John plans a poignant pilgrimage to Aberfan

Retired lorry driver, who drove 600 miles to deliver sandbags following tragedy, wants to retrace his route

It was the 600-mile mercy mission that still keeps him awake at night.

John Sibbit’s journey from Arbroath to Aberfan on October 21 1966 is never far from his thoughts.

He delivered a lorry full of sandbags following the tragedy, when a coal tip above the village collapsed and engulfed Pantglas school and nearby houses, wiping out an entire generation as 116 children and 28 adults lost their lives.

Mr Sibbit – who is now retired – intended to return to Aberfan to mark the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2016 by following the exact route he took on that overnight trip in 1966.

He was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee before making the trip and was eventually diagnosed with bowel cancer.

The 76-year-old has since battled back to health.

Now that he’s entering his twilight years – and following his brush with illhealth – Mr Sibbit is making plans to finally go before it’s too late.

“I just feel it’s something I want to do,” he said.

“It’s a big regret that I’ve never returned and I think it would bring closure. Just talking about Aberfan makes me tearful and it’s something that will always live with me.”

Known as the Lunan Bay Flyer while working as a long-distance lorry driver with DD Transport in Dundee, Mr Sibbit was in Wales the day before the disaster.

He was driving back to Arbroath following a pick-up in Swansea when the tragedy unfolded and he only found out what had happened when he got back home and saw the news on TV.

Mr Sibbit had just finished his dinner when his boss arrived and asked if he could take sandbags to Aberfan to help with the massive relief effort.

Despite having completed a 12-hour journey without sleep, Mr Sibbit, who was just 23 at the time, agreed to head back to Dundee to load up the lorry, before leaving for Wales at midnight.

His wife June travelled with him in the lorry, to make sure he did not fall asleep at the wheel, and they got there at 3pm the next day and delivered the sandbags.

He stood watching in tears as the miners were clawing through the sludge with their bare hands to find survivors.

Mr Sibbit is now making plans to drive down again following the exact route he took on that overnight trip.

He spent much of his spare time raising money for children with cancer after his mother died from the disease when he was young.

“I’ve raised a lot of money for charity over the years but I always tell people that the biggest thing that I ever did was Aberfan,” he said.

“Aberfan has become part of my life and I have to go back there while I still can.”

Miners were clawing through the sludge with bare hands to find survivors

He may not have any close family connection, but for John Sibbit the Aberfan tragedy of 1966 will always be close to his heart. On hearing the news on that fateful day when an entire generation was wiped out, the Arbroath lorry driver dropped everything and raced to Wales to help out. It was a remarkable gesture and now, more than five decades on, he intends to return to the scene in a bid to find closure.

We wish him well – it is sure to be an emotional journey.

Picture: Gareth Jennings. John Sibbit wants to travel to Aberfan after his original plan to return for the 50th anniversary of the disaster was halted when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer from which he has recovered.