For more years that I can remember I've promised myself that one day I will visit Aberfan, and today I fulfil that promise by setting off at around 5:00 am and driving the 140 miles or so to South Wales.
The site of a tragic disaster that could so easily have been avoided, 144 people died that October morning in 1966; 109 of the 116 children whose futures were snuffed out were either crushed or suffocated in their classrooms when spoil Tip 7 collapsed on the mountainside above. After weeks of heavy rain 110,000 cubic metres of mining waste liquified and slid 650 metres down the hillside engulfing all in its path, including the village's junior school that was just starting its last day before the half-term holiday.
Mining communities have never been strangers to disaster, with families anxiously waiting for news of loved ones at the pit head, but for the first time in history the roll call for those missing was held in the street. The mine closed in 1989.
The marble arches mark the graves where most of those children are buried, and the area is kept in immaculate condition. I did visit the Memorial Garden - situated on the site where Pantglas Junior School once stood - but took no photographs as it didn't seem the right thing to do.
© 2021
