A key moment in mining history - the revolutionary Anderton shearer-loader shown in action down Rushy Park seam during the glorious rein of King Coal.
This picture, submitted by Ken Melling of Evelyn Avenue, Parr, was from a Bold safety campaign of decades ago. It will not only bring back memories but is bound to provoke justifiable bitterness among our older mining community at the savage wiping out of the coal industry, locally.
Ken wonders whether this was a first trial run for that revolutionary coal-getting machine whose inventor, James Anderton OBE, died aged 89, at his home in Mere Road, Newton-le-Willows, in July.
It is a tribute to the memory of that unique mining breed in general - as typified by the five men in this flashback photograph - that a spectacular statue will be raised near St Helens town centre next year.
