SOUTH WALES, 1950
W. EUGENE SMITH/GETTY
This trio of coal miners, representing three generations from the same village, have just finished their dangerous day’s toil at Coed-Ely Colliery in South Wales. Every shift, they faced the ever-present dangers of mine collapses and explosions, not to mention that the sooty air they breathed increased their risk of lung diseases. Official figures bear out their burden – from 1930–34, mining accounted for 38 per cent of occupational deaths in Britain.