Senghenydd, a small village in the south of Wales, was the site of the worst coal mining disaster in the history of the United Kingdom. It killed 439 men on October 14, 1913. Shortly after the tragedy, an unknown photographer named Benton arrived from Glasgow and documented the aftermath of the event.

British photographer Ed Thompson has documented the emergence of the English Defence League. Founded in 2009, it is, to its supporters, a grass-roots organization that gives voice to the concerns of working-class Britons who feel marginalized by the consequences of multiculturalism and immigration.

Benita Marcussen photographed men who use life-size dolls as partners for her series “Men & Dolls.” Some are married with children, others had never had a relationship with a woman; the men’s situations varied, but she says one thing united them – the dolls eased their loneliness.

Asked why he chose to move to rural Hebden Bridge from urban Manchester, England, as a young man in the 1970s, Martin Parr says it was because he “fancied the look of the place.” Despite the decline of the local mills and industry, it still yielded the novel charms of traditional town life.

British photographer John Hinde was a pioneer of color photography and the founder of a picture postcard empire. “He wanted very much to make people feel happy,” journalist David Lee said. Although Hinde died in 1997, his idealistic images continue to incite feelings of nostalgia.

English photographer Brian Griffin's latest book is a visual autobiography in which he depicts his childhood growing up in the Black Country region of central England by weaving together historical family photographs and highly conceptual portraits.

Three years ago, Roger Hayhurst was a 19-year-old who took on a superhero identity – the “Knight Warrior” – to discourage wrongdoing in his crime-ridden neighborhood. Since then he has met a girl, gotten engaged and hung up his cape. Photographer Jacob Russell got to know Hayhurst in and out of costume.

Bert Hardy had the one quality that makes a great documentary photographer: He was able to get close to people. It was the ease with which he approached people that turned this beloved British photographer into a star. His photos offer a rare insight into the everyday lives of ordinary people in postwar Britain.