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].
1. Textile Factory - 27 May, 1968
Women machining garments at Lea Mills, Matlock, Derbyshire. Founded in 1784 by Thomas Smedley the mills have been modernised by the present company, John Smedley Ltd. | (Photo by George Freston/Getty Images)
2. August 1964
Engineers at the Rolls Royce factory in Derbyshire assembling RB 162 lightweight lift jets. | (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
3. Ladywash Mine, Eyam, Derbyshire Dales, Derbyshire. A miner operating a piece of machinery in Ladywash Mine near Eyam. The Ladywash Mine was originally opened as a fluorspar mine but is often described as a mixed ore mine. It closed in 1979.
A miner operating a piece of machinery in Ladywash Mine near Eyam. The Ladywash Mine was originally opened as a fluorspar mine but is often described as a mixed ore mine. It closed in 1979. | Creator: Paul Deakin. (Photo by Historic England Archive/Heritage Images via Getty Images)
4. 1960: Peak Cavern
Caver John Buxton wades through limestone caves at Speedwell Water, Peak Cavern, in the Peak District, Derbyshire. | Getty Images