Employees Leaving Messrs Vickers, Sons & Maxim in Barrow (1901)

Edwardian workers file out of a naval shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness.

High walls and imposing wooden gates mark the entrance to a shipbuilding empire as workers leave Vickers, Sons and Maxim's massive Barrow naval construction yard. Older employees appear indifferent to the camera - unlike the young boys, who lark around in the foreground, making faces and even doing cheeky 'V' signs. Amid the laddish tomfoolery, two young girls can also be seen in the crowd.