Archive: Mardy, last pit in the Rhondda in 1984

It is 25 years since the last pit in the Rhondda, Mardy colliery, closed.

The final 300 men had their final shift on 21 December 1990, in a valley which once employed more than 4,000 men.

In 1984, before the pit was involved in a year-long strike but while its future was in doubt, a BBC documentary team was involved in filming with the Mardy miners underground.

Here Ivor England describes how his grandfather had started in the pit before World War One.

After the pit closed six years later, Ivor became involved in setting up Rhondda Heritage Park and still brings mining history to schools.

His son Robert, who became a fifth generation miner, retrained as a bus driver and worked for the mines rescue service.