Members of the Blackhall Banner Committee were proud to represent our village and its mining heritage at the annual Thomas Hepburn Memorial Service held in Heworth last Saturday morning, 12 October.
Thomas Hepburn (c1795-1864) was active in forming the first miners’ union in County Durham & Northumberland in 1825 and dedicated his entire life to serving his community, being a particularly vocal advocate for children’s education and a reduction in the working hours of child miners. He was also influential in breaking down the ‘Tommy Shop’ system in pit villages, used by unscrupulous mine-owners to manipulate prices and hold mining families to ransom in their own communities.
His example in taking on the establishment and putting the interests of the people and their pit communities first serves as a timely reminder to us all that our struggles in adversity are rooted in the wealth and privilege at the top of society and not from within our own class and communities.
It has been confirmed by the Durham Miners' Association that the annual Thomas Hepburn Memorial Service will now be held on the second Saturday in October. This is to avoid any confusion about the date of the event and brings the timing in line with the Big Meeting which is held on the second Saturday in July.
