Sixty years ago today, a mining community woke to find 22 men had been killed after an explosion underground. Gavin Havery looks back at the tragedy at the Louisa Morrison Colliery, in Stanley, County Durham.

JUST before midnight on Friday, August 23, 1947, an explosion ripped through the pit's Straight East Gate, 450ft below the surface.

Nineteen men were dead when they were brought to the surface following a heroic rescue attempt.

A further three men died shortly afterwards.

Two more survived but never fully recovered from their injuries.

Among those who died were two Bevin Boys - Francis Martin, who lived in Princess Street, Catchgate, Annfield Plain, and Gerard Moore, who came from Chichester.

They were among the ten per cent of men, aged from 18 to 25, who were selected to serve underground rather than with the Armed Forces as part of their National Service.

"There were no choice, or options," said North Durham historian Jack Hair, who helped organise fundraising for a memorial to the men and who has also written several articles about the tragedy.

"If you were called up, you had to serve your National Service in the coal mines.

"For these young men there were no medals for serving their country. Most hated it and would rather have been in the Army, Navy or Air Force.

"Two of them paid the ultimate price while serving their country - they lost their lives."

The official inquiry into the tragedy concluded that the blast was caused by a match, struck to light an illicit cigarette.

The spark ignited a lethal mixture of firedamp and air, causing a minor explosion, which, fuelled by coal dust, then gathered momentum as it travelled along the underground passages.

Mr Hair said: "Several of the miners had matches on them when their bodies were searched.

"It seemed smoking had been a regular thing even though the area was classified as a gassy pit and naked flames were an illegal practice."

A disaster fund raised just over £25,000, but there was no form of public commemoration until 50 years after the disaster when a memorial was unveiled at St Aidan's Church, in Annfield Plain, opposite the old pit head, by the former Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend David Jenkins.