Description:The men wearing the apparatus are, left: Albert Payton, son of Jos Payton and, right: Samuel Davies. In the centre is Jos Payton, Superintendent of the Mines Rescue Station, Hednesford.
The station covered all the Cannock Chase coalfield, as well as some Shropshire coalfield pits. Only the superintendent and instructors were employed permanently at the station. Each colliery had to supply a number of trained rescue workers to cover any incident or disaster anywhere in the coalfield or adjoining coalfields.