Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

A London solidarity group formed in 1984 that twinned with the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys Miners Support Group, raised about £22,500 for striking families, and was welcomed at Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall in October 1984 — the alliance dramatised in the 2014 film Pride, whose dance scene was filmed in the same hall.

The mining history in this record

With the National Union of Mineworkers' funds sequestered during the 1984–85 strike, supporters were encouraged to adopt particular mining communities. Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson collected for the miners at the London Lesbian and Gay Pride march in June 1984, and LGSM held its inaugural meeting in Ashton's flat in Elephant and Castle in July. Six weeks later it voted to adopt the Dulais valley — in practice three valleys, Neath, Dulais and Swansea — largely because one member came from there. The support group's miners were divided about accepting, and sent Dai Donovan of Ynyswen to meet LGSM in London on 6 September 1984; he left with a first cheque for £500.

Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall, opened in 1955 as part of the village's miners' welfare scheme, was then the support group's centre for food distribution, meetings and social evenings. LGSM members travelled there in late October 1984 — 26 October according to Coflein and the Morning Star, 27 October in Mike Jackson's own account — to a silence that broke into a standing ovation. Andy Denn spoke from the stage, and the visitors stayed in miners' homes. Money raised in London, about £22,500 in all, including roughly £5,000 from the 'Pits and Perverts' concert headlined by Bronski Beat at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, on 10 December 1984, went to families in the valleys and bought a minibus; Donovan spoke at that concert. Miners from the valleys marched at London Lesbian and Gay Pride in 1985 with the Blaenant Lodge banner.

People

Mark Ashton (1960–1987) and Mike Jackson founded the group. Dai (David) Donovan of Ynyswen represented the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys Miners Support Group; Hefina Headon also spoke for the Dulais miners. Jonathan Blake and Andy Denn were among the London members who visited Onllwyn. Siân James, a miner's wife, was secretary of the South Wales Women's Support Groups.

Legacy today

The alliance is credited with helping bring the National Union of Mineworkers' block vote behind the Labour Party's 1985 conference resolution supporting lesbian and gay rights, and miners' groups opposed Section 28 in 1988. Matthew Warchus's film Pride (2014) dramatised the story; its disco scene, where Bronwen Lewis sings Bread and Roses, was filmed at Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall. Both groups re-formed after the film, holding a 30th-anniversary reunion at the hall in March 2015. LGSM wound down as a campaigning group in October 2015; its London archive is at the People's History Museum, Manchester.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• LGSM was started by Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson after collecting for the miners at the 1984 London Lesbian and Gay Pride march; lgsm.org dates the inaugural meeting to 15 July 1984. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The London group adopted the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys Miners Support Group rather than sending money to the national union. (documented fact) ^1,2,3
• Coflein and the Morning Star date LGSM's first visit to Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall to 26 October 1984; the hall was then the centre for food distribution, meetings and social evenings for striking families. (documented fact, disputed) ^4,5
• Mike Jackson's own account dates the first visit to Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall to 27 October 1984. (later recollection, disputed) ²
• The London group raised about £22,000–£22,500 for families in the valleys, including about £5,000 from the Pits and Perverts concert at the Electric Ballroom on 10 December 1984. (documented fact) ^1,3
• Miners from the valleys joined London Lesbian and Gay Pride in 1985 carrying the Blaenant Lodge banner. (later recollection) ²
• The 2014 film Pride dramatises the alliance, and its disco scene was filmed at Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall. (documented fact) ^1,4,6
• LGSM and the Neath, Dulais and Swansea Valleys Miners Support Group re-formed after the film and held a 30th-anniversary reunion at Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall in March 2015. (documented fact) ^4,5

Mines

• Blaenant Colliery — Neath Port Talbot
  Miners from the valleys carried the Blaenant Lodge banner with LGSM at London Lesbian and Gay Pride in 1985.
• Onllwyn Colliery — Neath Port Talbot
  The village's Miners' Welfare Hall, built by the Onllwyn miners' welfare scheme, was the support group's centre where LGSM was welcomed in October 1984 and where Pride's dance scene was filmed; the colliery itself had closed in 1964.

People

• Mark Ashton (1960–1987) · founder, from 1984 — Co-founded LGSM after collecting for the miners at the 1984 London Pride march.
• Mike Jackson · founder, from 1984 — Co-founded LGSM with Mark Ashton and wrote the group's history on lgsm.org.

Regions

Neath Port Talbot

Sources

1. (secondary) Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (Mike Jackson) — LGSM
3. (secondary) 'There Was a Whole World We Were Fighting For': LGSM turns 40 (April 2024) — Tribune
4. (primary) Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall (NPRN 414833) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
5. (secondary) 30 years on, miners take Pride again (Luke James, 13 March 2015) — Morning Star
6. (secondary) Onllwyn Miners Welfare Hall — Land of Legends (Visit Wales)
7. (secondary) Pride (2014 film) — Wikipedia

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 17 September 2026