| Description | 'Interviews with Port Talbot Steelworkers' features 30 interviews with previous employees at Port Talbot Steelworks. The project was conducted by Dr Bleddyn Penny, as part of research for his PhD thesis 'Class, Work & Community: Port Talbot's Steelworkers, 1951-1988'. The thesis was submitted to Swansea University in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of History.
'Throughout the twentieth century, steel has been one of Great Britain's most important heavy industries. As well as being a linchpin of the national economy, steel has been at the heart of industrial communities throughout the nation and provided employment for thousands of workers. Tet, the social history of those working in this vital history has recieved little attention from historians. This thesis, therefore, departs from the economic and technical approaches that have characterised much of the industry's histiography and concentrates on the historical experiences of steelworkers themselves. Focussing on the town of Port Talbot, which in 1951 became home to the largest steelworks in Europe, this study adopts a case-study approach to provide a detailed account of steelworkers' past experiences: their workplace, organisations, community and leisure lives and how these changed during the period 1951-1988.' (abstract for Dr Penny's thesis) |