In the early 20th century the UK led the world in coal production. At over 230m tons per year, it almost doubled the production of Germany. The Royal Coal Commission estimated in 1905 that the life expectancy of the Nottinghamshire coal field was 500 years and when joined with neighbouring Yorkshire and Derbyshire, there were enough resources to equal South Wales. Nottinghamshire was one of the last coal fields to be deep mined with all the latest technology of the early 20th century. Continual investment saw new pits being sunk in the years before and after Nationalisation in 1947, drawing men from the declining coal fields around Britain. New purpose built village communities appeared to house a rapidly growing population of miners and feed an energy industry that was coal reliant. Modern pits were here to stay, producing 3000 tons a shift and employing 1000 men per pit for as long as anyone cared to imagine.
The 1984 Miners Strike
