These sound files are extracts (short, edited pieces) from longer oral history interviews preserved by Northumberland Archives. These interviews were made as part of a project to collect the memories of people who lived and worked in Morpeth; “Memories of Morpeth,” 2011. 

John Caffrey was interviewed by Liz O’Donnell on 23 August 2011. John was born in 1938 and attended school in Morpeth.  John lived in Morpeth all his life. 

John remembered the Miners’ Picnic being held at the park in Morpeth: the banners, bands playing in the bandstand and the politicians who came to make speeches. A lot of people in Morpeth worked in the mines at Pegswood, Ashington and Bedlington.

The Miners’ Picnic was a great day out but it moved to Bedlington. From the late 1950s, mines were closing and a way of life fast disappearing. The community spirit of the miners was tremendous, the only other place he had come across it was with the paratroopers. 

John remembered the shop where he would buy a penn’orth of broken biscuits. Taking back the pop bottles gave you money in your pocket and after the Miners’ Picnic the young people would search the park for bottles to take back. You had to make sure you took them back to the right shop, as there were two pop factories in town, and only certain shops sold each type. It was a service to the town, clearing things up. 

The first few picnics took place in Blyth, but it was also held in Morpeth for a number of years and was associated with Bedlington in the 1950s-1970s. The event also took place in Tynemouth, Ashington and on the Town Moor in Newcastle. Since the closure of the mines, Museums Northumberland has taken over the organisation of the Picnic. The Picnic has been held at Woodhorn Museum near Ashington since 1992.  

The Picnics were made up of a series of events. To begin with, representatives of the mining communities would march to the meeting place. Each mine would have its own banner and many would also have a brass band that would accompany them on the procession.  

The brass bands entered competitions which were judged on the day of the Picnic. Winning bands were awarded trophies (Burt Challenge Cup and Northern Divisional Coal Board Challenge Cup).  

Communities from around the county also chose beauty queens. Each colliery queen would then compete to become “Picnic Queen” or “Labour Queen” at the Picnic. These two Queens would then sit on a float at the beginning of the procession. 

Once the procession was over speeches would be given by local and national political figures. Famous speakers at the Picnics included Betty Boothroyd, Clement Atlee, Hugh Gaitskell, Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot. 

There were also entertainments for children, including games, funfairs, and food.