The final resting places of 40 men and boys who died in the region's worst ever mining disaster have been lost, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Burial records name the grave sites of just 128 men and boys who died in the Stanley Burns Pit disaster of 1909 even though 168 perished in the explosion.

Further research suggests the graves of perhaps two others were later recorded in a separate sheet in council archives although the first names and occupations of the deceased were not written.

Even the exact location of the three trenches in which an estimated 52 of the men were interred is not officially recorded, although local historians using maps and old photographs reckon they have worked out where the men and boys lay.

The Northern Echo has launched a widely supported campaign to have the men and boy's final resting place marked with a simple tribute. But first we pledge to work with others to establish as far as possible exactly who lies in the trenches in the old council cemetery behind St Andrew's Church.

David Butler, deputy archivist at County Hall in Durham City, where Catholic, Church of England and council burial records are kept, said he had never encountered a similar gap in records from that period in history.

He said: "It is extremely odd. Just about every man was from the Stanley area and I have personally checked the records at South Moor and Craghead but to no avail. It's totally unheard of from this period. In the disaster at Seaham years before this, every name is recorded faithfully."

Respected local historian Jack Hair said he had encountered the problem and believed a page from the church records had been ripped out, although preliminary research by The Northern Echo could not confirm this.

Chairman of the Durham Mining Museum, Derrick Lait, pledged the support of his team in tracking down the men. He said: "When you think of the incredibly hard life these men and their families led, the families even received docked wages because their men did not complete their shift, finding out where they are is the very least they deserve."

One of the problems may have been the confusion of the day at which up to 200,000 people invaded the small town, coffins were unable to move, at least six funerals took place at any one time all day and ambulances were unable to reach women and children who fainted.

Anyone with any information, or who wishes to support the campaign, is asked to call Northern Echo reporter Chris Webber on (01207) 282719.