Coal Mining in Britain

Coal mining has been an essential part of British industry since Roman times. This collection looks at the hardship of the day-to-day toil beneath the earth as well as the effects of industrial action and political upheaval on the communities themselves. We remember the forgotten heroes of World War II, the Bevin Boys, and meet four generations of a Durham mining community.

This is the story of British coal mining, told through BBC radio and TV broadcasts from the last 70 years and a gallery of images from the 1930s.