Theirs was a silent war; often fought below ground, away from the headlines and the ultimate glory of victory.

The Bevin Boys, the 48,000 young men who worked in the mines in the war, bled and died during the conflict. But it was a sacrifice that, for more than half a century, went unrecognised.

Largely conscripted by wartime Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin, just as with regular Armed Forces members, the mine workers never received the honours of war their brothers had.

But after a campaign led by Gordon Banks, MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, they have won recognition and have been thanked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Fifteen of the estimated 6000 remaining UK Bevin Boy survivors, all Scots, were honoured with their Bevin Boy Badges.

Warwick Taylor, Bevin Boys Association chairman, led the ceremony yesterday. He described how they were "forgotten fighters", adding: "They never received the recognition they should have. But they are delighted to finally have been counted.

"One man who had been ill told me how happy he was to have received his before he passed away. He died 14 days afterwards."

George Ralson, 82, originally of Airdrie, is the only known surviving Bevin Boy who worked at Newtongrange colliery, Midlothian, where the ceremony was held. He volunteered on the same day as his twin Robert, and wanted to join the Navy. Robert, who died recently, went into the Army, while George went down the pit.

He said yesterday: "I was made to feel at home. I was here for four years and it is great to be back here today."

Mr Banks said that the efforts of the Bevin Boys had been "ignored" in the past. "I am calling on all surviving Bevin Boys to come forward to claim their unique veterans' badge as a tribute to their sacrifices," he said.

Fergus Waters, director of the Scottish Mining Museum at Newtongrange, said Bevin Boys "fought the same war".

"Many were conscripted, when every tenth man would be sent to take part in the Bevin Boys scheme, which continued some time after the war," he said.

As the event progressed, amazing stories emerged. Alex Ralph, 82, of Elgin, and Bill Ingram, 82, of Aberdeen, were reunited after 62 years since working in one of the many Fife collieries. They told how they had many mutual friends but never met.

Both described the honour yesterday as "great, indeed". Mr Ralph added: "I feel for my colleagues who passed away who never had this."

The forgotten conscripts'

The Bevin Boys were Britain's "forgotten conscripts" who were diverted to the coal mines in the final years of the war when the nation was suffering severe shortages of coal.

Around 48,000 men, including several thousand Scots, worked down mines, mainly in the central belt.

The scheme was named after Ernest Bevin, Minister of Labour and National Service in Winston Churchill's coalition government.

Some Bevin Boys suffered public taunting as many of their contemporaries were fighting overseas. However, of the 48,000, some 43% were conscripted into the mines by random ballot.

Famous Bevin Boys included the late Eric Morecambe and Sir Jimmy Savile, who said: "I went down the mine a boy and came up a man."

After the war, returning heroes got praise and medals, but the Bevin Boys got nothing.