Dr John Tanner asks how England will choose to remember its coal mining heritage. Once the demand for domestic coal started to fall in the 1950s the number of pits declined sharply. Nevertheless, at the start of the 1980s the National Coal Board still employed some 250,000 workers, but the UK has now moved away…

Dartmouth, Devon, was a significant coal bunkering port for steamships from the late 19th century, employing large numbers of tough, competitive workers called coal lumpers who manually loaded coal from barges/hulks into ships' bunkers, a dangerous but well-paid job until mechanization and changing ship types led to its decline around the First World War. For details about how to…