Mining disaster marked by garden

Fife has a long history of mining

A Fife coal mining disaster that claimed 35 lives is being marked by a new generation of villagers.

Schoolchildren are marking the High Valleyfield pit tragedy of 1939 by opening a memorial garden on Sunday, after months of fundraising.

St Serfs Primary has been backed with £10,000 from Fife Council.

On October 28, 1939, a blast in the number one shaft of Valleyfield pit killed 35 men, leaving 42 youngsters fatherless.

Other men working deep underground were also injured.

It was one of the worst mining tragedies in Fife's long mining history and came just eight years after 10 men had perished of carbon monoxide poisoning at Bowhill pit.

Margaret Fulton, the secretary of St Serfs' PTA and of High Valleyfield Community Council, said: "Many miners came from all over Fife and further afield to find work in the Valleyfield Colliery.

"They too may also want to enjoy this event as it will bring back memories.

"However I do hope those memories will be good ones when they see the garden, the plaque and the communities joining together to remember, in celebration, our past generations."

Tam Douglas, the last delegate from the pit, will also attend the opening, along with historian Peter Baillie and poet Eddie Martin.