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Coal mining was a huge industry in Britain in 1914, with more than 3,000 privately-run collieries employing more than a million men. The Bestwood Coal and Iron Company, which is now a country park, was one of the largest of the 40 in Nottinghamshire.

Coal was essential for the war effort; powering factories, ships, trains, armaments as well as homes. But production fell in the early years because so many miners opted to join up.

At the beginning of the war miners were actively encouraged to volunteer and in Nottinghamshire the Miners Union acted as recruiting sergeants. The Blackwell Colliery Company which ran four collieries in the area reported that a quarter of their workforce had enlisted. As the conflict turned in to trench warfare their expertise helped both in the creation of dugouts and in tunnelling. In fact, The Sherwood Foresters set up its own Tunnelling Corps using recruits from the pits.

On the home front, the loss of so many skilled men to the forces caused output to fall from almost 290 million tons in 1913, to 253 million in 1916 prompting the government to step in to take control of the industry, and mining became a reserve operation. Conditions continued to be difficult and dangerous but by the end of the war production levels had recovered.

Find out more in this interview with Dr David Amos; a Nottinghamshire mining historian.

Location: Bestwood Country Park, Nottinghamshire NG6 8ZA

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