There was a time when East Lancashire effectively had its own coal field and becoming a miner was an obvious career for many school leavers who would often follow in the footsteps of their own fathers.
Taken in 1964, this picture shows the Deerplay Pit at Bacup. In its heyday, the weekly output from the mine was double that of every other pit in the county.
Deerplay was a drift mine and after a fault in the rock was discovered in 1968, the pit was forced to close with 195 miners losing their jobs.
Did you or any of your family have a connection to the coal industry in the area? We'd love to share those stories with Looking Back readers. Leave a comment or email bygones@nqnw.co.uk
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