The banner of Barnburgh Branch of the Yorkshire Area of the NUM. Made in 1982 by Turtle and Pearce and designed by Tony Phipps and Justine Calthorpe. The pit was part of a network of modern pits, linked underground. Major investment in capital equipment allowed the pit to be one of the most productive in the industry. It is estimated that about 120 years worth of accessible coal was left underground at the time of closure. Over £12m worth of the most advanced mining technology in the world was left underground. Four hundred and fifty people lost their jobs, mineworkers, clerical staff, managers, canteen staff, electricians, welders..... This sudden and unnecessary loss of employment to mineworkers spread like a disease to other forms of employment in the local communities as the economy constricted. Service industries and retail sector suffered massively. Increased poverty and family break-up followed. Difficulties in schools, as the youngsters could see no future for them rejected the discipline of the institution. Thirty years on many in the communities have still a memory of what the ruling class did to the working, working people who risked life and limb on a daily basis to produce coal When the then Prime Minister of the Conservative Government, Margaret Thatcher, died in 2012, who can blame them for celebrating?