Employees at Walker Engineering Works, Wigan (1900)

Ironfounders and engineers head home after morning shift at Pagefield Works.

A damp, overcast Autumn day made life difficult for Mitchell and Kenyon's camera, and with poor focus, too, it's hard for us to read the expressions of these workers from Walker Bros, a mining and general engineering company. On cue from the cameraman, the first group of men rush forwards as if in a race, followed at a more leisurely pace by their workmates, many carrying lunch boxes and flasks.