Yorkshire coal miners have always been a prominent group of industrial workers, especially during times of adversity. The men, their wives and families have had to deal with the real prospect of everyday accidents as well as the fear of major disasters. Working in confined and often dreadful conditions underground has, in part, been counterbalanced by the humour and camaraderie that prevails. The pits have now almost vanished. The rapid run-down of the modern British coal mining industry followed the bitter strike of 1984 - 5 and by 2004 just a handful of deep mines were still operating in the old county of Yorkshire. Brian Elliott has been granted access to both private collections and the National Union of Mineworkers archives to bring together this excellent collection of over 250 photographs. Largely dating from the twentieth century, many are previously unpublished. This book provides a fascinating glimpse of Yorkshire's mining heritage and in particular the men, their families and the communities in which they lived.