TWO thick black plumes of smoke rose high into the air, creating a vast mushroom cloud which could be seen for miles.

When the dust settled over what had been an underground RAF munitions dump, a crater 100m deep and more than a kilometre wide scarred the landscape at Fauld, just outside Tutbury.

RAF personnel and miners working in the 90ft gypsum mine – chosen by the Ministry of Defence for bomb storage – were killed instantly when 4,000 tonnes of ammunition went up.

A dam at a nearby reservoir burst, flooding a factory and drowning staff; one farm was wiped out and damage was reported as far away as Burton.

Apart from those living close to the scene, most people are unaware of what is still one of the biggest ever non-nuclear explosions.

The exact cause of the 1944 disaster may never be known, although it is thought someone removing a detonator from a live bomb – using a brass chisel – was to blame.

Among the dead were Italian prisoners of war. Many bodies were never recovered. Some died from the impact of the blast, others from the toxic fumes that were released.

Scores of grazing cows also died and the blast changed the landscape for good, creating a moon-like crater that can be seen on ordnance survey maps to this day.

Ken McLeod, of Burton, is believed to be the only person still alive who was underground at the time of the explosion.

Now 86, he was working in a cavern, known as the old alabaster mine at RAF Fauld.

He was 21 when the blast happened at 11.12am on November 27.

"We were inspecting some ammunition, and that was it – boom," he said.

The sight outside was "terrible"; "all mud and water" everywhere.

Mr McLeod escaped with two others and they hunted for more survivors, but found no-one.

His wife, Joyce, was in Burton at the time and felt the ground shake. "You could see dark clouds. Later on there were rumours that the dump had blown up," she said.

"I went up there and somebody at the gate told me to go home."

Her brother, Lewis Frow, a 15-year-old trainee electrician, died in the blast. She sees the crater as his "grave" and describes it as "eerie" going up there.

A memorial service was held annually at the crater site for 60 years but discontinued in 2004 because people had to walk over fields to get to it and the unpredictable weather in November made it too difficult.

But at 10am on Sunday, people with gather for the annual memorial service at St Werburgh's Church, in Church Lane, Hanbury.

The Rev Frances Sheppard will conduct the service, Stephen Smith will represent Hanbury Parish Council, while military personnel will also attend.

Among them will be RAF Flight Lieutenant Ian Owen and Lieutenant Colonel Franco Dioletta and Warrant Officer Diego Conversano, from the Italian forces.

Wreaths will be laid and names of the dead read out.

At the National Memorial Arboretum, in Alrewas, a stone and plaque has been placed as a permanent tribute to those who died.

People in the area are determined not to forget what happened, said Amanda Andrew, clerk of Hanbury Parish Council, who has organised the service for the past five years.

She said: "We always do it on the closest Sunday to the anniversary and it's open to all members of the public.

"It is a massive part of the area's history. People still get upset about it – it brings back a lot of memories for them. Residents who lost members of their family still live here.

In the summer, hundreds of walkers travel to see the crater, and the parish council has spent thousands tidying up the area.

More than 150 species of trees and plants now grow in the crater, the final resting place for an unfortunate few. Yards away, signs around the fenced-off area warn of unexploded bombs.

An official inquiry into the catastrophe blamed one of the victims, an airman who tried to chip away at a bomb with a brass chisel, causing a spark.

But Alec Savidge, whose father, Tom, escaped the blast, believes a German V2 rocket was the cause and says an official photograph shows part of it.

The truth may never be known.

Do you have any memories or photographs of the Fauld explosion? If so, contact Ed Hill on Derby 291111, extension 6334, or email ehill@derbytelegraph.co.uk

Radio 4's Open Country at 3pm today , talks to people whose lives were affected by the explosion.