A PIT disaster which claimed the lives of 35 men is being marked by a new generation of villagers in High Valleyfield this weekend.

It was on October 28, 1939, that a blast at the number one shaft of Valleyfield pit killed 35 men, leaving 42 youngsters fatherless and devastating the close-knit community.

Many others working deep underground in the early hours of that fateful morning were also injured.

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

News of the explosion brought anxious families running from all around the west Fife village’s area, desperate for news of their loved ones.

High and Low Valleyfield bore the brunt but communities from all around were devastated by the scale of the loss.

A statue was erected in the village in the 1980s to mark the black day in its history.

Unusually, the statue, which stands at the entrance to the village, depicts not a miner but a wife, surrounded by her children, waiting for her husband.

Now the children from St Serfs primary in the village have been marking the tragedy in their own way.

The school’s PTA has been fund-raising to create a memorial garden to all those who lost their lives in the pit disaster in 1939 and loved ones they left behind.

Fife Council has contributed £10,000 to the garden, featuring a memorial plaque, which will be opened on Sunday.

Margaret Fulton, the secretary of the 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 be there, along with historian Peter Baillie and poet Eddie Martin.

By coincidence the pupils have been hard at work in creating their own eco-garden and this too will be opened on Sunday, as will Preston Street play park.

Margaret said VERT raised part of the funds for the play park and they will be included in Sunday’s event.

However special Sunday will be, the memorial and eco gardens are continuing projects.

“The pupils of the school are and will continue to be involved in both these gardens,” said Margaret.

The eco-garden was partly funded by the children’s efforts and they planted all of the shrubs and plants

“They will throughout the years continue to do school projects and upgrade the areas, therefore it is a source of learning to be continued from one generation to the next.”

Sunday will also mark the presentation to St Serfs headteacher Isobel Holton who will retire at the end of term after eight years.

The day’s events kick off at Preston Street play park at 12.30pm, moving to the school for 1pm.