March with the Miners took place in Benarty on Saturday

The mass walkout of 1984/85 to try and prevent the closure of pits was a major event in the history of this country and the effects are still being felt today.

The event, expected to be the only one of its kind north of the border, was organised by Save the Cage and started with a march from Ballingry to a rally in Lochore Meadows Country Park. 

The day included poetry, songs and music in the wee hall, as well as a nostalgic 80s disco in Lochore’s The Red Goth.

Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, along with Scottish Government Minister Tom Arthur were both in attendance at the miners march.

The mining industry played a huge role in Scotland. (Image: David Wardle)

Afterwards she said: “What a special day and what a privilege to be there as constituency SNP MSP.

“I want to say a massive well done to all the organisers and volunteers, including the Benarty Heritage Preservation Group. 

"And I was particularly pleased that the Minister for Employment & Investment, Tom Arthur MSP, attended in a show of respect and solidarity on the part of the Scottish Government."

She added: “What was done to miners and their families and proud communities was utterly abhorrent and I am proud that it was an SNP Scottish Government which introduced the miner’s pardon. 

"Westminster let the miners down in the eighties and, by not setting up a compensation scheme, has let them down again. 

“Whoever forms the next UK Government must do what it did not do before, including the establishment of an enquiry into what happened at Orgreave, and ensuring miners get what they are entitled to in the miners’ pension scheme.

“The miners must not be betrayed again.”

The event was organised by former miner Andrew 'Watty' Watson, from Ballingry, who was one of the youngest people in Scotland to be arrested and then sacked during the action.

After being detained for an apparent breach of the peace, he was told to plead guilty and was shocked to then be fired by the coal board, one of 206 miners to lose their jobs during the strike in Scotland.

He later was offered his job back and went onto work until 2002 when he was made redundant following severe flooding at Longannet, which saw the mine close and what little was left of the industry effectively grind to a halt.

Six miners from Benarty were sacked during the strike. (Image: David Wardle)

Now a train driver, Watty organised the march to remember the "courageous struggle" and to celebrate the mining community across Scotland.

He was one of six miners from Benarty to be sacked during the strike. The other five were Tam Brown, Ronnie Campbell, Sean Lee, George McShane and Ian Walker.

The strike began on March 1, 1984 when the closure of Cortonwood Colliery in Yorkshire was announced. 

This led to a local strike with a national walkout following shortly afterwards. By March 14, all of Scotland’s coal mines were at a standstill.

The march by Save the Cage was intended to be a peaceful commemoration of the struggles that miners and their families endured. (Image: David Wardle)

The strike lasted a whole year and hastened the end of coal mining as an industry, a demise which has had a huge effect on communities across Fife and the rest of the UK.

The pits played a massive role in Scotland in terms of employment and also shaping communities.

READ MORE: Gordon Brown accepts highest award on King’s Honours List

The march marked 40 years since the 1984/85 strikes. (Image: David Wardle)

Organisers of the march and rally said they were not trying to make a "political statement" and said it was a "peaceful commemoration of the struggles that miners and their families endured, throughout that year and beyond". 

The Lochgelly Band led the way from Ballingry. It used to be financially supported by the miners of the town, and every miner paid a penny a week. Often, bands were made up of miners.

The group recently purchased a new uniform which features a black diamond logo that pays tribute to their mining heritage.

The event was expected to be the only one in Scotland to mark the 40th anniversary of the strike. (Image: David Wardle)

The Save the Cage group has been working in partnership with the National Mining Museum of Scotland and Fife Council to transfer large items of mining equipment to Lochore Country Park to be on display. 

Sufficient funds have now been raised and the exhibition is expected to be ready by the end of the summer.