13 photos of community gathering to honour 70th anniversary of Easington pit disaster that claimed 83 lives

Poignant images show residents in and around the ex-mining community in County Durham honouring the memory of the 83 workers who lost their lives to the pit disaster 70 years ago.

By Tommy Greene

Published 29th May 2021, 19:42 BST

Updated 30th May 2021, 15:04 BST

‘Hundreds’ of residents lined the streets of Easington, according to one county councillor representing the area, to mark the occasion.

Respects were paid at the former colliery’s community garden, before attendees marched to the grave site where 72 of the victims were buried decades ago after their bodies had been recovered.

Two new benches were also unveiled as part of the morning’s commemorative events by relatives of the men who died on May 29, 1951.

Councillors and Easington MP, Grahame Morris, were in attendance, along with relatives of the deceased and members of the Durham Miners’ Association.

1. Unveiling

From left: Brian Jolly of Easington Heritage Group, Margaret McGann who lost her father, uncle and cousin in the disaster and Frederick Robson who lost his grand father who was the oldest victim, at an event to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Easington Mining Disaster on Saturday. Photo: Kevin Brady