There are thirty nine banners in the SWCC. Twenty seven of them are from National Union of Mineworkers(South Wales Area) Lodges, while the other twelve are from a number of different groups. These include a banner from the Krasnaya Presna Working Women brought back from the USSR by a delegation of miners headed by A J Cooke in 1927, and a banner from a delegation of Chinese miners.
The banners are made from a variety of materials, ranging from silk and velvet to plastic and even a hospital bed-sheet. They vary in size; from the largest measuring 247 x 274cm, the smallest at 22 x 30cm.
The list has been structured so that all the NUM banners are listed first, and the banners from other bodies listed next. It should be noted that many of these banners do not belong to the University, but have been kindly deposited there by the NUM (South Wales Area).
Slogan: Unity is Strength (both sides)
A yellow circle with a miner's lamp, a leek and a colliery winding tower, depicting the emblem of the National Union of Mineworkers, South Wales Area (back)
This was the first Trade Union Banner to appear on the picket line outside Pentonville Jail in support of the five dockers leaders imprisoned in July 1972.
1958.
Slogan: Stand Firm in Unity
A picture of Will Paynter (front)
Two miners working down a mine, one of whom is pulling a lever to operate some machinery (back).
Slogan: Forward to Unity
A picture of a miner, wearing a flat cap, working down a mine drilling into a coal seam.
1940 (c).
Slogan: Onward to Socialism and the Liberation of Mankind (front)
Slogan: Educate, Organise, Agitate (back)
A miner drilling underground in front of a panoramic view of a colliery and the surrounding village and countryside (front)
A yellow circle with a miner's lamp, a leek and a colliery winding tower, depicting the emblem of the National Union of Mineworkers, South Wales Area (back).
1956 (c).
Slogan: Peace and Prosperity (front and back)
A picture of a family (mother, father, son and daughter) walking through the countryside on a sunny day (front)
A yellow circle with a miner's lamp, a leek and a colliery winding tower, depicting the emblem of the National Union of Mineworkers, South Wales Area (back).
Slogan: An Injury To One Is The Concern Of All
The slogan is from the American "Wobblies", an early twentieth century Marxist/Syndicalist labour movement. There is an inscription on the bottom right-hand corner 'Sutton G C G'.
1945 (c).
Slogan: A J Cook From Obscurity To Respect
A large picture of A J Cook in the middle. In the top left-hand corner there is an intertwined pick and shovel, and in the top right-hand corner there is a colliery winding tower (both sides).
1926 (c).
Slogan: Forward to Socialism / Ymlaen i Sosialaeth
At the top of the banner is a picture of a colliery and the surrounding area, including a public house called The Dragon. Below left is a picture of an old fashioned miner with a miner's lamp and pick. Below right is a modern miner with a mechanical drill and an electric lamp. Between the two miners is a mine. Bottom centre a yellow circle with a miner's lamp, a leek and a colliery winding tower, depicting the emblem of the National Union of Mineworkers, (South Wales Area), which is surrounded by a laurel wreath (back).
1954.
Slogan: This banner was designed by a local school and incorporates the imagery of racial equality, internationalism and socialism. There are several stickers attached to this banner relating to the 1982 miners' strike, and other strikes (both sides).
1982 (c).
