Memories
Stepping back in time:
It is one of the darkest days in British history. On a wet, foggy morning 54 years ago, a whole generation of children was wiped out when a mountain of mining waste came racing down a hillside and engulfed the village school in Aberfan.
The morning’s lessons had just begun for the 240 children and teachers at Pantglas Junior School in South Wales.
But, around 9.15am, the school’s lights suddenly started to flicker and sway and a deafening roar shook the building as windows shattered, radiators were ripped from walls, and bricks, rubble and mortar collapsed on to terrified children, who had no idea what was happening.
The avalanche of more than 150,000 tonnes of coal waste and shale – which had been dumped on a hill above the village – killed 105 children including a whole class of 34 and nine teachers on that fateful day.
Five youngsters were dug out of the carnage, saved by dinner lady Nansi Williams as they were paying for their school lunches. She shielded them with her body and perished as a result. The death toll reached 144.
Had the landslide occurred just half an hour earlier, or three hours later, when they would have broken up for half-term, many would have survived.
Broadcaster John Humphrys was at the scene, and is reported to have said: “The moment the terrible news reached them, the miners had abandoned the coalface at the colliery which had created that monstrous tip and raced to the surface.
“And there they were when I arrived, their faces still black – save for the streaks of white from the sweat and the tears as they dug and prayed and wept.
“Most of them were digging for their own children. The men dug all day and all night and all the next day.
“They dug until there were no more faint cries, no more hope. But still they kept going. They were digging now for bodies.”
The Queen and Prince Philip travelled to Aberfan to pay their respects to the deceased and their loved ones on October 29, 1966, a day after the final victim was taken from the debris.
Concerns had previously been voiced about the danger of the slag heap above the school but were not acted upon.
An inquiry with 76 days’ worth of evidence and 136 witness testimonies found the blame lay with the National Coal Board headquarters, the South Western Divisional Board, and “certain individuals”.
It also found that the
disaster “could and should have been prevented” while highlighting the “ignorance, ineptitude and failure in communications” that led to the grave loss of life.
On the day of the Aberfan disaster, the Aberfan Disaster Memorial Fund was launched, receiving around 88,000 donations and raising approximately £1.75 million.
However, further anger was sparked when £150,000 was taken from the fund to clear the remaining colliery tips.
The £150,000 was repaid to the fund by the UK Government more than three decades after the disaster.
A further decade later, the Welsh Assembly donated £1.5m towards the fund and £500,000 to the Aberfan Education Charity.