A CAMPAIGN to preserve and showcase a fragment of one of the oldest pit banners will launch later this month.

Trimdon Colliery Banner Group will begin fundraising for the estimated £7,000 to cover the cost of a double-sided display cabinet for the 126-year-old remnant.

Thanks to the fragment, Trimdon Colliery banner was brought back to life into a replica which flew the pit flag for the first time in more than 100 years at the 2017 Big Meeting.

A successful fundraising bid enabled the group to display the replica in a bespoke cabinet at Trimdon Colliery and Deaf Hill Working Men’s Club and now the group want to do the same with the remaining piece.

Paul Trippett, group secretary, said: “This is a tremendous part of Trimdon Colliery’s history and quite possibly one of the oldest artefacts in the Colliery.

"It depicts the history of the pit from over 100 years ago and it’s crucial that it’s kept for future generations.

"If it’s just left it will deteriorate.”

The fragment was found at Blackhall, near Hartlepool, by the late Ted Atherton who dedicated 50 years to researching its history.

A newspaper cutting records the banner’s unfurling in July 1892.

On the front it shows three men in the Trimdon Colliery agent’s office while on the back is a depiction of the Good Samaritan.

For more details and to donate email Mr Trippett on trippettpaul@hotmail.com