A SPECIAL memorial event commemorating the anniversary of an explosion at Houghton Main was held last Thursday.
The Houghton Main Memorial Wheel was erected in the 1990s to commemorate those who lost their lives during a colliery explosion on June 12, 1975.
At the time of the explosion, 1,361 men worked at the colliery - 1,191 underground and 170 on the surface.
Five men died during the explosion - Leonard Baker, Richard Bannister, Raymond Copperwheat, Irvin Lakin and Frederick Arnold Williamson - while Kenneth Upperdine was seriously injured.
The general secretary of the NUM, Chris Kitchen, was in attendance and the fragile Houghton Main NUM banner made a rare appearance.
Coun Kevin Osborne, who organised the event, said: “We gathered in solemn remembrance to honour the 50th anniversary of the Houghton Main Pit explosion, a tragedy that forever changed our community.
“Fifty years ago, on a day like no other, we lost brave men - husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and friends - who went to work and never returned home.
“They were men of fortitude, devoted to their families and their craft, striving to build a better life in the embrace of our coalfield community.
“Their passing left a void not only in their loved ones’ lives but also in the heart of Houghton Main.
“The wounds were felt in every street, every home and every heart in this community.
“Yet, amid the sorrow, we found a way to unite, to lift each other through grief, and to ensure their memory lived on.
“We remember the resilience of this village, which stood tall in the face of sorrow, and the unbroken ties of solidarity that emerged from that dark day.
“Their legacy is not just one of loss but of the strength and unity that define us to this day.”
