Richard Williams Photographer - Richphotowales

09/06/2025

🖤 Looking for a proper Fathers' Day present? Something with real meaning – not just another pair of socks?

⚒️ Coal and Community in Wales: Images of the Miners’ Strike – Before, During and After is a powerful collection of photographs I took during one of the most defining times in modern Welsh history with words by award-winning writer (and my wife!) Amanda Powell.

It’s not just a book – it’s our story.
The men. The women. The picket lines. The humour, the heartbreak – the strength of communities that refused to be broken.

If your dad or grandad remembers the strike, worked down the pit, still talks about what the Valleys stood for or has an interest in social history – this will speak to him in a way few gifts can.

👉 Support a Welsh business and order directly from publisher Y Lolfa https://www.ylolfa.com/products/9781800995031/coal-and-community-in-wales-images-of-the-miners-strike-before-during-and-after (Order From Y Lolfa by Wednesday 11 June 2025 and it should be with you in time for Fathers' Day)
👉 Or ask your local bookshop
👉 Or from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coal-Community-Wales-Images-Miners/dp/1800995032/

Let’s keep these stories alive. They matter.

06/06/2025

📸Join me at this powerful tribute to Wales' mining communities

🗓 Monday 9 June, from 11.30-2.30pm
📍 Afan Forest Park, Port Talbot SA13 3HG

I'm delighted to be taking part in this exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike organised by South Wales Miners' Museum ⚒️

Some of my photos from my book 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 – 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 will be on display, and I’ll be there in person to sign books and talk about the stories behind the photos.

These are stories of grit, grief, laughter and love – the real lives behind the headlines. Come and say hello if you’re nearby.

👉 More info: https://www.swminers.co.uk/post/miners-strike-exhibition

📖 Books available on the day (or order from Y Lolfa if you can't come along on Monday)
🖊 On the day - Signing and chat

Come and join us at South Wales Miners Museum

04/06/2025

I'm looking forward to seeing old and new friends at this exciting event in the beautiful Afan Valley on Monday, 9 June.🌲
And I'll be bringing my book Coal and Community in Wales if you're looking for a signed copy. ⚒️

Come and join us at South Wales Miners Museum

16/05/2025

🎥 ITV feature on Ffordd-y-Gyfraith – A village lost to King Coal

🏡 The vibrant Welsh community of Ffordd-y-Gyfraith has vanished. But it lives on in memory, in 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐬, and in a whole, emotional chapter of my recent book, 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 – 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞: 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫📖

I was just a teenager when I slipped past the demolition barriers to document its final days. I wasn’t there for a commission, or an assignment. I was there because I couldn’t bear the thought that no one would remember what that village was - and what it meant. 📷

This Friday (16 May), I speak about that time on ITV Wales ' Vanished Wales at 7pm - but the episode is already available to watch online if you’d like to see it now:
👉 Go to the ITVx app and search for 'Vanished Wales' then find series 4, episode 3

The book is a tribute to all the mining communities we’ve lost - and those still fighting to be remembered.
Available now in bookshops and online, including from publishers Y Lolfa 📚

07/03/2025

Free Entry Weekend!
📸 I'm so honoured that some of my photos commemorating the 1984-85 Miners' Strike are part of the 'Streic 84-85 Strike!' exhibition at Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd - National Museum Cardiff🙌
This weekend ONLY (March 8th-9th) entry is completely FREE! The exhibition runs until April 27th, but this is your chance to see it am ddim (for free).⛏️
It's a truly moving collection capturing the solidarity, struggle and spirit of our mining communities while not shying away from the difficult reality of defining moments in our history.
Grab your free tickets here:
https://museum.wales/whatson/12346/Streic-84-85-Strike/
Hope to see some familiar faces there! (And if I do see you, I'm happy to sign a copy of our book Coal and Community in Wales - Images of the Miners' Strike - before, during and after which is on sale at the museum. Y Lolfa

05/03/2025

40 years ago, miners returned to work at the end of the 1984-85 strike. While some marched behind their lodge banners, others slipped back quietly, knowing they had lost.

At Garw/Ffaldau colliery in south Wales, it was a low-key return. Lodge chairman John Jones said afterwards: “We went back with heads down. We are realists – there was nothing to celebrate.”

⛏️ The fight to save jobs had lasted a year. The closures that followed lasted for decades. This scene - the winding gear at Wyndham Western Colliery being demolished later in 1985 - became heartbreakingly familiar. And the end of the strike wasn’t the end of the struggle.

📷 Our book Coal and Community in Wales: Images of the Miners’ Strike - Before, during and after captures that story through the voices and photographs of those who lived through the dying years of the industry - miners and their families who fought so hard to preserve everything around them. Published by Y Lolfa .

📷 Copyright Richard Williams Photography, All rights reserved.

⛏️ 📷 🏴 📜

03/03/2025

Even though it was almost 40 years ago, the events of that time are still fresh in my memory - and the memories of many who were there.

The full story (and others) is told in our book Coal and Community in Wales published and available from Y Lolfa as well as bookshops and online.

in 1985, the Miners' Strike came to an end.

Many miners marched back to their pits, banners held high and brass bands playing, as a show of solidarity after a year of hardship and sacrifice.

However, tensions ran deep in some areas between those who remained on strike and those who returned to work. For many mining communities, the strike’s aftermath brought lasting economic decline, widespread unemployment, and the collapse of local businesses.

This image by Richard Williams, shows the procession to mark the end of the Strike, marching back to the Garw Ffaldau Colliery.

01/03/2025

📸 Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!📸

For me, St David’s Day is all about celebrating the spirit of Wales — people, landscapes, and stories. 🏔️🌊 📖

As a photographer, I’ve always been drawn to capturing the essence of our nation, from the industrial heartlands to the wild beauty of coasts and mountains.

Whether it’s a moment of history, or the light falling just right over a vase of daffodils, photography has the power to tell the story of a place and its people.

Enjoy the day — Gwnewch y pethau bychain (do the little things), as Dewi Sant said. 📷✨

22/02/2025

⛏️ Was It Worth It? 40 Years On
📅 Saturday, March 1st – Big Pit National Coal Museum hosts a powerful day of talks, music, film and discussion about the impact of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike.
I’ll be there in the afternoon, signing copies of our book Coal and Community in Wales and displaying some of my photographs from that time.
Whether you lived through it or not, come along for part, or all, of the day and be part of the conversation.
📍 Big Pit National Coal Museum Amgueddfa Cymru
🎥 Talks, films & discussions all day
📖 Book signing in the afternoon
🎟️ Free entry | £5 parking → Full event details - tap the photo below
🔄 Share with anyone who has a connection to this history — this is their story too.
https://museum.wales/bigpit/whatson/12522/Was-It-Worth-It-Commemorating-the-end-of-the-1984-85-Miners-Strike/
Y Lolfa

Join us at Big Pit for a day of talks, music, film, exhibitions & poetry to remember the 1984-5 ...

20/02/2025

📸📰 A tribute to those who shared their stories...

As we approach the 40th anniversary of the end of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike, Amanda Powell Media and I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped us bring this book to life.
To those who shared their memories, welcomed us into their homes, and trusted us with their stories - diolch o galon. ❤️ Your voices, your resilience, and your unwavering spirit are at the heart of this book.
Through my 📷 images and Amanda’s 🖊️ storytelling, we’ve tried to honour a time of hardship, solidarity, and courage. But this isn’t just history - it’s a legacy that lives on. ✊
🔗 Thanks to everyone who's bought the book and given us such lovely feedback.
If you haven't (and it would also make a great gift), you can support businesses in Wales by ordering from Y Lolfa or ask your local bookshop.

🏴 ✊ 📸

A unique perspective on the 1984–85 Miners’ Strike from a husband-and-wife team who reported on it in person at the time. Award-winning journalist Powell’s revisiting of key events and press photographer Williams’ striking images offer an in-depth look at life in the South Wales Coalfield before and after this momentous period, capturing defiance and solidarity against the odds.
Golwg unigryw ar Streic y Glowyr ym Mhrydain yn 1984-85 gan bartneriaeth gŵr a gwraig a sylwebodd ar y digwyddiadau yn ystod y cyfnod hwnnw. Mae delweddau trawiadol ffotograffydd y wasg Williams a thestun newyddiadurol Powell yn cynnig mewnwelediad dwfn i fywyd ym Maes Glo De Cymru yn ystod ac yn dilyn y cyfnod tyngedfennol hwn.
Ar gael ar wefan Y Lolfa neu o'ch siop lyfrau leol / Available on Y Lolfa website or your local book shop.
Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru / Books Council of Wales Amanda Powell Media Richard Williams Photographer - Richphotowales

03/01/2025

Diolch yn fawr iawn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd - National Museum Cardiff - I'm honoured to be part of this exhibition.

26/12/2024

🚨 Were you one of the 12 million viewers who saw Steffan Rhodri as Dave Coaches in Gavin and Stacey on Christmas night? 🚌🎄 Did you know he also generously wrote a powerful foreword to my book Coal and Community in Wales?
We're so grateful he found the time to write a page-long introduction, which includes the words:
"The photographs in this book capture a changing time... dignity, hope, and comradeship, but also a foretelling of the future."
📖 If you haven't already seen these valuable photos and read the stories of resilience and community, there are still copies of the book available - ask your local bookshop, order directly from publishers Y Lolfa (both of these options will support businesses in Wales), or search Coal and Community in Wales online.