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A solitary plaque on the railings of a playpark may be the sole extent of Kirkcaldy’s acknowledgement of the mining industry which once dominated people’s lives - but families have never forgotten the men who toiled in seams underground.

Fifty years to the day that five miners died in a roof fall at Seafield, they gathered on the shores of the Forth to pay a fitting tribute, at a special event organised by the 80th Linktown Scouts.

The colliery, and its distinctive blue spiked railings, may have long since disappeared from the landscape, but memories run deep. Fifty years on from the tragedy on May 10, 1973, relatives, ex-miners, community representatives and politicians gathered under two tents to remember the men who died, the men who were injured, and the people who toiled in rescue missions that went on through the night.

At 6:45pm - the time of the roof collapse - they stood in silent tribute; the only sound was that of raindrops tap dancing on top of the tents, and waves crashing on to an empty beach. Wreaths were laid below a miners’ banner adorned with names of collieries across the Kingdom which once gave employment to tens of thousands of men across the generations

Wreaths were laid below the miners' banner to mark the 50th anniversary of the Seafield disaster

The Seafield they knew – a super pit that was delivering an average of 26,000 tons a week at the time of the tragedy – has been replaced by luxury houses and a picnic area, making it almost impossible to fathom just how far they ventured under the Forth to howk coal.

Lives changed forever when the roof of D22 - a steep seam which stretched out under the estuary - suddenly fell in, trapping nine men deep underground.Of the 169 numbered supports on the ceiling, 65 in the middle toppled and were swept away by the falling rock. The fall itself was up to eight feet high in places, with nine men trapped in darkness, deep under the Firth of Forth. Five didn’t make it back to the surface alive.

The anniversary gathering stood in silence as their names were read aloud: James Comrie, 49, assistant shearer operator; Angus Guthrie, 20, brusher; Robert Henderson, 59, chocker; James Holmes, 53, chocker and Thomas Kilpatrick, 38, leading man.

The injured were also recalled as new generations heard their names, possibly for the first time.

A solitary bunch of flowers is taken to be placed at the shore of the Forth to mark the 50th anniversary of the Seafield Colliery disaster

A poem, written by miner Fred Dickson, was read out, and prayers were given by Rev Dr Graham Deans from Linktown Church.

It was a simple, poignant service on a landmark anniversary. Coal is no longer king in the Kingdom or anywhere else in the UK – the Thatcher government of the 1980s killed it off after a bitter year-long miners’ strike – and the jobs, and sense of community, the town lost in the 1980s have never been replaced.

As the service ended, one person planted a bunch of flowers into the sand at the water’s edge, and, with perfect timing, the rain eased and a double rainbow appeared over Seafield.

Seafield disaster: wreaths & double rainbow mark poignant anniversary gathering