0:00:02 > 0:00:04United by disaster, never to see each other again.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07- I thought I had lost him. - Without you I wouldn't be here now.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Bonds forged by adversity and then broken by time.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I just don't know what to say after all these years.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18It must be so difficult to face the people who lost what we lost.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21And unsung heroes meet those they've saved.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23When you see someone in trouble, you go help them.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25You saved my daughter's life.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27I feel honoured to meet those people.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31We went through all that and then just lost each other.
0:00:31 > 0:00:37Brought together by fate, separated by life, Real Lives Reunited.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Today, survivors of one of the country's worst mining disasters are
0:00:44 > 0:00:49reunited to share memories of escape and the mates who didn't make it.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51I walked up the road with him...
0:00:53 > 0:00:55He didn't come back.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00A new father meets the stranger who helped him deliver his baby son.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Listen to me, you need to put your hand over the baby's head
0:01:04 > 0:01:07so it stops the baby delivering too fast.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09Can you just get someone.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11I owe the man big time.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14And the people who made history on the world's first ever
0:01:14 > 0:01:17supersonic passenger flight are brought back together
0:01:17 > 0:01:20for the first time in more than 30 years.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24All flyers wanted to know what would it feel like to fly supersonic.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26I felt a thrill.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39In the early 1970s, a third of the country's energy came from coal.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Working in 261 pits,
0:01:41 > 0:01:47almost 300,000 miners, producing 145 million tons of coal a year.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53In communities like the Yorkshire village of Lofthouse,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56nearly the entire population of over 4,000
0:01:56 > 0:01:58were connected to the industry.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Mostly everybody worked at pit, nearly.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05You had some good times and you had some good craic with lads, like.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08But it was dangerous, arduous work.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Eye to the face, it was about 22 inches,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15and you were laid on your shoulder biggest part of the time,
0:02:15 > 0:02:16pulling yourself through.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19It were hard work. Very, very hard work.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Anybody today wouldn't do it, I don't think.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24You were quite aware that anything could happen.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26It were very dangerous.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29But despite the risks, nothing prepared the nation for
0:02:29 > 0:02:34the events at Lofthouse Colliery on the 21st of March, 1973.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40The emergency started early this morning
0:02:40 > 0:02:44when a powerful surge of water burst through a coalface
0:02:44 > 0:02:45where 30 men were working.
0:02:46 > 0:02:47When they washed them out.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51I couldn't believe it.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52You had to run for your lives.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57You're thinking of only one thing - survival.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03For friends Keith Stone and Malcolm Firth,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05the shift had begun like any other.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Started work at 11 o'clock, went down to the pit.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15Travelled up in the roadway on the train.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20But at 2:00am, working a coalface 700 feet below ground,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22everything changed.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25All of a sudden there was this...vroof.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27All you could see were a wall of water coming up
0:03:27 > 0:03:30flushing over the men.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35The men had no clue they'd been working dangerously close to
0:03:35 > 0:03:36a flooded Victorian mine.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38When they drilled into it,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41three million gallons of stagnant water flooded into their tunnel.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48You're just paralysed for a split second.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50And then when water hit me, I knew I got to move.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Your mind is focused on how fast you can run
0:03:54 > 0:03:55and how fast you can get out.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Further along the coalface, Arthur Beaney,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59separated from the other miners,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02was also desperately trying to escape the water.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07My mates had gotten through these air doors to safety.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11But when I got there...
0:04:11 > 0:04:13the water was coming through.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18You can't explain it, water coming one way
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and you've got water coming another way.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22Alone in the dark,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Arthur somehow managed to stumble into another mine shaft and safety.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32I was lucky, very lucky, yeah.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Most of the miners managed to force their way through
0:04:36 > 0:04:39shoulder-deep water and escape, but seven miners are missing.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41One of them was Eddie Finnegan,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44father of three and husband to Hazel.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Nicholas said to me, "Somebody's knocking at the door, Ma'am,"
0:04:47 > 0:04:50I said, "It'll be your dad, he'll have forgot his key,"
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and it were a man from the pit.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57And he said, "Can I come in a minute because there's been an accident?"
0:04:57 > 0:05:00I said to him, "Will he be out by dinner time?"
0:05:00 > 0:05:02He says, "I don't know, love,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04"we're just playing it by ear,
0:05:04 > 0:05:05"we don't really know."
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Eddie was only working at the coalface
0:05:08 > 0:05:10because he had swapped jobs with a work mate.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15You still remember, when you go to bed at night-time, you say,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18"Them lads...I walked up the road with 'em...
0:05:20 > 0:05:22"..they didn't come back."
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I were affected for quite a while after.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29It stops with you a little while, does that.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Survivors Arthur, Keith and Malcolm
0:05:35 > 0:05:38are meeting up after 40 years to talk about their escape
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and the desperate efforts to rescue their trapped friends.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45I've never talked about this. Me and you, we've never talked about it.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47BOTH: No.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I was lucky to get away. I was the last man out.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54We know you were missing cos we had been looking for you.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56As the nation watched,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59a huge rescue effort was launched to reach the trapped men.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04All day, over 300 men have worked virtually non-stop on the rescue.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Special pumps and pipes were brought in to help remove the water
0:06:07 > 0:06:10which has flooded many of the underground tunnels.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13As far as we're concerned in the Union,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17we shall continue to fight to get seven men out alive.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19But as the hours turned to days,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21rescue efforts became even more desperate.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I understand now the frogmen are going in to see
0:06:24 > 0:06:26if they can get through.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29And so...
0:06:29 > 0:06:32everybody is pressing on ahead as fast as they can go.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Equipment was brought in from all over the country
0:06:35 > 0:06:37and diving teams worked round the clock.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So dangerous and arduous are conditions
0:06:40 > 0:06:42that the divers were delayed for an hour
0:06:42 > 0:06:45for a special briefing and medical tests.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48When they got so far, they said, "No, can't go any further,
0:06:48 > 0:06:53"somebody's going to get killed again, it's too dangerous."
0:06:53 > 0:06:57After six desperate days, came the news everyone dreaded.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00I would like to pay tribute to the workmen
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and the management of this pit for the tremendous courage
0:07:03 > 0:07:04and tenacity they have displayed...
0:07:05 > 0:07:08..in attempting this rescue...
0:07:08 > 0:07:10which has unfortunately been aborted.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Of the seven miners killed that night, only one body was recovered.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20The others were left entombed inside the mine.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30It's like going to a funeral, isn't it?
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Put somebody in the grave, you fill it up, and that's what it was like.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Later, one survivor shares his guilt
0:07:44 > 0:07:47when he meets the widow of the mate who didn't escape.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53He changed shifts with me. I sometimes feel it's my fault.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59It's nobody's fault, nobody's fault.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Don't be silly, Jack.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Britain may have been heavily reliant upon coal for power,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14but its industries were on the cutting edge of technology.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19The post-war generations embraced the technological revolution.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20The world was getting smaller
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and the battle was on across the globe to go further, faster.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The British government was racing to beat the Russians
0:08:27 > 0:08:31and Americans to develop the first supersonic passenger plane.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34The project was so expensive,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Britain formed an unlikely alliance with France to build the aircraft.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41But arguments ensued over who was top dog.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45I see that France is heading the management committee,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48does that mean that France is the senior partner in this?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51No, we're going into this 50/50.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53To keep everyone happy,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56the plane was given a name meaning union in both French and English,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and in 1962, Concorde was born.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04The British public was captivated by the prospect of
0:09:04 > 0:09:08travelling faster than the speed of sound while drinking champagne.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10And as test flights began in the '60s,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14people flocked to see its speed and beauty.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17All is going well. She's airborne.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Yeah, it was amazing to see, to actually see it take off.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Pub landlord Peter Morris
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and his father watched the original test flights
0:09:25 > 0:09:30at Fairford Airfield from their back garden only 15 miles away.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31You could see it quite plainly.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34And we saw it go past us.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Father got in his car and shot over
0:09:36 > 0:09:37and we got there in time to see it land.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Having worked with the RAF during the war,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Peter's father was fascinated by the idea that supersonic flight
0:09:45 > 0:09:47could become a reality for fare-paying passengers.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53When we got back, straight on the phone, booked there and then.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58And now, what everyone wants to do is to get on with
0:09:58 > 0:10:02the job of making it the finest transport aircraft in the world.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07As the country waited in anticipation,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10British Airways started to select the very best staff
0:10:10 > 0:10:13to train for the first ever supersonic passenger flight.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20We all love flying, so this was a new experience of flying.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25Why me? I was lucky, yeah, go, go, go.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28John Hitchcock and Francine Carville were hand-picked as part of
0:10:28 > 0:10:32the crew of nine offering luxury at twice the speed of sound.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It was a different concept altogether
0:10:36 > 0:10:38to normal service on an aircraft.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40We were trained to take care of
0:10:40 > 0:10:41the passengers as if they were
0:10:41 > 0:10:43guests in your own home.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45That was the idea.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49But delays and spiralling costs of over £7 billion left
0:10:49 > 0:10:52the public waiting for the engineering marvel to arrive.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Everybody knew that Concorde was in the making,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59but nobody knew when it was actually going to fly.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02The delay was to be tragic for Peter's family.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Three years after his father bought his dream ticket,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07they received some heartbreaking news.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08He got cancer.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13He was living with us for three or four weeks,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and then just one morning and that was it.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Mum was there, we were all there, Mum and my wife.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Despite being devastated by his death,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24when Concorde was finally ready four years later,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Peter knew his father would have wanted him to take his ticket.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Dad would have loved it. It's a great shame.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38On January the 21st, 1967,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41after more than 15 years of planning and preparation,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Concorde was finally ready to take paying passengers on
0:11:44 > 0:11:46the trip of a lifetime.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Her maiden flight was Heathrow to Bahrain.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52A journey that would usually take seven hours
0:11:52 > 0:11:55was going to be just over three and a half at supersonic.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59For a chap like me that just kept a pub,
0:11:59 > 0:12:01it really was the stuff of dreams.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04On the morning of the flight, I turned on the radio
0:12:04 > 0:12:09and Sir Terry Wogan had an early morning show and he said,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11"I am going to play a record now for all the boys and girls
0:12:11 > 0:12:15"who are going to fly supersonic today."
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I think that kind of set the atmosphere,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20I thought, "Oh, good, this is going to be a fun day."
0:12:20 > 0:12:24The entire world was watching as royalty, politicians
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and war heroes all came together to wish Concorde well.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34To be there on that day, it was really a dream come true.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I can remember what it was actually like.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40I can hear the sounds of the band,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44I can hear the noise of the people, the noise of the engine.
0:12:46 > 0:12:5037 years ago, Francine and John had the honour of crewing Concorde
0:12:50 > 0:12:53on its maiden commercial flight.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Today, they are meeting on one of the seven remaining aircraft
0:12:56 > 0:12:59to relive the memories of that incredible day.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Look, there you are.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04- This is at the press conference, do you remember?- Oh, yes.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Look, John. Weren't you handsome?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Oh, God.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11I thought you were rather gorgeous, then.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Oh, thank you, John.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Look, there are the passengers checking in.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17We had three television cameras,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20everybody wanted to visit the flight deck
0:13:20 > 0:13:25and we served them a three-course lunch, loads of champagne.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30And there was a man on board who actually sent us a crate of
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Dom Perignon champagne.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Who got that, then?
0:13:36 > 0:13:37Don't look at me!
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Absolutely wonderful.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I think only you and I know,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48we've had exactly the same experience of that day.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Yeah, that's true.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51Making history.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53It didn't strike us at the time, did it?
0:13:53 > 0:13:58I think flyers wanted to know what it would feel like to fly supersonic.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03When you actually experienced it, I felt a thrill.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Later, Peter Morris meets the crew
0:14:08 > 0:14:11who helped make his flight on Concorde so special.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13It would be marvellous to talk to them.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15When they are very kind to you
0:14:15 > 0:14:17and they chat to you, they stick in your mind.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28On the Easter weekend of 2012, 38-year-old Paula Larwood
0:14:28 > 0:14:31thought she was a week away from the birth of her second child.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34But when her fiance Stephen Painter called home
0:14:34 > 0:14:38to check what she wanted for tea, things changed dramatically.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41She said she didn't want anything, she was in labour.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Stephen dropped everything and was home within 15 minutes.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48He found his fiancee in the bathroom screaming in agony.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Stephen says, "We better get you in the car."
0:14:50 > 0:14:53I said, "There's no way in this world that I can get into the car."
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Paula's contractions were coming more and more and more.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01And cos all the emotions, you think is the baby in the right position?
0:15:01 > 0:15:06And things like that. So all these things come flooding into your mind.
0:15:06 > 0:15:12We got her laid down and the crown was showing.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13I was in a lot of pain.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19It was panic, it was scary.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Stephen frantically dialled 999.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25The nearest hospital was 11 miles away.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29They started to fear an ambulance wouldn't make it in time.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Ambulance Service. What's the reason for your call?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34My partner's just about to give birth.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36The waters we think have gone.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Well, she's giving birth, mate, to be honest!
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Has she got severe abdominal pain?
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Have you got abdominal pain?
0:15:43 > 0:15:44PAULA: YES!
0:15:44 > 0:15:46On the other end of the line was
0:15:46 > 0:15:49John Sedgebeer, a 999 medical advisor
0:15:49 > 0:15:52with four and a half years' experience under his belt.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Does she have the urge to push?
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Yes, she's pushing!
0:15:57 > 0:15:58- She's pushing?- Yeah!
0:15:58 > 0:15:59Quite quickly in that call
0:15:59 > 0:16:01it appeared that this is going to
0:16:01 > 0:16:03happen in a short space of time
0:16:03 > 0:16:04and I'm going to have to help
0:16:04 > 0:16:07both Stephen and Paula deliver this baby by themselves.
0:16:07 > 0:16:08I can see the head coming out.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Listen to me, you need to put your hand over the baby's head
0:16:14 > 0:16:17so it stops the baby delivering too fast.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18Can you just get someone?
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Help's coming to you. You need to help your partner in the meantime.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24He was shouting a lot and quite abrupt, which you can expect,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26so I had to calm him down.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29- Is somebody coming, mate? - Yes, I told you, it's on its way.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32I'm trying to give you advice on how to help her.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34His head's out.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36With Paula screaming in pain
0:16:36 > 0:16:38and a stranger on the end of the phone talking him through it,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Stephen was about to deliver his son.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45It's coming. The baby's out, mate.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Your heart's racing really up until the point
0:16:53 > 0:16:54that you hear the baby crying
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and that's a kind of relief then that you've done your job,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01you've delivered the baby. It's an amazing feeling.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Take the baby and lie the baby on her chest.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Do not touch the umbilical cord.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09- Congratulations, by the way. - Thank you.
0:17:09 > 0:17:10I don't want to do that again.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13That's fine. Don't worry, you did really well, sir.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Yeah, cheers, thank you.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Baby Freddy was born at 6:27pm on the 6th of April, 2012.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I owe the man big time.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26To hear that newborn baby cry...
0:17:28 > 0:17:29You can't beat it.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35A stranger's voice helped Stephen
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and Paula through one of the most incredible moments of their lives.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Today, they can finally put a face to that voice.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44First of all, I would just like to say thank you ever so much.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Yes, thank you for your help.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50I must apologise to you cos I felt that I was probably very abrupt.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53I can remember you being quite panicked at the start.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55It took me a while to try and calm you down,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58to actually get you to do what you needed to do.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02It's an amazing experience and I'm glad that you were a part of it.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Having brought Freddy into the world,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08John now has a chance to meet him for the first time
0:18:08 > 0:18:11along with his big sister Maddie and granny Lorraine.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13- There's Freddie.- Hello.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Isn't he heavy? Isn't he big now.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17BABY GURGLES
0:18:17 > 0:18:19LAUGHTER
0:18:19 > 0:18:20And speaking!
0:18:20 > 0:18:23How does it feel having my son... on our lap?
0:18:23 > 0:18:26I would never have expected to be able to hold someone
0:18:26 > 0:18:28I helped bring into the world.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- Have you got children? - No, we're expecting one.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Home delivery?
0:18:33 > 0:18:34No!
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I was going to say, don't be ringing me up for any advice.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51In January 1976, a small group of passengers and crew
0:18:51 > 0:18:54took part in one of the defining moments of the 20th century.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59Concorde takes Britain and the world into the supersonic age.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Concorde was 15 years in the making at a cost of £7 billion.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10From its distinctive drooped nose to the streamlined delta wings,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13everything about Concorde was built for speed.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Four specially designed Rolls-Royce jet engines blasted her into
0:19:17 > 0:19:20the future and higher than any other civilian plane.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28As a passenger on that maiden flight, Peter Morris remembers
0:19:28 > 0:19:30the crucial moment he went through the sound barrier.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Well, you felt the hit in your back
0:19:34 > 0:19:36when the thing started going up
0:19:36 > 0:19:37and then the dials started to spin.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It was quite amazing.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41And then you're looking out the window and it's going up
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and the sky's getting darker and darker.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Then it hit it.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49We all cheered and clanked whatever we'd got in our hands at the time.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Yeah, but it was absolutely something.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54It's the most tremendous, a very exciting experience.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Somehow you sort of feel the aeroplane means it,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59It knows where it's going.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04Super fast, elegant, streamlined, perfect service...
0:20:04 > 0:20:05Well, nothing more.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09This is indeed Concorde's day.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14For Peter, it was a bittersweet moment,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16his dad had bought one of the first tickets
0:20:16 > 0:20:19but died before Concorde's maiden voyage.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22In honour of his father's supersonic dream,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Peter decided to take the flight for him.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27And so, "There you are, Dad. Cheers, we're at it."
0:20:27 > 0:20:30It was a great shame, it really, really was.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32He really would have loved it.
0:20:35 > 0:20:3937 years ago, Peter fulfilled his father's ambition
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and became a part of aviation history.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46For him, the opportunity to meet the crew who looked after him that day
0:20:46 > 0:20:50is a chance to relive the flight his father had dreamed of.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52It was such a wonderful day, wasn't it?
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- It was a brilliant day. - Did it live up to your expectations?
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Absolutely.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59It wasn't until I got into the room in the Gulf afterwards,
0:20:59 > 0:21:01- you're on your own... - You realise.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03..that you sit and think about it.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06I've got something here to show you.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- Oh, good lord! - This is take-off from London.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- Is this on the day? - This is actually on the day.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- There's me! - Yes, I recognise that haircut.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18And there he is.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- Well, well. That's amazing. - Isn't that amazing?
0:21:21 > 0:21:24I never saw the news cos I stayed away for two weeks.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25Of course.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29- People kept telling me about it. - That really is lovely.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32What made you choose to go on it?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36My father booked seats and the poor old chap died.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38He was always interested in flying.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- Ah, what a shame, so you flew for him?- Yeah.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43He got me interested.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46But it's amazing for John and I to meet up with you again.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- You're the first Concorde passenger we've met up with.- That's right.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Today, when I've been talking about it, it's all come back to me,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56- absolutely. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.- No. How lovely.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02In 1976, Britain and France managed to beat the world superpowers
0:22:02 > 0:22:06to an engineering feat which changed air travel for ever.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Over the next 27 years,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Concorde took two and a half million passengers supersonic.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Clocking up almost 100 million air miles.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18It was the most complex airplane of its time
0:22:18 > 0:22:21and it's legacy lives on beyond its retirement.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I didn't think I'd ever see Concorde again,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and here I am walking up the steps.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29It just brought back that day to me quite clearly.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Because I can remember turning round
0:22:32 > 0:22:36and waving to the media at the top of the steps.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39It would be marvellous to talk to them.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Totally different aspect to it all.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Because they've told me bits and pieces
0:22:43 > 0:22:46that you don't think about at the time.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The fact that they were standing there with a glass of champagne,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51serving it, not drinking it,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54when we went through twice the speed of sound.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57I thought they would be strapped down in the back, they weren't,
0:22:57 > 0:23:01they were on their feet, serving the booze, brilliant.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04We really have had a good day. Brilliant.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09Reminiscing about what it was like, it's been wonderful,
0:23:09 > 0:23:10absolutely terrific.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15Of course it's emotional cos we went through it ourselves.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17We all made history.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21We really know what the passengers felt, and that's lovely to hear that.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22Makes you proud to be British.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34In 1973, the Yorkshire village of Lofthouse saw one of
0:23:34 > 0:23:37the worst mining disasters in living memory,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39devastating the community.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The emergency started early this morning when a powerful
0:23:42 > 0:23:45surge of water burst through a coalface
0:23:45 > 0:23:47where 30 men were working.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50On shift that night was father of three Eddie Finnegan.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54He loved it, it were his job
0:23:54 > 0:23:57and it were his life, really. Yeah.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Eddie's daughter Nicola was 16 at the time.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03He was a lovely, lovely man.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05He did everything with us.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07He took us places
0:24:07 > 0:24:09and he was always doing things
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and he was always interested.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16One of Eddie's close friends was Jack Willoughby.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19They were together that night when a work mate failed to show up
0:24:19 > 0:24:22at the start of the shift and Jack offered to take his place.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26One of the deputies, didn't turn up that night, he were ill.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29I were qualified to fire delay detonators,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31so I took over his job.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35This left Jack's position at the coalface empty
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and Eddie volunteered to fill it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41The men settled into their shift, but at 2:00am, everything changed.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I can see it now, water.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47It was like a slurry.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50It just come in waves.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54It just washed two men out, it washed them straight out.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59The miners had breached a disused and flooded Victorian mine.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03In an instant, three million gallons of water surged into the shaft.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Panic stations.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Tragically Eddie was one of the seven men trapped by the water.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19The rescue effort focused on the hope they made it to an air pocket.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Surveyors fixed a point on the surface, estimated to be
0:25:22 > 0:25:24directly above the entombed men.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29A drilling rig was called in and set up with the aid of gangs of miners.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33But after a rescue bid lasting six days, hope was gone.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39So there was that the initial thing that they were dead.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40But then there was a time when
0:25:40 > 0:25:43you still thought that they might recover the bodies.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45I was almost afraid that they would cos...
0:25:46 > 0:25:49..I thought my mum would want to go and see him...
0:25:51 > 0:25:55..and I didn't think that would be a good thing to do.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58He didn't have a burial as such, but...
0:26:00 > 0:26:02..we've got a lovely memorial for him
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and it'll help us be there, won't it?
0:26:11 > 0:26:12Seven men killed.
0:26:16 > 0:26:17Hard memories.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Ever since the disaster, Jack has been tormented by the thought
0:26:24 > 0:26:28that, by swapping jobs, he was responsible for his friend's death.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30You think about it, you think it's your fault.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Jack knows Eddie's widow,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37but he's never been able to tell her about his burden.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Can't say to her...
0:26:40 > 0:26:43.."Your husband did my job when he got killed," can I?
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Today, 40 years on,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51he's found the courage to talk to her about that night.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Don't, don't...
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- I feel a bit guilty about it... - Don't be.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Just that...
0:27:01 > 0:27:04he changed shifts with me, I sometimes feel it's my fault.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Sometimes I think I should have stayed on me own job
0:27:10 > 0:27:11and done me own job.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15It's nobody's fault. It's nobody's fault.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19- Don't be silly, Jack. - No.- Come on.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I admire this man tremendously for coming and saying what he said
0:27:28 > 0:27:31because it must be so difficult to
0:27:31 > 0:27:34face the people who lost what we lost.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38We still miss him.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49The seven men killed in the Lofthouse Disaster died when
0:27:49 > 0:27:53they breached a flooded Victorian mine they had no idea was there.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Their deaths led to new mining practices to prevent
0:27:56 > 0:27:59similar tragedies ever happening again.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00But for those who knew them,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03it's the memories of them as friends that remain.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06We just try to remember how they were
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and talk about the things you used to do together.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13I'll never forget 'em.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Next time, survivors of one of the darkest moments in British football
0:28:27 > 0:28:30meet those who saved them.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35And a cyclist reunited with the heroes
0:28:35 > 0:28:38who pulled him back from the brink.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42It would be absolutely superb to meet the person that dialled 999
0:28:42 > 0:28:45because they started the saving of my life.