Reading old newspapers can be a depressing business, especially those reports which detail the closing down of the major industrial concerns in the area.

I don’t know what politicians really think when they read about a town like Workington losing anything between 1,000 and 4,000 jobs at any one time.

Being so geographically – and socially – removed from these situations, I wonder just what actually runs through their minds.

Are the details of job losses of this magnitude little more than dry statistics to them? I wonder!

I know these job losses are in the past but reading about the industrial decline of the area can be extremely depressing because, quite often, I could put names to those dry statistics.

They were real people who were having their lives radically changed – and, some would say, ruined.

What I find even more depressing is to read about various business leaders talking enthusiastically about their firms’ futures – about how things were going to improve – about how everything was improving, when, in retrospect, this was most certainly not the case.

I often wondered if, on many occasions, some of these business leaders – and politicians – ever really believed in their public utterances! But then I’ve always been a big bad cynic!

In 2001, Railtrack ordered new rails from France – and had previously acquired track from other countries.

Workington’s Corus had been laying people off at the time. And we all know what happened to the steelworks.

Nothing much changes. One daily paper’s headline, this month, announced “Trident subs to be built with French steel”. At least some of these will be built in Barrow-in-Furness, albeit using French steel.

The year 1966 saw the closure of Risehow Colliery, Maryport. St Helen’s Colliery, Siddick, was also scheduled for closure soon after. Some local miners decided to leave the area and move to Cannock, Staffordshire where they could still work in the coal mining industry.

In July of that year, the Coal Board organised the transfer of a number of miners, and their families, to Cannock. The local paper lists eight miners – and their families – who left the area by special coach.

They were not going to work among strangers as, reportedly, several local miners had already moved to the Cannock area. The eight miners listed in the paper were Messrs Littleton, Plummer, Bland, Hall, Tremble, Burnyeat, Turnbull and Cass.

I know that it’s a long time ago but I wonder what happened to these men and their families. Did they continue to work as miners? Was Cannock Colliery a viable concern? When did it close?

Am I being nosey? Well, yes, I am. But then I’ve always maintained that there has always been an element of nosiness in all history. After all, history is, or should be, about people.

So how many West Cumbrians stayed on in the Cannock area? How many returned to West Cumbria? I wouldn’t mind betting that quite a few of them returned – if jobs were available. Since I’ve been in Cumbria, I’ve noticed that quite a few young folk can’t, for whatever reason, get out of the county fast enough. And many of them, a few years on, are desperate to come back home. It seems to me that West Cumbrians are home birds!

When the major industries closed down, our area suffered economically. But it also suffered culturally. The area’s large firms were able to organise sports and hobbyist groups, which disappeared when these firms closed down. They were also able to support various cultural activities – putting on concerts and events and producing the musicians to take part in these productions.

Hornflowa boasted a very capable works choir. The Workington United Steel Companies Social Organisation Orchestra had 40 players and a number of instrumental soloists.

Let’s think about this for a moment – the steelworks had an orchestra with 40 players, with Ronnie E Hunt as conductor. In 1941 it provided musical accompaniment in a concert which also featured Miss Kathleen Rook – Cumberland’s Favourite Soprano; Miss Eileen Scott – The Promising Young Coloratura Soprano; Joseph Jenkinson – Tenor; The Hornflowa Works Choir – and Miss Kathleen Ferrier, who needs no introduction. The concert was organised by Messrs Hornflowa Ltd and was held in The Empire Theatre, Maryport.

Could any local firm produce such a choir or an orchestra nowadays? I suspect not.