Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Joe GORMLEY OBE (1917-1993)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Joe Gormley, trade unionist, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews after the Bold Colliery Brass Band ambushed his car through a street in Victoria, London, on his way to a meeting.
Joe, who was born in Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan, became a miner at the age of fourteen, working at Lyme Colliery and later at Bold Colliery in the St Helens area. As an active trade union official, Joe became involved in local politics before joining the national executive of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1957.
After being elected President of the NUM in 1971, he led two national strikes in 1972 and 1974, the first of which resulted in a 21% increase in pay and concessions for the miners. As a result, mine workers moved to the top of the UK's industrial wage league, having previously been seventeenth. Joe left his post in 1982.
"God in heaven! What a terrible surprise!"
programme details...
- Edition No: 595
- Subject No: 592
- Broadcast date: Wed 3 Mar 1982
- Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
- Recorded: Mon 22 Feb 1982
- Venue: Royalty Theatre
- Series: 22
- Edition: 22
- Code name: Pit
on the guest list...
- Nellie - wife
- Winifred - daughter
- Arthur - son-in-law
- June - granddaughter
- Josie - granddaughter
- Alan - grandson
- Frank - son
- Barbara - daughter-in-law
- Diane - granddaughter
- Joy - granddaughter
- Ian - grandson
- Nick Doyle
- Kathleen - sister
- Jack - brother-in-law
- Margaret - sister
- Jim - brother-in-law
- Bob - brother
- Kathleen - sister-in-law
- John - brother-in-law
- Tommy Blackwell
- Larry Myler
- Frank Barry
- Mabel Barry
- Billy Biddy
- Willy Muller
- Rita Henry
- Ted Henry
- Les Storey
- Blanca Di Pereira Filmed tributes:
- Jack McKenney
- Derek Ezra
production team...
- Researcher: Cathy Parnall
- Writers: Tom Brennand, Roy Bottomley
- Directors: Paul Stewart Laing, Terry Yarwood
- Producer: Jack Crawshaw
a cross-party celebration
Screenshots of Joe Gormley This Is Your Life
Series 22 subjects
Bob Champion | Bill Fraser | Wayne Sleep | Ian Botham | Cannon and Ball | Rob Buckman | Angela RipponJulia McKenzie | Jackie Milburn | Paul Shane | Peter Adamson | Kiri Te Kanawa | Mickie Most | Anita Harris
Mike Brace | Faith Brown | Robin Bailey | Rod Hull | Bob Monkhouse | John Toshack | Wally Herbert
Joe Gormley | Roger Whittaker | Alan Whicker | Peter Davison | Douglas Bader