A PIT village’s support for the war effort a century ago is being re-enacted in the North-East.

A fundraising parade held by families in Sherburn Hill, Durham, in September 1915 will be recreated at Beamish Museum, near Chester-le-Street.

It is part of Old King Coal, which runs from April 20 to 24, and celebrates the region’s rich mining heritage.

This year, as part of the Great War Festival of Transport, the museum shows how mining communities rallied round to support the troops, while keeping industry going at home, during the First World War.

The parade held in Sherburn Hill included a band of costumed cyclists, featuring a pirate, with a bike decorated as a ship, and a retired pit pony pulling a tub.

Visitors at Beamish will be able to join the parade at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday, which will include cyclists, musicians, banners, a pit pony and even the pirate and ship.

They will be able to make mini banners and help to create a miners’ banner for the parade during the weekend.

Other activities include steam train rides, meet the pit ponies, mining banners on show, recruitment drills, displays by Silksworth Mining History Society, The Felling Heritage Group and Follonsby Banner Group and music in the band hall.

Gemma Stevenson, community events officer, said: “We’ll be telling the story of the huge effort made by towns and villages to support the war effort, while still keeping the wheels of industry turning at home.

“Colliery villages sent many hundreds of men off to fight, while continuing to produce as much coal as possible for the war effort, to power the country, its shipping, industry and munitions production.”