On Friday the 29th of July, Dave Hopper, the General Secretary of the Durham Miners' Association who had died the previous week, was laid to rest. Dave Hopper was a lifelong socialist and with his comrade David Guy he was the General Secretary of the Durham Miners' Association from 1985 until his death. Dave saw the death of the mining industry in Britain throughout his time as General Secretary- however that did not stop him from fighting for the welfare of former miners. He fought for pensions and compensation for retired miners and fought to keep the Durham Miners' Gala alive, after it was almost stopped when the final mine closed in 1993.
The funeral officially began at 9:45, despite many people being there a long time beforehand. MPs Richard Burgon, Ian Lavery, Pat Glass, Grahame Morris and Jeremy Corbyn himself had all come to pay their respects. The hearse arrived not long after 9:45; and the coffin was greeted mournfully as it was lifted into Miners' Hall. The masses stood in silence and respect whilst mournful music played in the background. After the coffin was carried into Miners' Hall, we stood silently and took a few minutes to remember the man.
After Dave's family arrived in the building the rest of the guests made their way into Miners' Hall. So many people went in that many were actually refused entry to the building so they had to watch the eulogies and speeches being projected on a screen. He truly was a popular man.
The first speeches were from Dave's personal friends and were sharing the memories and peculiar stories that they cherished about him. After that was his comrade Jeremy Corbyn's euology, who's leadership he was a huge supporter of. Jeremy talked about how much of a credit Dave was to the socialist and labour community, and how he fought Thatcherism and neoliberalism right up until his death.
When the speeches were finished, guests sang the Red Flag in honour of Dave; a socialist who triumphed working-class values and justice for miners. A man who'll be missed.
