# Aberfan disaster in south Wales, Friday 21st Oct 1966



## editor (Oct 16, 2006)

This looks interesting - it's a documentary following American photojournalist IC "Chuck" Rapoport, who recorded the disaster for Life magazine, as he returns to Aberfan to meet adults he photographed as children.

I can still remember the events of Aberfan vividly and it never fails to get the tears welling up. 

I was at school when the disaster happened and we all felt the loss. It was a dark and dreadful day for south Wales.


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## Gavin Bl (Oct 16, 2006)

thanks for that ed, I'll stick a tape in for it - we still have a photo from the front of the Financial Times shortly after, with my dad walking along in front of the collapsed tip/school - as he'd just started working for Merthyr council, involved in clearing the site, after the initial attempts to dig the children out.


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## editor (Oct 16, 2006)

Fucking hell it's sad stuff alright....


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Oct 16, 2006)

I recall the disaster and the photo article in Life magazine; I was in grade school. I believe it was my first exposure to the idea that children could die like that.


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## editor (Oct 16, 2006)

Johnny Canuck2 said:
			
		

> I recall the disaster and the photo article in Life magazine; I was in grade school. I believe it was my first exposure to the idea that children could die like that.


The program is about the Life photographer coming back 40 years later and talking to the boys he met.

You can see all the survivors have been deeply scarred for life: they're strong miner's sons yet they're still fighting back the tears when they recall the terrible thing they lived through.

One guy only survived because he was sent out on an errand. When he came back his entire class had been killed. How could you ever get over that?


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Oct 16, 2006)

These sorts of things will undoubtedly affect you for life.

There's a similar news story here in Canada, that has some of the same things happening.

Back in 1985, an Air India flight from Canada was destroyed by a bomb. It went into the sea off the Irish coast.

The relatives of the dead went to Ireland to identify remains, etc. They formed a close bond with the Irish people who took them in, who retrieved remains from the sea, etc.

Some of these relatives return yearly to Cork; it's a highly emotional time for them and for the people of Cork.


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## bendeus (Oct 16, 2006)

Aberfan was truly terrible. A number of the people living in Bryncynon (where I work) walked over the mountain to dig them out. An equal number from the same place will never, ever forget that day.

They're apparently thinking of an Aberfan silence at one of the upcoming home City games. I truly, truly hope that the opposing fans don't do anything like Bristol City did on that infamous day when they started chanting the name to rile the home support


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## bendeus (Oct 16, 2006)

Johnny Canuck2 said:
			
		

> Back in 1985, an Air India flight from Canada was destroyed by a bomb. It went into the sea off the Irish coast.
> 
> The relatives of the dead went to Ireland to identify remains, etc. They formed a close bond with the Irish people who took them in, who retrieved remains from the sea, etc.
> 
> Some of these relatives return yearly to Cork; it's a highly emotional time for them and for the people of Cork.



I remember that, alright. Some of the bodies were washed up on our local beach due to the prevailing currents. Again, horrible.  

RIP, everyone.


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## cesare (Oct 16, 2006)

My uncle was there, with everyone else, trying to dig to recover the victims.

I missed this programme, if anyone taped it I'd be really grateful pint/server fund etc if I you could let me have a copy.


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## editor (Oct 16, 2006)

It's still on now. They were just talking about a guy who went out to work and came back to find his house destroyed and his wife and two children dead.

 He was known as the man who lost everything - he didn't even have a picture to remember his wife and kids by.


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## ddraig (Oct 17, 2006)

well that got me blubbing at least 4 or 5 times


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## LilMissHissyFit (Oct 17, 2006)

Ive just blubbed
not only is Mr Fit a press photographer, his Bampi was at aberfan, he drove his truck up and helped to dig out the kids and adults who were trapped.

all he could tell my 10 year old was " its was terrible, awful, terrible" before he died( almost 2 years ago now)  and he eas a man who was never short of an opinion on anything he fekt strongly about

Ive watched that programme and seen a tiny touch of what I think he saw when my 10 year old looked into his face and said " Tell me what it was like bampi, tell me"

They were doing it as a history project 

Off now to have another blub, Mr fit has already fucked off to bed muttering...we have kids just like them, fucksakes. The kids who survived are only a few years older than Mr fit, it happened 5 years to the day before he was born


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## editor (Oct 17, 2006)

LilMissHissyFit said:
			
		

> Off now to have another blub, Mr fit has already fucked off to bed muttering...we have kids just like them, fucksakes. The kids who survived are only a few years older than Mr fit, it happened 5 years to the day before he was born


I was the same age as some of the younger kids that died. My Dad had only died three months before and everything seemed pretty bleak.

It was huge news in Cardiff - everywhere seemed affected by the tragedy - and we had special services in school and held collections for the Aberfan kids.

It still reduces me to tears when I think about it now, so I can't even begin to imagine what it must do to families and survivors.

And to add insult to injury: 





> No-one was prosecuted despite the damming report and only a paltry £500 was paid in compensation for each child...
> http://www.red-dragon-wales.com/SpecialPlaces/Aberfan.htm


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## LilMissHissyFit (Oct 17, 2006)

I think its been tough because friday I stood with others from our village at the universal colliery memorial service 

there wasnt a house here where someone didnt die. Now we see this which seemed nothing when it was a history lesson, now I have kids that age and so many connections its not just a history lesson, its reality which hurts for people who live with us, the lady in the corner shop, the pensioner 5 doors down who lost her dad and so on.
I think the assembly should make up the shortfall or force the government to make up the shortfall they effectively stole from the disaster fund of aberfan for the removal of the tip. They paid it back years later, minus inflation and interest


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## nightowl (Oct 17, 2006)

editor said:
			
		

> And to add insult to injury:



there was a bbc programme on a while back which covered a few uncomfortable truths. many of the workers responsible for the tip itself knew it was dangerous but didn't say anything for fear of the pit being closed down. i remember learning a lot about the tragedy while living in troedyrhiw which is only a mile or so along the road. it was always scary to look across to the hills above aberfan and think of those dark tips. apparently there was one guy with kids at the school who was walking his dog on the hills above troedyrhiw/merthyr vale, looked across and saw the whole thing coming down.


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## cesare (Oct 17, 2006)




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## munkeeunit (Oct 18, 2006)

People usually wait more than 4 minutes before they feel ignored  

You must mean this...
http://wales.realradiofm.com/Article.asp?PT=On+Air&section=onair&id=287439&spid=5575&section=onair

"Saturday the 21st of October marks four decades since Wales' worst disaster.

Following heavy rain, and just hours before schools broke up for half term, a coal tip above the mining town of Aberfan began moving.

It collapsed, destroying all in its path. It ending up covering a school, Pant Glas Juniors. The pupils were at their desks being taught by their teachers.

The slagheap from the Merthyr Tydfil Colliery towered one thousand feet about the houses. For years, a stream had flowed through it. While on the surface, everything had looked safe and stable, underneath; the coal was being turned into black slime.

When gravity took hold, it began racing down the hillside reaching speeds of fifty miles an hour. It was the width of a three-lane motorway.

In total, 144 people were killed, 116 of those children."


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## LilMissHissyFit (Oct 18, 2006)

I think it might be nice for all of us to make sure we remember in some way
for me its going to mean explaining what bampi could/would not to my children.

Im not going there on the day itself, that would be insensitive but I believe welsh kids should know what happened. Its their living history and important.


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## tangerinedream (Oct 18, 2006)

cesare said:
			
		

> My uncle was there, with everyone else, trying to dig to recover the victims.
> 
> I missed this programme, if anyone taped it I'd be really grateful pint/server fund etc if I you could let me have a copy.



I'll have a look on UK nova* and if it there is will rip it to disc for you for next week. I think it is important stuff like this is remembered and am sort of looking forward to it. This sort of history is the kind that gets lost because it belongs to 'normal' people and doesn't involve kings, queens or wars. It's also kind of odd how something like Aberfan is less remembered than say Mary Bell. 

I am willing to bet if you took a straw poll of 15 year olds and asked them to explain the connotations of the words 'Dennis Neilson' or 'Hillsborough' more of them would know Dennis neilson. I wonder why that is. I bet very few kids in Wigan know what The Maypole Disaster was.

*sadly it's not. I was hoping to watch this myself.


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## niclas (Oct 19, 2006)

The FAW, in a rare moment of sensitivity, is holding a minute's silence before every Welsh premier league match this Saturday.

I missed the programme but read up about it on the net today - have to admit I blubbed over the bit that said: "It was 9.15am and the children had just finished singing All Things Bright And Beautiful".

But it was a scandal not a disaster - a scandal that it was allowed to happen, that nobody was punished for the neglect and that Wilson's govt made the villagers pay for the tips to be made safe.


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## cesare (Oct 19, 2006)

That's a pity, but thanks so much for offering t'dream


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## ZIZI (Oct 19, 2006)

The pupils of Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, Caerphilly, have dedicated a room in memorium to the victims of Aberfan. My daughter who is 12 has taken great pride in taking part.

It is a fact that this Labour Government whilst paying back what was stolen from the funds raised for the people of Aberfan, have not payed back the true full amount that should have been returned.

I was, very young at the time; I remember my uncles, who were miners, dropped everything and rushed up to Aberfan to help. When They left, they were strong muscular men who stood tall, big and powerful. Weeks later when I saw them next, they were broken men who sat down in their chairs and cried and did not speak. My aunties knew not to ask questions.

I remember speaking to one of my uncles 30 years after, how did he cope with what he witnessed. He cried, and I never asked again because I think his tears said it all. All of my uncles are now dead and none of them spoke  to anyone of what they saw. They returned to work, down the mines and dug for the very thing that had killed so many and life for them continued.


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## editor (Oct 19, 2006)

I'll merge this with the other thread.


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## ZIZI (Oct 19, 2006)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_aberfan_disaster_/html/1.stm


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## Gavin Bl (Oct 19, 2006)

ZIZI said:
			
		

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_aberfan_disaster_/html/1.stm



pics 8&9


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## editor (Oct 21, 2006)

Gavin Bl said:
			
		

> pics 8&9


This photo is so unbelievably sad.


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## LilMissHissyFit (Oct 22, 2006)

and only about 1/2 the victims are buried in the village cemetary... that row of arches is sad enough


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## nightowl (Oct 23, 2006)

LilMissHissyFit said:
			
		

> and only about 1/2 the victims are buried in the village cemetary... that row of arches is sad enough



the ones that always get to me are those with the little photos inset on them


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## butchersapron (Oct 8, 2016)

Ahead of the 50th anniversary in a few weeks Karl Jenkins has done a piece - there's a documentary about it on S4C tonight at 9-35 and the performance is on tmw at 7-30. On sky that's 134. I don't think S4C is on freeview outside Wales. Obv on 4 in wales. Online live is here though.


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## chilango (Oct 8, 2016)

butchersapron said:


> Ahead of the 50th anniversary in a few weeks Karl Jenkins has done a piece - there's a documentary about it on S4C tonight at 9-35 and the performance is on tmw at 7-30. On sky that's 134. I don't think S4C is on freeview outside Wales. Obv on 4 in wales. Online live is here though.



S4C is definitely on FreeSat in England.


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## butchersapron (Oct 8, 2016)

chilango said:


> S4C is definitely on FreeSat in England.


Never heard of it before, but seems to be on 120.


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## dessiato (Oct 8, 2016)

If anyone could link me to it so I can watch it later in the week I'd be very grateful.

Aberfan is one of the first memories I have of a UK disaster. I remember JFK, and Churchill funeral but nothing like this. My father always made us watch big events, the moon landing, England winning the world cup etc. He believed it was important. But not this. He said it was too much. He was right in some ways, but I saw it in the papers. It still upsets me today.


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## butchersapron (Oct 9, 2016)

Bump for this - performance on at 7-30.


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## StoneRoad (Oct 9, 2016)

Aberfan was just about two months after my tenth birthday, some of those kids would have been the same age as me ...
I try not to think about it too much, most years I get away without too much distress. But these major anniversaries get me blubbing.

E2A - I'm from Bristol, originally - that's one of the places that supplied coffins for the child victims.


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## butchersapron (Oct 9, 2016)

Don't know if anyone watched it but that was powerful stuff - the piece where the different choirs sang out the names of the dead whilst another one and BT sang _Buried alive by the National Coal Board_ ( part 6 i think) was brilliant.


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## editor (Oct 9, 2016)

It still resonates deeply with me. I've never been able to shake off the sadness and the anger.


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## Sprocket. (Oct 10, 2016)

I recall as a nine year old all the adults crying on the awful day, I remember our bread rounds man Alan sobbing on my mums' shoulder on the Saturday morning. We lived in a mining village in South Yorkshire and many of our close neighbours who moved from Wales to work in our local mines had family or friends around Aberfan.
So sad, I have a heavy heart just typing this. The worst thing I saw as a child.


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## butchersapron (Oct 10, 2016)

dessiato said:


> If anyone could link me to it so I can watch it later in the week I'd be very grateful.
> 
> Aberfan is one of the first memories I have of a UK disaster. I remember JFK, and Churchill funeral but nothing like this. My father always made us watch big events, the moon landing, England winning the world cup etc. He believed it was important. But not this. He said it was too much. He was right in some ways, but I saw it in the papers. It still upsets me today.


Here.


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## dessiato (Oct 10, 2016)

butchersapron said:


> Here.


Thank you. It won't work in Spain at the moment.  I'll get my VPN running and try again. But thank you very much for this.


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## ginger_syn (Oct 20, 2016)

A heads up for any one interested , Surviving Aberfan is on BBC 4 at 9 tonight, and the film poem The Green Hollow being shown on Friday at 9 on BBC1 Wales and BBC4 on Sunday at 8.


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## StoneRoad (Oct 21, 2016)

It is just after 0915 on 21st October 2016 - I, and some friends, have observed a minutes silence for the 144 people, including 116 children, buried alive by the NCB when tip7 at Aberfan collapsed and buried Pant Glas school and surrounding houses in coal waste and tailings slurry.
*Rest yn Heddwch*
Tonight, and over this weekend, we will fly - in mourning - our Welsh courtesy flag and the red duster will be at half mast.


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## mwgdrwg (Oct 21, 2016)

Aber-fan

I Hamelin erstalwm,
Os yw’r hen stori’n ffaith,
Fe ddaeth rhyw bibydd rhyfedd
Yn gwisgo mantel fraith.

A’r pibydd creulon hwnnw
A aeth â’r plant i gyd
A’u cloi, yn ôl yr hanes,
O fewn y mynydd mud.

A Hamelin oedd ddistaw
A’r holl gartrefi’n brudd,
A mawr fu’r galar yno
Tros lawer nos a dydd.

Distawodd chwerthin llawen
Y plant wrth chwarae ’nghyd,
Pob tegan bach yn segur,
A sŵn pob troed yn fud.

Trist iawn fu hanes colli
Y plant diniwed, gwan –
Yn Hamelin erstalwm,
Heddiw yn Aber-fan.

										[T. Llew Jones]


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## High Voltage (Oct 21, 2016)

Bloody hell - I can "just" remember this, I would have been about 5 and I think Blue Peter did their annual collection for the children, I think, of Aberfan - we didn't have a TV at home at the time, so I don't know why I've got black and white TV images in my head, but I have, vague images that I didn't really understand at the time, I knew it was bad, but I just didn't comprehend the true horror of what had happened

My thoughts are with those who lost anyone in this disaster


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## ElizabethofYork (Oct 21, 2016)

I've just seen this on the BBC website.  It's very moving.

Aberfan


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## planetgeli (Oct 21, 2016)

StoneRoad said:


> It is just after 0915 on 21st October 2016 - I, and some friends, have observed a minutes silence for the 144 people, including 116 children, buried alive by the NCB when tip7 at Aberfan collapsed and buried Pant Glas school and surrounding houses in coal waste and tailings slurry.
> *Rest yn Heddwch*
> Tonight, and over this weekend, we will fly - in mourning - our Welsh courtesy flag and the red duster will be at half mast.



My school in Wales too held a special assembly and a minute's silence at 9.15 today for those who died. I hope every school in the UK did so too for this was a truly national tragedy, a tragedy designed by the National Coal Board who behaved despicably in the aftermath.

There are no words. Perhaps silence and remembrance is all we have.


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## butchersapron (Oct 21, 2016)

butchersapron said:


> Here.


Just to say again, the piece i talked about that week is here. A great piece for people to watch tonight. Maybe.


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## newbie (Oct 21, 2016)

I had a paper round. Cold morning, early, front page of the Daily Sketch, people in tears.  And all the others I suppose but that's the one I remember. 

Seeing the pictures over and again at every house, knowing how those the other side of the letterbox would receive it.


RIP


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## planetgeli (Oct 21, 2016)

ZIZI said:


> The pupils of Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, Caerphilly, have dedicated a room in memorium to the victims of Aberfan. My daughter who is 12 has taken great pride in taking part.
> 
> It is a fact that this Labour Government whilst paying back what was stolen from the funds raised for the people of Aberfan, have not payed back the true full amount that should have been returned.
> 
> ...



That is horribly beautiful(ly written) and worth quoting again even though you wrote it ten years ago. I just read it to my partner and it made us both cry.


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## editor (Oct 21, 2016)

I was the same age as many of the victims. As a child I remember the great, great sadness that the disaster cast over everyone and everything and it's still impossible to talk about it or watch documentaries about it without feeling tears well up. And fuck the NCB. Not one cunt lost their job over this outrage and the families were cheated out of the money that was so generously donated.


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## butchersapron (Oct 21, 2016)

Would anyone have any info or experience of the school boycotts that took place in the weeks/ months after the 21st?


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## Red Cat (Oct 21, 2016)

butchersapron said:


> Just to say again, the piece i talked about that week is here. A great piece for people to watch tonight. Maybe.



That was beautiful. Really great.


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## ginger_syn (Oct 22, 2016)

The Green Hollow was a beautiful piece, simply done and very moving and well worth watching.


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## butchersapron (Oct 22, 2016)

Red Cat said:


> That was beautiful. Really great.


There's another program about the making of the work, what it meant to the writers/performers/community etc at the bottom here.


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## dessiato (Oct 22, 2016)

ElizabethofYork said:


> I've just seen this on the BBC website.  It's very moving.
> 
> Aberfan


That's hard to read. I had tears in my eyes reading it.


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## Red Cat (Oct 22, 2016)

butchersapron said:


> There's another program about the making of the work, what it meant to the writers/performers/community etc at the bottom here.



I'll watch that. Thanks.


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## ElizabethofYork (Oct 22, 2016)

dessiato said:


> That's hard to read. I had tears in my eyes reading it.


Indeed.  I defy anyone to read that and not feel emotional.


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## DotCommunist (Oct 22, 2016)

ElizabethofYork said:


> emotional


rage as much as sadness. The shit they do to us. For what, another 0 on the end of the numbers in the bank balance.


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## StoneRoad (Oct 21, 2017)

Another year on ... and still I remember.


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## Ralph Llama (Jan 7, 2018)

One obvious factor in my radicalization.
My great grandparents were beaten for speaking our language, they had to keep livestock and work themselves into the graves just to feed the kids.
Their children were cracked by the war; My Nan worked in catering during the war and was given blue pills to go to sleep and white pills to stay awake. This daily abuse of Dexedrine and valium broke her mind. They were not informed of the danger.  My memories of her are not good. Then there was Aberfan, my hometown. My mother survived if you can call it that. She saw everyone crushed to death around her. I don't want to know how many generations of my family will carry the trauma. None of us are very well. There was no compensation.  Makes me realize the reality of industrial feudalism and colonialism and how far through history the after effects flow.

I was living in the area recently (i`m a traveler). Was really nice to do some community work, and engage with people who feel it as I do, but it sickened me to my very bones how the people are still being treated. But oh my, are they resilient, positive and community orientated... as travelers (i didn't tell them at first) we had a very warm reception. As soon as we landed the entire community came out to have a nose. We were showered with crates of beer, cakes and you name it(i didn't tell them). I am very proud of where I am from.
It's really nice to see everybody showing respect and remembrance here. Thank you, it's really nice


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## planetgeli (Jan 31, 2018)

Welsh librarian jailed after theft of Aberfan disaster files

A librarian from south Wales has been jailed for stealing books and documents including precious records of the 1966 Aberfan disaster in which 116 children died.

Elizabeth McGregor, 57, took hundreds of books from the public library where she worked in Pontypridd and tried to sell them online to help clear her debts.

When she realised she was under suspicion she tried to destroy some of the books she still had by burning them and attempted to get rid of others by putting them into her green recycling bin.

“She’s a lady in her late 50s who, having had a low level of social interaction for many years, is a lonely individual with her share of physical and mental issues.”

McGregor was given six months in prison for theft and two months for perverting the course of justice.

..............................

A librarian with a low level of social interaction, lonely, with mental health issues? I was shocked.


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## ddraig (Jan 31, 2018)

that's shocking! ffs


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## butchersapron (Oct 21, 2019)

The memorial garden has been recently renovated and reopened. Today would be a good day to have a visit if you're in the area.


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## A380 (Oct 21, 2019)




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## editor (Oct 21, 2019)

All these years and the emotional impact and the injustice the families suffered at the time still hits me hard.


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## editor (Oct 21, 2020)

54 years ago: 


At 9.15 am on Friday, October 21, 1966, a waste tip above the mining village of Aberfan began to slide down the mountainside, firstly destroying a farm cottage and killing all its occupants.  It then approached Pantglas Junior School, where the children had only just returned to their classes after singing All Things Bright and Beautiful at their morning assembly.  The slide then engulfed the school and about 20 houses in the village, killing 144 people, including 116 school children.

Workers up in the mountain had seen the slide start, but could not raise the alarm because their telephone cable had been stolen and down in the village, everybody heard the noise, but could see nothing, because of thick fog.

News of the tragedy travelled fast and hundreds of people stopped what they were doing and headed to Aberfan to try and help with the rescue. It was futile, as nobody was rescued alive after 11am and it was nearly a week before all the bodies were recovered.

On Mynydd Merthyr, directly above Aberfan, several tips containing millions of cubic metres of mining debris from the Merthyr Vale Colliery had been deposited over the years, onto highly porous sandstone that contained numerous underground springs.  

The NCB's area management had been made aware of the concerns regarding the tipping of spoil above the primary school, but these were largely ignored.  In the days leading up to the disaster, there had been substantial bursts of heavy rain, which had caused 3–6 metres of subsidence on one of the tips.  This then led to more than 150,000 cubic metres of debris breaking away and flowing downhill at high speed.

On 26th October 1966, a tribunal was appointed to inquire into the causes of and circumstances relating to the Aberfan disaster, which was chaired by Welsh barrister and Privy Councillor Lord Justice Edmund Davies.

The Tribunal's report found that


The blame for the disaster rested entirely with the National Coal Board, and their "total absence of a tipping policy"
Repeated warnings about the dangerous condition of the tip had been ignored.
The tips had never been surveyed and were continuously being added to in a chaotic and unplanned manner. The disregard for the unstable geological conditions and the NCB's failure to act after previous smaller slides were found to have been major factors that contributed to the catastrophe.







[From]


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## Sprocket. (Oct 21, 2020)

A terrible day, an horrendous memory. I’ll never forget the silence and the tears that spread across the country for the victims.
Two neighbouring families on the NCB estate I grew up on here, had lost relatives. One family next door but one returned to Cymru to be near their cousins.
I will never forget the sorrow and the injustice.


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## dessiato (Oct 21, 2020)

I've just reread the thread through tears. So much pain for those who survived and helped try to rescue the vistims. So much injustice.


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## Chilli.s (Oct 21, 2020)

I was very young when this happened. As my family had miners in the NE it was a disaster that shocked and saddened my parents who had lived in Durham mining communities. Having moved south and with their young children and Dad a schoolteacher I suppose it was a vision of the heavy industrial areas that they has left. My mother found it hard to talk about even years after and only later when I read about it myself did I understand the terrible horror of it all.


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## editor (Oct 21, 2021)

Fifty five years ago today. I still cry at the thought of what happened that day.








> At 9.15 am on Friday, October 21, 1966, a waste tip above the mining village of Aberfan began to slide down the mountainside, firstly destroying a farm cottage and killing all its occupants.  It then approached Pantglas Junior School, where the children had only just returned to their classes after singing All Things Bright and Beautiful at their morning assembly.  The slide then engulfed the school and about 20 houses in the village, killing 144 people, including 116 school children.
> 
> Workers up in the mountain had seen the slide start, but could not raise the alarm because their telephone cable had been stolen and down in the village, everybody heard the noise, but could see nothing, because of thick fog.
> 
> ...





> The Tribunal's report found that
> 
> The blame for the disaster rested entirely with the National Coal Board, and their "total absence of a tipping policy"
> Repeated warnings about the dangerous condition of the tip had been ignored.
> The tips had never been surveyed and were continuously being added to in a chaotic and unplanned manner. The disregard for the unstable geological conditions and the NCB's failure to act after previous smaller slides were found to have been major factors that contributed to the catastrophe.


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## 1927 (Oct 21, 2021)




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## StoneRoad (Oct 21, 2021)

That was a really horrible disaster and as the report says totally the fault of the NCB.

I was of a similar age to some of the child victims and I still feel dreadful about it.


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## A380 (Oct 21, 2022)

Always remember.


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## Steel Icarus (Oct 21, 2022)

The very idea someone could even _think_ to try and determine if parents were "close to their children" in order to establish if they were granted what piss poor compensation they were allowed...


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## editor (Oct 21, 2022)




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## 1927 (Oct 21, 2022)

Steel Icarus said:


> The very idea someone could even _think_ to try and determine if parents were "close to their children" in order to establish if they were granted what piss poor compensation they were allowed...


And then Harold Wilson insisting that the clear up was paid for out of the monies collected for the families!


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## StoneRoad (Oct 21, 2022)

Never Forget ...

[I certainly can't]


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## davesgcr (Oct 21, 2022)

Spared a thought at the moment this morning. 

A very sobering book on the subject is "Aberfan - Government and Disaster" 

We all know the guilty parties at political level - this book covers it well.


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## AnnO'Neemus (Oct 22, 2022)

John Humphrys was a young journalist who reported from Aberfan after the disaster.

He made a radio package for R4 Today to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy in 2016.









						Today - Remembering the Aberfan disaster - BBC Sounds
					

'All I could hear were screams and shouts that got less and less as time went by'




					www.bbc.co.uk


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