In 1948 the coalmining industry in and around the Cannock Chase District employed a total of 13,000 people. At the time of the last national miner’s strike in 1985, only 6 mines were still active in Staffordshire, providing work for 9000 men.

Littleton Colliery was the last deep mine pit in Staffordshire to close on 10th December 1993 with the final loss of 600 jobs. Littleton was not on British Coal’s original closure list and the decision to close it was seen by many as political not economic. Many correctly feared that the mining communities in the county would never recover from the closures.

Today the county has more diverse employment areas and the former miners have found new careers and interests. Yet no one has experienced the same sense of comradeship that existed in the pits since.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/aug/13/communities.coalmining