This image was taken for a Marston’s brewery company report cover in Burton upon Trent in about 1995. The older man in the image (who passed away in 2017) was retiring, leaving the only surviving cooper in Staffordshire, his apprentice, who in turn had just finished his apprenticeship.
The photo is taken in the ‘Union System’ room at the brewery, all those huge barrels in the background having been built or maintained by the men pictured.