''My dad was one of the many miners who stood his ground in the 1926 General Strike, so for me the Durham Miners' Gala is more than an event it is a celebration of the unbreakable spirit of those who worked in the pits.
It commemorates for all of us their labour, their sacrifice and their victories. The pits may be closed but our communities and our people remain strong to a tradition of honourable work and honourable protest against injustice.''
HARRY LESLIE SMITH - author of 'Harry's Last Stand' and activist