Description:The men in this picture, taken in 1925, are mining coal using picks and hand tools. This work was known as hand holing and spragging.
Working conditions in coal mines were very uncomfortable: they were hot, dark and claustrophobic and the threats of gas poisoning, explosions and tunnel collapse were always present. The roof of the tunnel in this picture is supported by a wooden pit prop: these props were under great pressure and occasionally broke causing the roof to collapse.