Udi Coal Mine, 1919

The reverse of this photo explains that it is Sergeant Major Leese at the Udi Coal Mine in 1919. Coal was first discovered in Nigeria in 1909 at the Udi Ridge in Enugu by the British mines engineer, Albert Kitson. Kitson had been prospecting for silver but the presence of coal was very useful for an economy that relied on steam power for transportation and wished and to raise revenue. It was the presence of this coal that inspired the creation of Port Harcourt in the first place. By 1914, coal was being exported to Britain from Nigeria.