Workers Collection (page 2)

Picking coal from waste tip during 1921 strike, South Wales
Three men picking coal from a local colliery waste tip during the 1921 strike, South Wales

Man at work, Dinorwig Slate Quarry, North Wales
A man at work, 150 feet up on the main face of Dinorwig (or Dinorwic) Slate Quarry, near Llanberis, North Wales

Overtime at a Christmas cracker factory by William Heath Rob
Colour illustration by William Heath Robinson depicting one of his usual contraptions designed to solve the increase in demand for Christmas crackers during the forthcoming festive season

1966 Lotus Europa Series 1 prototype in factory. Creator: Unknown
1966 Lotus Europa Series 1 prototype in factory

A nuclear submarine berthing at Devonport docks, Plymouth, Devon, 1980. The site has been established as a naval construction and refit yard since 1690

Las Hilanderas, (The Spinners), 1657, (c1934). Artist: Diego Velasquez
Las Hilanderas, (The Spinners), 1657, (c1934). Traditionally, believed to depict women workers in the tapestry workshop of Santa Isabel, iconography suggests Ovids Fable of Arachne

Old Carnon Valley viaduct showing early stage of replacement, Perranwell, Cornwall. Around 1931-1932
A general view of Brunels old Carnon Viaduct showing the early stages of construction of the new replacement pillars, with some of the workforce in the background

Mill Workers - Spinning - Rochdale, Lancashire. Date: 1911

Shipyard Workers crossing Queens Bridge (Study for Men of the Home Front ). Conor, William 1881-1968

Waiters, chefs and kitchen hands at Londons Savoy hotel went on strike early today, it was decided that tables were to be left bare and underserviced in the private suites, restaurant and Grill room

Building work on the widening of the Swanley Bridge in Kent. 1938

Saltaire, model textile factory and town near Bradford, Yorkshire, England. Founded by Titus Salt (1803-1776) in 1851. Shops, library, etc

Scene of devastation after flying bomb attack, WW2
A panoramic daytime scene of devastation following a flying bomb attack in London during the latter stages of the Second World War. Rescue workers look for buried casualties

A womens war workers football match in London, 1917
The team of munitions night workers taking the field for a football match against the day shift women, in the London district. Date: 1917

19th-century tin mine, Cornwall. Artwork of miners and walkways at the Botallack Copper and Tin Mine at St Just, Cornwall, England. This mine, under various names, dates back to 1721

Oil well, 19th century
Oil well. Crude oil erupting from a wellhead in a 19th-century oil field. The wellhead is the structure used to contain and pump oil as it reaches the surface from deep underground, often, as here

General view of Dinorwig Slate Quarry, North Wales
A general view of Dinorwig (or Dinorwic) Slate Quarry, near Llanberis, North Wales, soon to be changed for ever with the construction of a new dam

Miners at the pit bottom, Tirpentwys Colliery, South Wales
A group of miners at the pit bottom of Tirpentwys Colliery, near Pontypool in South Wales

Women of Britain - World War Two poster
World War Two poster encouraging the women of Britain to answer the call and go and work in the munitions factories

Female munitions workers. By Fortunio Matania
As it became clear there would be no decisive swift victory for either side in World War I, the constant demand for munitions increased

1888 Matchgirl Strike
Some of the 1400 strikers at the Bryant & May match factory, the first strike by unorganised workers to gain national publicity

Bournville / Village 1905
Bournville Village, Birmingham: homes for Cadburys workers

Factory Workers 1930S
Factory workers leaving the engineering and ship repairing factories of R. & H. Green and Silley Weir Ltd

Ford Assembly Line 1929
Working on the Ford assembly line

Cotton Dye Works
Empire Marketing Board 1927-1933 poster, Cotton Dye Works Date: 1927-1933

Men at Brixham Harbour
Four men chatting by the quayside railing at Brixham Harbour, Devon

Miner working in a coal seam, South Wales
A miner, stripped to the waist, with a pick resting across his shoulder and a lamp in his hand, in a coal seam in South Wales

Main Office Entrance, Port Sunlight. Port Sunlight is a garden village which was founded in 1888 by Lever to house his soap factory workers

Dockyard Workers on board HMS Coventry, Second World War
Photograph showing dockyard workers, including a rivetters boy working with a portable forge, refitting HMS Coventry during the Second World War, 1940

Poynton and Worth colliers library and reading room. Established on the estate of Lord Vernon in Poynton, the library operated on a subsidised subscription basis

PELLIZZA DA VOLPEDO, Giuseppe (1868-1901). The Fourth Estate. 1901. Central detail. Naturalism. Oil on canvas. ITALY. Milan. Pinacotheca of Brera

Four-horse Ploughing team at work - South Downs, East Sussex
Sons of the soil - A four-horse Ploughing team at work in on the South Downs - East Sussex. Date: circa 1920s

The Post Office and Library, Greendale Road, Port Sunlight. Date: circa 1910

Winching men up from the coalface - Wales. Note the Davy lamp hanging off the belt of the man in the centre. Date: circa 1910s

Hop Kilns removing dried hops from the kilns in Goudhurst. ( A general view ) 1937

Cleaning out roadside drainage ditches which had become overgrown using JCB digger, England, February

Domestic Sheep, Dalesbred, flock, with shepherd leading on snow covered moorland, near Pen-y-ghent, Yorkshire Dales N.P. North Yorkshire, England, January

A Reader in cigar factory, Tampa, Fla. He reads books and newspapers at top of his voice all day long. This is all the education many of these workers receive

Poor Law Workers Union Badge
An enamel badge worn by members of the Poor Law Workers Union, a trade union established in 1918 and changing its name in 1922 to the Poor Law Officer? Union Date: circa 1919

Shaping metal with a steam hammer
Two metalworkers use a clamp and chain to hold a large piece of metal in place while it is shaped by a pneumatic steam hammer

Clocking-In Machine
A Clocking In machine in a factory records the hours workers start and leave the workplace

Ellen Cicely Wilkinson
ELLEN CICELY WILKINSON Trade union and womens rights activist, who led the march of workers to London on the Jarrow Crusade

Gas Blow-out - Bolivia
Gas blow-out - Bolivia - the Yacimentos oilfield region Date: circa 1910s

Women workers, World War I
British women aeroplane workers in the Midlands, acetylene welding frame lugs for planes during World War I

Singer Factory / Postcard
Workers leaving the Singer factory, makers of the famous sewing machine

Workers Going Home
Workers going home for their dinner (at mid-day) from the Great Western Railways works at Wolverton

Cotton Plantation
A Cotton Plantation in the South, USA 1890s. Painting by Herman Hubner. Date: 1890s

View of Tirpentwys Colliery, Pontypool, South Wales
View of Tirpentwys Colliery near Pontypool in South Wales

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"Workers: The Backbone of Nations, United by Labor" From the bustling streets of China during the Cultural Revolution to the coal miners in South Wales and Cornwall, they have always played a vital role in shaping societies. In Chairman Mao's China, a powerful cultural revolution poster depicted workers as heroes, inspiring unity and progress. Meanwhile, deep underground in shaft lifts and at Geevor Tin Mine, Pendeen and South Wales coal mines, brave miners risked their lives daily to fuel industrial growth. The Workers May-Pole design showcased solidarity among laborers striving for socialist ideals. In 1910 Britain, even political parties recognized the importance with colorful posters appealing for support. Swindon witnessed the dedication of builders constructing diesel locomotives while LNER promoted North East Coast Exhibition through an artistic poster celebrating hardworking individuals. Artists like Harold Harvey captured scenes from clay pits in Cornwall - be it Polkanuggo Quarry or Leswidden - highlighting arduous work that sustained local economies. Soviet propaganda also exalted workers' contributions under the sun of the motherland. Boris Parmeev's iconic poster from 1970s USSR symbolized strength gained through collective effort. Across continents and eras, these glimpses into worker's lives remind us that they are not just cogs within a system but essential pillars upon which nations stand tall. Their unwavering determination fuels progress and shapes our shared future.