They can reclaim the landscape, but they can’t remove the memories.
For generations boys and men went underground to bring out the coal under Cannock area. Now, all finished, all gone. Mining wasn’t just a job, a dirty, hazardous job at that. It was a community, a mesh between people and families, creating bonds and understandings. Mining towns were proud towns. Pit mounds and pit heads were beacons in the landscape of a way of life which spanned the ages.
The closure of Littleton Colliery in 1993 brought down the final curtain in the Cannock district. But we can still remember this aspect of the area’s heritage with a selection of pictures from our archives. Of course, they only scratch the surface of the local mining tradition, but they do help us celebrate and honour a proud, disappeared industry, and those who devoted their lives - and in some cases gave their lives - to it.
- Take a trip back to Wolverhampton in 1969 with 61 nostalgic pictures sure to bring back memories - view them here.
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9. Having a social
The new Mid Cannock Collieries sports and social club in March 1956. | Express & Star archive
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10. Into the light
Pit ponies brought to the surface at Rumer Hill, Cannock, during the 1926 miners' strike. | Express & Star archive
11. New scheme of things
West Cannock Colliery. The back of this October 1967 print makes reference to a mine extension and the caption reads: "How will the scheme work? Instead of reaching the surface via the downcast shaft at Wimblebury village, coal will be transported underground in locomotive-hauled mine cars to the shafts of West Cannock No. 5 one-and-three-quarter miles away. A new roadway, 14ft wide and 10ft high, is being driven to connect the workings of the two collieries. Its total length, with branch roads, will be 2,515 yards." | Express & Star archive/Gayroma
12. Say goodbye
A general view of the pit head at Coppice Colliery, Heath Hayes, in March 1964. The pit was due to close down before the end of the month. The shaft was sunk in 1893 and geological difficulties in mining the limited reserves led to the closure. | Express & Star archive