THE forgotten grave of a miner who was finally given a burial 24 years after dying in the North-East's worst pit disaster has been found by The Advertiser.

Sue Coults had searched for years for the final resting-place of her great grandfather William Chaytor, 55, who died with his workmate John Rodgers, 57, in the 1909 explosion at Stanley.

But now The Advertiser has discovered the burial records of Mr Chaytor, one of 168 men and boys who died in the Burns Pit tragedy, after trawling through records in County Hall in Durham City.

The corpses of the two men were not discovered until 1933 and the pair were eventually buried after an inquest.

Family folk lore and myths surround the discovery of the two men, most of which can now be disregarded after reports from the time were unearthed.

But one story recounted by Mrs Coults, of Burnhope, near Stanley, has turned out to be true.

The mystery of the missing gold of John Rodgers, a good Catholic but a gambling man, was well recorded at the time.

Rodgers always carried his savings around with him in a money belt. It was estimated that £30 in gold, a lot of money in 1909 and even 1933, was being carried by the miner who, like Chaytor, would have survived if he hadn't agreed to an overtime shift.

But when the bodies were finally discovered by Bob Clipperton and Edward Burdon, working in the Busty seam, the money had disappeared.

Other stories passed down to the Coults family and others over the generations, including that the pair were perfectly formed until oxygen disintegrated the bodies upon discovery and that a sixpence William Chaytor kept for a post-work pint was the only method of identification, have proven false.

But The Advertiser has been able to pass on fresh information to the family - including William's final resting place.

"I've asked a lot of people over the years where my great-granddad lay, my grandmother never talked much about it and the information had been lost really," said Sue Coults. "I was always drawn to the area where the mass burial trenches are supposed to be in the old cemetery and I always felt he was there somewhere but I'm delighted to finally know where he is."

Burial records show that Mr Chaytor was buried in Stanley's then new burial ground. Mrs Coults now plans to inspect maps of the cemetery to locate the exact burial place.

Other information unearthed includes newpaper reports of the final burials, which recount how just a handful of people attended Mr Chaytor's funeral and just one person, Mr Rodgers' son, the other internment at St Joseph's RC Church in Stanley.

Further details discovered include a letter from a Northern Echo reader, - whose husband was with Mr Chaytor's son the day the bodies were found - accounts from the men who discovered the bodies, the testimony at the inquest from the sons of the two men and the fact that a kneeling stool was dedicated to Mr Chaytor's memory by his widow.

* The Advertiser, with others, is trying to locate exactly where each of the victims are buried and has launched an appeal to mark the mass burial trenches with a simple tribute.

Anyone with information is asked to call Chris Webber on (01207) 280613. Anyone wishing to contribute to the appeal for a tribute is asked to send a cheque to Pit Appeal, c/o The Advertiser, PO Box 14, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1N