Wigan Album

Obviously, their protest was successful. They were still working on the surface of the pits, in Wigan, well into the 1950s

I thought the original protest was earlier than that. I wish I could find my book with all the info in.

The earlier deputation of pit brow women to London was in May 1887 when twenty-two marched to the Home Office with Arthur Munby. Six of them were wearing their working clothes - clogs,trousers, short sacking apron, topcoat and pit bonnet.
The local champion was the Rev Harry Mitchell, Vicar of Pemberton, who in March 1887 had suggested raising a subscription for a special train to take four or five hundred to London to put them in evidence- pit clothes and all- to show that they were 'not the degraded, unsexed,health injured creatures depicted by your traducers but are,on the contrary, as good an example of honourable and vigorous womanhood as England itself can produce. 'London threatened with nothing less than than an invasion of colliery Amazons'. However the big invasion did not take place and the Home Secretary told the smaller deputation that their cause was won.

I worked with the pit brow ladies, in 1949/50, at the Maypole Colliery. You could not wish to meet a more decent, hard working, good humoured, wonderful, class of ladies. Great Britain should be for ever proud, of their industrious legacy.

the photo was published in 'The Graphic' 12th August 1911, no article just the photo.