THE 40th anniversary of a plane crash that killed 45 people from East Lancashire will be marked with a service in one of the worst-hit towns next week.

Large parts of the region were sent into mourning when the Dan-Air plane crashed into a mountain range near Bar-celona, Spain, on July 3, 1970.

The accident killed all 112 people on board and wiped out several families and the golden generation of an amateur football team.

The youngest victim was thought to be six years old.

Four of those who died were players from the all-conquering Britannia Wanderers, in Padiham, who took their name from the Britannia Inn, Guy Street.

The year before the crash they had won every trophy available and had gone unbeaten through the whole season.

The memorial service will be held on Sunday, July 4, at 3pm, in the Remembrance Garden, Memorial Park, Padiham.

It will be followed by a reception at Padiham Football Club.

Memorabilia as well as photos of Britannia Wanderers, now part of the Padiham Archives, will be on display at the reception.

Sheila Maw was chair of the Padiham Urban District Council at the time.

She will attend the memorial service next week and says her memories of the time are as vivid as ever.

“It was holiday season in Padiham,” she said, “and only me and an-other councillor were still around.

“We visited all the victims’ families. It was heart-breaking.

“I remember the town being in total shock.”

As well as a large number of victims from Padiham, there were also holiday makers from Burnley, Nelson, Barnoldswick, Worsthorne and Ramsbottom on the fateful plane, that had taken off from Manchester.

The funerals took place just days after the crash in the remote mountain village of Arbucias and they were burried in a communal grave.

An official report into the disaster concluded that the jet had been talked down to disaster after misleading information from the cock-pit and the mistaken identity of a mystery blip on the radar screen.

“The memories from that time are so vivid,” said Mrs Maw.

“It is a time that anyone who was around then will never, ever forget. Padiham really pulled together after the accident.

“The families wanted a memorial in the park so the money I raised in my chair-man’s year went to funding that memorial.

“The events we had were really well attended. I remember George Best sending a crate of signed goods to auction off.”

East Lancashire victims

* Harry and Constance Adcroft, Brownhill Avenue, Burnley
* Steven France, Atkinson Street, Burnley
* Raymond, Mary, Mark and Paul Cowpe, Nairne Street, Burnley
* Raymond, Margaret and Alan Hargreaves, Leaver Street, Burnley
* David and John Lally, Gordon Street, Burnley
* Roy, Patricia, Susan and Anne Marshall, Cog Lane, Burnley
* Donald and Vera Smith, Ormerod Street, Worsthorne
* Elaine Feeney, Cog Lane, Burnley
* Colin, Florence and Lorraine Taylor, Cog Lane, Burnley
* Arthur and Patricia Walmsley, Milner Street, Burnley
* Ian Walmsley, Milner Street, Burnley
* David, Mary, Richard and Nora Whitehead, Colbran Street, Burnley
* Geoffrey and Dorothy Taylor, Victoria Road, Padiham
* Michael Searle, Berkeley Crescent, Padiham
* Peter Helm, Windermere Road, Padiham
* Stephen Bond, Windermere Road, Padiham
* David Monk, Derwent Avenue, Padiham
* David Lancaster, Windermere Road, Padiham
* David Wilkinson, Lawrence Street, Padiham
* Malcolm Baker, Langdale Road, Padiham
* David Moss, Square Street, Ramsbotton
* Clive Taylor, Old Ground Street, Ramsbottom
* Geoffrey Holden, Peel Brow, Ramsbottom
* John and Elsie Ingham, Merton Street, Nelson
* Herbert and Greta Heaton, Westgate, Barnoldswick