Urban workers

Three men packing fish into F Kelsall's wooden boxes. It is cold, hard and damp work made all the more uncomfortable from having to bend right over to fill boxes on the floor.

Three fish packers processing the catch at Fleetwood docks. Two of the men are holding up fish to display to the camera and all three are holding large knives. Barrels, buckets and fish boxes surround the men.

Women workers, some wearing flat caps, pause to look at the camera as they stand among stacks of wooden logs in a large shed. A couple of the women have hand brushes for cleaning the wood before it is made into chippings Because of the sawdust and bleaching agents used, work in such places led to industrial diseases. This is in the Kellner Partington Paper Mills near Cavendish Dock.

The image shows a young woman feeding wood into a belt driven wood chopping machine - she is looking straight at the camera. A trolley loaded with wood to the side; the arm of another worker, leaning against the trolley, is just visible. This is in the Kellner Partington Paper Mills near Cavendish Dock.

Interior of a stark brick room with windows where a pile of wood chippings reaches towards the ceiling. A woman with an apron leans against the wall in the corner. In terms of lighting and composition, this is far more artistic than most of the Sankey negatives.

Interior of the papermill with belt driven machine on left cutting the roll of paper into sheets. Three men and three women stand in the background. An empty hand trolley waits for the sheets. A full trolley is alongside the machine.

The images presents a view looking up to the Candlestick Chimney at Wellington Pit and Harbour View Terrace, high above, from the quayside. The Pithead gear is in the centre with the spoil, waste rock, falling right down to the beach. The people clambering across the tips are probably coal pickers. Two figures, possibly boys sit on the ground; only one person, a girl, looks up at the photographer. (You can see over thirty people in this photograph, if you look closely)

Women, with boys and girls in tow, strike a pose for the camera as they queue to find work during World War One. A tattered poster for Defence of the Realm Act (DORA), about making bonfires, is stuck on the wall.

Women and children pose outside the Labour Exchange waiting to enrol. Children in pushchairs and boys on a tricycle.

Ten male workers, some looking quite young, are stood at a large bench or by machines in a shoemaker’s workshop. Two men in suits and ties standing at the back; one of them is the owner of the business, Henry Rigg.

Photograph of a man with a horse and cart. The man is positioned just left of centre of the image, he has a cigarette in his left hand and an apron which has lots of holes in it. He is leaning on the horse. The horse is a heavy-horse type with white feathers. On the back of the cart are baskets, crates and hay - loaded up quite high. The cart is marked with 'British Railway Company 16337, LMS', In the background is a shop called W.Morris Decorator, Painter, Plumber.

View looking east from the part-constructed bridge to Walney Island. Groups of construction workers are looking towards the camera. Bridge control tower is on the left with workmen on the signal tower. Pavement surfacing is partially complete. Tram tracks. Crow’ Nest Hotel at centre distance.

Traction engine and trailer carrying a large casting is about to cross Walney Bridge on their way to Walney Fort. There are five men in the picture, the driver on the engine, a booted man ( possibly the foreman) with his hand on the engine, two workmen with one sitting on the back of the engine, and a fifth man wearing a suit and overcoat and holding gloves, possibly a supervisor. “Barrow Carting & Trading Co. Ltd. No2. Tel 83” is written on the trailer.

Looking southwest on Ford Park Crescent in Ulverston. Two workmen, one with a shovel and one with a brush, are in the middle of the distinctive curving road.

Four men are shown working on a massive piece of machinery in a deep pit. A man with a beard and a flat cap, probably a foreman, looks on as the others continue their hard work. This is a copy of a Vickers Limited Photo pinned to a wooden board. (There are quite a few similar photographs of photographs in the Sankey Collection and in most cases they are of Sankey's own photographs.)

Twenty men take a short break to be photographed working on two huge castings; the hammers and tools most of them are holding indicates how strenuous this work was. The title refers to 'dressing the casting' - cleaning it up. The result is seen from the condition of the other castings in the dusty workshop. A manager in a suit and bowler hat looks on.

A long view of bay crowded with workers and loud machinery; double row of lathes connected to the drive shafts with leather belts.This is a copy of a photograph pinned to a wooden board.

This image shows an upper floor of a large workshop with skylights, with a forest of leather belts descending from the drive shafts. Electric drive motor centre right. Women operators standing at lathes making small shells. looking towards camera. This is a copy of a photo pinned to a wooden board.

A long view of a bay with a crowd of workers standing at tables probably filling shells. It is unusual as it shows men and women working together. There is a double row of lathes but no drive shafts and belts. Overhead, a travelling crane is seen just below the roof. A close up of the process can be seen in 7306. This is a copy of a photo pinned to a wooden board.

Women filling shells with steaming liquid from a large urn. This is a close up of the process shown in image 7274. This is a copy of a photo pinned to a wooden board.