These nostalgic photos capture men and women toiling away at sites in and around Derby 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].
9. Cotton Mill, Derbyshire
A general view of Arkwright's Cromford mill which was Richard Arkwright's first and most important cotton mill, Cromford, Derbyshire, Peak District, circa 1970. | Getty Images
10. 1960s TV crews
Television cameras wait for the arrival of a train with Noel Gordon for Lunch Box Special, filmed at Ripley train station in 1960. Photo: George Eyre
11. Dema Glass site
Margaret Lomax worked at the Glass Tubes factory, later Dema Glass, in the early 1970s. Photo: Derbyshire Times