THE community will unite in a march tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, to mark the 40th anniversary of a mining disaster.

Residents will walk in remembrance of the Golborne Colliery mining disaster in which an underground explosion happened on March 18, 1979 and led to the deaths of ten miners.

John Terrence Berry (known as "Joe"), Patrick Grainey and Bernard Trimble, all from Leigh, and Walter McPherson, from Westleigh, lost their lives.

Peter Grainey and Raymond Arthur Hill, both from Lowton, Colin Dallimore, who lived in Platt Bridge, and John James McKenna, of Bryn, were among the victims too.

Brian Sherman, who lived in Garswood, and Desmond Edward, from Wigan, died in the tragedy as well.

One miner, Richard Rawsthorne, who lived in Garswood, survived the blast.

A march has been organised every five years since the tragedy to give people the chance to pay their respects to the men who lost their lives.

St Helens Star:

The last commemorative march in Golborne in 2014

On Sunday, a procession, led by Golborne Grass Band, will gather outside the Queen Anne pub on Bridge Street before setting of at around 1.30pm.

Members of the clergy will follow along with dignitaries including St Helens North MP Conor McGinn.

The procession will pass through the town before making its way to St Thomas Church for a service which is set to start at 2.30pm.

Due to the high volume of people expected to turn out for the march, the church service will be screened inside the neighbouring St Thomas' CE Junior and Infant School.

In recent years, the march's organisers have had to raise money through fundraising events to pay for costs such as traffic management. 

One of them includes an annual fishing match which takes place at The Cunneries in Chorley today, Saturday.

To mark the landmark anniversary, a commemorative display of Golborne Colliery and information about the disaster is available to view at Golborne Library until Easter.

A coffee morning will also be held at the Tanners Lane library on the date of the anniversary, Monday, from 10am until noon where visitors will be able to discuss the history of the pit together.

The Lancashire Mining Museum, which is the site of the former Astley Green Colliery and home of the last surviving headgear on the Lancashire coalfield, will be flying its flag at half-mast on Sunday in tribute to the men who died.