 1930s and salutes Britain's coal miners.

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country, to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, to tell the history of modern Britain.

At the Big Pit Mining Museum in south Wales, Melvyn looks back to the 1930s and salutes Britain's 'black diamonds', brave miners who risked their lives digging for the coal that powered an empire. Vicky Stradling tells the shocking truth about one of the worst disasters in coal mining history. Melvyn goes underground to learn about the limited safety equipment used by coalminers in the 1930s. And David Bogg reveals the occupational hazards of working with pit ponies.

30 minutes

Music Played

  • White Noise Research

    An Afternoon On Condale Lake

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Melvyn Bragg
Series Producer Dympna Jackson
Executive Producer Ruth Pitt

Broadcasts