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Blaenavon, South Wales, retired miner
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Blaenavon, South Wales, retired miner
A retired coal miner walks along the railway track with his mongrel dog at Blaenavon, South Wales. In the background is a redundant steam locomotive. First published in The Sunday Times in 1988.
1988
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Media ID 19533625
© Philip Dunn / Mary Evans Picture Library
1988 Blaenavon Bleak Coal Cold Desolate Desolation Eighties Glamorgan Lines Loco Locomotive Mining Mongrel Redundant Shed Sleepers Stark Track
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EDITORS COMMENTS
In this evocative black-and-white photograph, a retired coal miner from Blaenavon, South Wales, is seen walking along a desolate railway track with his loyal mongrel dog. The year is 1988, and the bleak winter scene exudes a sense of stark desolation that seems to mirror the man's own feelings of redundancy and loss. In the background, a redundant steam locomotive sits idle in a shed, its once-mighty engine now silent and still. The single track stretches out before them, the lines of the sleepers and the rusted rails leading to an uncertain horizon. The coal mining industry had long been the backbone of Blaenavon's economy, but by the late 1980s, the once-thriving village was in decline. The closure of the local coal mines had left many men like this one out of work, struggling to make ends meet in a community that had been built around the industry. The man's worn work clothes and the dog's bedraggled fur speak to the harsh realities of poverty and unemployment that were all too common in the area. Despite the cold and the desolation, the man and his dog continue on their way, their bond a testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit. The photograph captures a moment of quiet resilience in the face of adversity, a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is still hope and companionship to be found. The image is a poignant snapshot of a bygone era, a time when the coal mines of South Wales were a powerful force in the lives of the people who worked them, and when the railway tracks that crisscrossed the land were a lifeline to the outside world.
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