To describe and explain what happened to the workforce following the closure of Markham colliery in the South Wales coalfield in 1985. It is essentially a labour market study where the labour market responses of former miners are analysed: their initial redundancy/relocation decision, their assessment of alternative labour market strategies and the factors which determine their subsequent labour market success, in particular the institutional aspects of redundancy and the health effects of unemployment for labour mobility are examined. Variables Redundancy - selection in ; labour mobility following redundancy ; relationship between selection in redundancy and recruitment ; relationship between health and unemployment - state dependence.