The victims of a mining disaster have been remembered 145 years on from their deaths at a special service.
On March 12, 1878, 43 men and boys were killed at Unity Brook Colliery in Kearsley.
The tragedy happened after an explosion ripped its way through the mine.
Former pub, the Unicorn Inn, used to be where the memorial now stands off Manchester Road, and was where some of the deceased were placed before burial.
Read more: Service to be held to keep alive the memory of 43 men and boys who died in tragedy
Yesterday, Monday, Kearsley residents and schoolchildren gathered at the Unity Brook Colliery Memorial to remember those who lost their lives in the disaster.
The schoolchildren were from St Stephen’s CE Primary School and Spindle Point Primary School in Kearsley, the two nearest schools to the memorial.
Children read out the names of each victim and a minute’s silence was held at 1.07pm, the time which was read on a pocket watch found in the mine.
Alex Channon of Friends of Agecroft Colliery in Salford and Barry Price from St Stephen’s Parish Church in Kearsley also spoke at the memorial.
Read more: A memorial to the 43 who lost their lives in mining disaster restored
Stephen Tonge, one of the organisers of the memorial, said: “It has been a good turnout. The schools have been really helpful in organising this.
“The idea was to involve the schools from the beginning, as nobody really knew about this in my generation, that 43 people had died.”
The memorial was refurbished in November last year by resident Stephen Shaw, with the company he works for, Heightvale Ltd, donating all the materials for the repair work.
Mr Tonge added: “Where the memorial is positioned it gets a lot of the weather, so Heightvale helped us with it.”
Read more: It was Kearsley's darkest day and those who died will never be forgotten
Brennan Tighe, a governor at St Stephen’s, said: “Kearsley is a small village community, so something like this brings it together.
“I think doing this is really important, and we want to support the schools and the community.
“We walk down here regularly, so it’s nice to see the memorial tidy and sorted.”
To keep updated with the memorial, visit its Facebook page at Unity Brook Colliery Disaster.
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at zach.harrison@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @zachhjourno.
Anyone interested in joining Friends of Agecroft Colliery can join on their Facebook page.
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