It was tough, dirty work and thousands of people did it over the decades.
Today, we are paying a picture tribute to the people who made Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland tick. The very workers who went to the pit face, worked in the canteen and did other jobs as well.
Let’s pay tribute to them all.
For those of you who loved to look back at Sunderland’s past, there is plenty more nostalgia for you to enjoy every day.
Catch it on the Sunderland Echo website by heading to the retro section, or why not have a look at our Wearside Echoes Facebook page.
It is a Sunderland Echo-run page which is dedicated to Wearside’s past and already has more than 21,000 members.
Find out more by heading to https://www.facebook.com/groups/wearsideechoes where you will find a daily dose of old photos, links to Sunderland Echo stories and more besides.
5. Thanks a million
Faceworker Ian Mardghum with a shovel full of the millionth tonne of coal, watched by workmates from Wearmouth's G82 coalface in 1990. | se
6. One million tons of coal
Deputy manager Allan Clark (right) and fellow miners celebrated the lifting of one million tons of coal in 1987. | se
7. Going underground
Members of the canteen team at Wearmouth Colliery left their kitchen to go underground in May 1987. They later admitted they prefer life behind the canteen counter. | se
8. Industrial action in 1984
Wearmouth Colliery's NUM officials were pictured by the Sunderland Echo during the Miners Strike in 1984. | se