TONIGHT, the grey-haired figure of Peter Gibson will stand in the solemn but spectacular surrounds of York Minster and remember, 20 years on, the worst night of his life.

He will not be alone. For countless others, July 9, 1984, was a disastrous day of destruction that left them shocked, shaken and even, grown men included, in tears.

July 8 that year had been a sweltering, humid day that ended with a strange, rainless storm with lightning above the city.

In the early hours the following morning, one of those lightning bolts turned the night sky red as the roof of York Minster's South Transept burst into flames.

Officers from Red Watch at the local fire station went to the scene, sure they were responding to a false alarm.

On their arrival, the reality of the tragedy was all too obvious.

Before dawn, more than 120 firefighters had been tackling the blaze, many risking their lives in their exhausting efforts to prevent the fire spreading to the Central Tower and beyond.

With flames leaping high into the air, the decision was taken to force the collapse of the roof.

Hundreds of tons of burning beams and molten lead crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.

The drastic ploy worked; the fire was brought under control and then extinguished. Then the rest of the city, and the country, awoke to the scene of devastation.

Most of the great cathedral had been saved, but the South Transept was a roofless shell.

Water and debris were everywhere inside. The nave and the Central Tower were smoke-blackened and the priceless 16th Century Rose Window, while intact, had been cracked into 40,000 pieces.

After the initial shock wore off, there was only one thing to do -start the clean-up and then the restoration.

And over the weeks, months and years that followed, teams of masons, carpenters, glaziers, roofers and many others slowly and painstakingly worked towards a common goal.

Landowners donated wood for the massive beams needed for the roof and even children became involved in the project when Blue Peter asked them to submit designs for new carvings for the vaulted ceiling.

Peter Gibson and his team of glaziers worked tirelessly for four years to restore the Rose Window, even developing a new adhesive to insert into every crack.

The basic cost of the restoration was about £2.25m, while another £350,000 was raised to install modern fire protection in the hope of preventing another disaster.

By the time the Queen arrived for a rededication ceremony in November 1988, the great fire-humbled symbol of Christianity had risen magnificently from the ashes.

The morning of July 9, 1984, may hold heartbreaking memories, but for those who saved and then restored the minster, it was among their finest hours.

* To commemorate the anniversary, Mr Gibson will give an illustrated talk in the minster, from 10pm to 11.30pm tonight, in aid of York Against Cancer.