These nostalgic photos capture men and women toiling away at sites in and around Nottingham and the wider county during the 60s and 70s.
From factories, caves and coal mines to roads and the railway network, these employees are seen working hard to bolster the region’s economy and keep things flowing smoothly.
Conditions could be brutal back then, as these images show, with back-breaking labour often carried out amid fierce heat and the deafening roar of machinery.
Do you have any photos from the time? Send them to [email protected].
5. Auto electricians at work
Auto electricians at work at Globe & Simpson, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, 1961. In the background can be seen a Crypton electrical test bench machine. Globe & Simpson ran an auto electrical engineeing and fuel feed service on a national level, dealing with suppliers that included Lucas, Delso and Bosch. | Heritage Images/Getty Images
6. Newark Sugar Factory
A team of Laing workers pouring concrete into a formwork mould during the construction of a new sugar silo at Newark Sugar Factory. This image was catalogued as part of the Breaking New Ground Project in partnership with the John Laing Charitable Trust in 2019-20. | Heritage Images via Getty Images
7. Miners at the Bevercotes Colliery in Nottinghamshire, UK, 26th October 1973.
Bevercotes was one of the first fully automated mines in the UK. | Getty Images
8. A prisoner cleans the utensils in the kitchen of Ranby Prison in Nottinghamshire, 12th July 1971.
Originally an army camp, the prison had just been converted to a Category C men's prison. | Getty Images