Betty Heathfield (30 March 1927, Chesterfield – 16 February 2006) was a leading figure in the Miners' Wives Support Groups during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985). Betty Vardy was born to a mining family in Chesterfield. Both her grandfathers had been Derbyshire miners. She excelled at Chesterfield girls' high school – the top local grammar school – and won a county scholarship which should have taken her to university. However she left school at 16 for a secretarial job at a local engineering company as her weekly wage was vital for her family's welfare.