The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Remembering Aberfan 50 years after tragedy
Memorial: Queen pays tribute to village’s ‘indomitable spirit’
The Queen has paid tribute to the “indomitable spirit” of the people of Aberfan 50 years after the disaster which killed 116 children and 28 adults.
An entire generation was almost wiped out when 150,000 tonnes of coal waste slid down the hillside before engulfing Pantglas Junior School on October 21, 1966.
Residents of the Welsh village attended a day of commemorative events, including a memorial service at Aberfan Cemetery at 9.15am – the time of the tragedy.
The Prince of Wales visited Aberfan and privately laid a wreath bearing the words “Er bythol gof a chyda’r cydymdeiumlad dwysaf”, meaning “In continuing memory and deepest sympathy”.
He planted a tree in the Aberfan Memorial Garden and spoke to survivors before giving a speech, including a message from the Queen. The message read: “As you come together to mark 50 years since the dreadful events of Friday 21st October 1966, I want you to know that you are in my own and my family’s thoughts, as well as the thoughts of the nation.
“I well remember my own visit with Prince Philip after the disaster, and the posy I was given by a young girl, which bore the heartbreaking inscription, “From the remaining children of Aberfan”.
“Since then, we have returned on several occasions and have always been deeply impressed by the remarkable fortitude, dignity and indomitable spirit that characterises the people of this village and the surrounding valleys.”
The disaster unfolded, following days of heavy rain, when mining debris from Merthyr Vale Colliery was dislodged and came thundering down the hillside. The waste had been piled high above Aberfan for years.
Children in Pantglas Junior School were just getting ready for lessons when 1.5million cubic feet of liquefied slurry crashed into the school and a number of nearby houses.
About half the children from the junior school died in the tragedy, which hap- pened on the last day before half term.
Coal bosses had been warned about “flowslides” prior to the disaster and, despite a 76-day public inquiry, no-one faced prosecution or lost their job.
Residents had no choice but to take £150,000 from a memorial fund to pay for the clean-up bill. This was eventually returned after decades of campaigning.
About 1,000 people attended a memorial service. Those rescued from the debris of the junior school laid floral wreaths to their dead classmates. A minute’s silence was also held across the country.
“I will always remember my visit after the disaster”