Former Warwick school boy writes book based on his experience of the Miners' strike

A former mining engineer from Leamington has used his experiences to publish his first novel which is based on one of Britain's most tumultuous periods in the last 50 years.
Robert MacNeil WilsonRobert MacNeil Wilson
Robert MacNeil Wilson

A former mining engineer from Leamington has used his experiences to publish his first novel which is based on one of Britain’s most tumultuous periods in the last 50 years.

Robert MacNeil Wilson was educated at Bishops Tachbrook Primary School and then Warwick School before going into mining where he lived in a pit village.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His book the Enemy Within is set in the time leading up to and during the miners’ strike in the 1980s and contains a vivid and realistic description of the infamous Battle of Orgreave.

Robert Macneil Wilson in 1986 at Dhemo Main Colliery in Bengal.Robert Macneil Wilson in 1986 at Dhemo Main Colliery in Bengal.
Robert Macneil Wilson in 1986 at Dhemo Main Colliery in Bengal.

Robert said: “The closure of Britain’s very last colliery, a week before Christmas 2015, brought to an end the huge industry that powered the Industrial Revolution, Britain’s rise to prosperity and its victories in the two World Wars,”

“With its passing, I felt the need to write this story to provide a unique, lasting and definitive record of what it was like to work in the deep mines of Britain in the late 20th century - the conditions, the culture, the comradeship.”

The Enemy Within tells the stories of Jim, a young colliery manager, and Paul, a miner, as they fight to save their mine, their industry and, ultimately, their very way of life.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Half-a-mile underground, they are faced with an impossible deadline before being forced to confront the deadly hazards of fire, flood and roof collapse.

Robert Macneil Wilson in 1986 at Dhemo Main Colliery in Bengal.Robert Macneil Wilson in 1986 at Dhemo Main Colliery in Bengal.
Robert Macneil Wilson in 1986 at Dhemo Main Colliery in Bengal.

The strike casts them onto opposing sides of a conflict, which severs the bonds of family, friendship, and love, turning their pit village into a battlefield.

The women’s parts in their community’s struggle cause them to see themselves in a new light.

Only time and events will determine who of them and which of their relationships will survive.

The Enemy Within is available in shops and directly from its publishers. Matador, and from Amazon.