Working conditions in the mines did not improve much before the 1911 Coal Mines act. "Men and boys" working underground was a common phrase. Here the miners are emerging from underground from a cage (notice hoe they squinting in the bright sunlight) where they will have been packed like sardines. The young boy is interesting has he appears to be wearing wooden clogs as does the man behind him. Iron-soled clogs were banned underground because of the real risk of a spark, so it is likely they were rubber- soled - that is rubber strips on the underside - or simply wooden soled. KH