When all had been accounted for the final figures were that twenty men and eighteen boys had been killed, leaving nineteen widows and sixty-two children in need of support. Of those who attempted to bring comfort to the bereaved and to alleviate the distress in some way — and we can be sure that there would be many such — one name stands out in all accounts; the Reverend Henry Wardell, Curate of Ryton Holy Cross under the Rector, the Reverent Charles Thorpe. Two years later Rev. Wardell was to become the first Rector of Winlaton, where he ministered for many years and established a fine reputation, but the days after the Stargate Disaster were probably his first great test.

On the Saturday following the explosion (June 3rd) when the last four bodies were being buried in Ryton Churchyard, the local weekly papers (there were then no dailies) carried stories about the explosion. This was unusual in itself as in those days the newspapers carried little news of events such as pit accidents, and indeed carried little local news at all. However a brief paragraph appeared in the Newcastle Courant and a longer account, under the heading "A MOST MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT' in the Durham Advertiser. Neither of these accounts made any serious attempt to identify the cause of the explosion; the Courant simply saying "perhaps some door had been accidentally neglected" and the Advertiser dismissing the subject with "all parties likely to throw any light upon the matter being dead".

The next day, Sunday, the explosion would certainly have provided a ready theme for the sermons of the local clergy and we know that the Rev. Henry Wardell, in particular, used the occasion to make an appeal for assistance for the distressed dependents of the victims. Collections were taken for the dependents at Winlaton and by the Ryton Methodists.

On the Monday evening, 5th June, a public meeting was held in Ryton Church Vestry, "To take into consideration the best means of relieving the distress", The chair was taken by Humble Lamb of Ryton Hall, himself a prominent coal-owner and magistrate but having no direct connection with Dunns or with the Stargate Pit. The following resolutions were passed:

1. That a subscription be immediately entered into for the relief of the widows, orphans and other dependents of the unfortunate sufferers.

2. That the following Gentlemen form a committee for the management and distribution of the subscriptions, with power to add to their number, any five of whom shall be a quorum (Here followed a list of forty of the principal local inhabitants, beginning with the Rev. Charles Thorp and Humble Lamb and including five members of the Dunn family, the Rev. G Watson and the Rev. H. Wardell)

3. That the Rev. Charles Thorp and Humble Lamb Esq. be requested to act as Treasurers.

4. That the Rev. H. Wardell, Mr. Veatch and Mr. Martinson be appointed Secretaries.

5. That subscriptions be opened at the banks in Newcastle and these Resolutions be advertised in the Newcastle and Durham newspapers.

The chairman having left the chair, it was unanimously resolved:

6. That the thanks of the Meeting be given to him for his kindness in taking the Chair and for the zeal he showed for the benefit of the afflicted sufferers.

Capt. John George Boss, R.N., a resident of Ryton Village, then proposed a motion which was passed:

7. That this meeting cannot but express the deep sense they entertain of the unwearied activity displayed by the Rev. H. Wardell, in attending to the wants and administering to the comfort of the afflicted survivors, and beg thus publicly to offer their thanks to him and also to thank him for his excellent and moving appeal from the pulpit on Sunday after the internment of the unfortunate sufferers.

Subscriptions soon began flowing in to the Committee and when the resolutions were advertised in the local newspapers the next Saturday (10th June) it was possible to append a list showing donations of £249. 15s. 0d. The largest donation was £100 from "The owners of Towneley Main Colliery". (This was equivalent, on average, to about one month's wages per miner killed) George Dunn Snr. gave £50 and MW. Dunn gave £21. Humble Lamb contributed 15 guineas and Capt. Boss £10. The next week the account of the Public Meeting was repeated and an up-dated subscription list published. Further lists appeared up to 12th August, when the total sum collected stood at £1103 3s. 5d. By then George Silvertop had sent £100 and other coal owners such as Sir M. W. Ridley (for Cowpen Colliery), Ridley, Briggs, Gibson and Co. and the Walbottle Colliery Co. had also contributed. It would appear that local committees had been formed in Ryton, Ryton Woodside, Crawcrook and Stella and these each contributed "sundry small sums" they had collected, which seems to point to house-to-house collections having been held. A contribution of half a guinea from "Messrs. Botham & Co., Comedians" is interesting, as it could well be the proceeds of a "Benefit Night" at a local, or Newcastle, Music Hall. It seems that all sections of the population contributed in some way; the Rev. Wm. Hull, the Roman Catholic priest at Stella, can be identified among several names of clergy both "Capt. Boss's servants" and "Mr. Lamb's servants" each sent donations. Not only residents of the immediate Ryton area were involved Dr. J. Coats of Lipwood House near Haydon Bridge, who gave £1, is only one of several contributors who can be identified as coming from well outside the area.

It would be most interesting to know what became of the dependents of those killed, what success, if any, they had in re-organising their shattered lives and whether the relief fund was able to help in any way. Unfortunately the records of the area are silent on this point and the dependents and their families simply subside into the general mass of the "poor" of whom there were many, and no doubt many with equally tragic backgrounds in the area.