He stands proudly astride his labour - the cutting of the "Big Ditch" - in his waistcoat and neckerchief. The black and white photograph captures the toil required from thousands of men to build the Manchester Ship Canal.
Now, finally, Lawrence Hannan, and the other navvies who put their lives on the line to deliver an engineering feat of colossal importance to the prosperity of the twin cities of Manchester and Salford, will be remembered. Of the 17,000 who built it over six years more than 1000 died - mainly due to landslides.
A memorial to the labourers whose graft created the 36 miles waterway from Salford to the Irish Sea is to be created with a grant from Historic England.
