Saltley Gate Coke Depot was the site of the Battle of Saltley Gate, one of the largest mass pickets during the 1970s. On Thursday 10 February 1972 30,000 Birmingham engineers walked out on strike. They struck to deliver solidarity to striking miners. Up to 15,000 then marched to join 2,000 miners who were picketing Saltley Coke Depot. The blockade forced the police, who had kept the depot open all week, to close the gates. The victory at Saltley was the turning point in the miners' strike. Militant picketing involving tens of thousands of miners had shut down power stations, docks and coke and coal depots. Power cuts forced the Tory government to call a state of emergency. After seven weeks the government was defeated.
