h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This article dosn't really do justice to ABERFAN. If you are not in tears while you read an article on Aberfan you are either without emotion or an informed author!

The article fails to mention the primary cause of the diaster, an underground spring beneath the the tip.This spring was well known by locals but the NCB denied all knowledge of it. It also fails to mention the name of the mine, The Merthr Vale Colliery.(now totally removed)

The article also states that the children were buried in a communal grave, the author has obviously never been to Aberfan. The children, mostly aged between 7-10, are all buried in seperate marked graves on the hillside.This should be corrected immeadiately.

The best site for a factual account and the human side of this diaster is;

www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/politics/aberfan/home.htm

Its beyond comprehension to imagine the amount of human suffering that came to Aberfan on that cold bleak October morning. Its difficult to imagine how ordinary working families could ever cope with life again after such a terminal ordeal. For me, the closest I could get to try and come to understand the scale and futility of the disaster was to stand in front of that perfect line of small graves on the hillside in Aberfan. To read the ages, to read the addresses, to read the names and then to look over at the site were their school was. To imagine all those children laughing and playing and then for their innocent lives to end in such a cruel, cruel way.

The father of a victim, speaking to author Laurie Lee in a pub a year after the disaster had this to say:



Of course, we could have lost the boy too. He was on his way up Moy Road when he saw the houses falling towards him. He ran off home; and I couldn’t get a word out of him for months. He had to go to the psychiatrist…. Just wouldn’t talk about it, and wouldn’t mention his sister either. And the two of ‘em worshipped each other. They was always together; slept in the same room, holding hands…. He used to hide when we went to the grave….

Then one night – about four months later it was – we was round at our brother’s place. The boy went outside to the lavatory and I heard him call Dad! Ay, what is it, boy? I said. Come out here! he said. Sure, I said, what’s the matter? It was a beautiful frosty night. He said, Look at that star up there – that’s our Sandie, Dad. Sure, I said, that’s our little Sandie.

Taken from the web site mentioned above

Jon Price

Hey Jon,

Thank you for the clarification - I've amended the entry to incorporate these facts.

Many thanks again and I hope to see you in other areas of h2g2.

Ashley

I would still go back to the original point that Jon made, being that to fully understand what happened at Aberfan means that the reader should feel a little of the impact of the disaster not only be aware of the facts.

I do agree that it is vital to get the facts absolutely right in such an emotional event; however not at the cost of the emotion itself. I do believe that the sibling survivor story that Jon includes within his posting gives more of a flavour of the human impact than all the technical factual information put together.

I would still go back to the original point that Jon made, being that to fully understand what happened at Aberfan means that the reader should feel a little of the impact of the disaster not only be aware of the facts.

I do agree that it is vital to get the facts absolutely right in such an emotional event; however not at the cost of the emotion itself. I do believe that the sibling survivor story that Jon includes within his posting gives more of a flavour of the human impact than all the technical factual information put together.

I was in school in the next valley,Penguilan junior school Mountain Ash.I can remember the teachers sending us home.I can remember that day like it was yesterday,Can also remember the lights at the top of the mountain, from our side of the valley,as the rescue was underway.What a waste of life.All in the name of making money for the NCB.Those kids would be my age now,with families etc.May they rest in peace

Hi I am a survivor of the aberfan disaster.
Still having problems 43 years later hence the reason for visiting this site.
I have obviously lost contact with all other survivors from Aberfan and hoping some of them will read this.
I am sure we all have a very strong bond all these years later, but we have all gone our seperate ways never talkin about our feeling or that day we all lived through.
I am sure they all feel the same way as I do maybe now we are all in our early fiftys things are different and I would love to have the oppertunity of maybe going back and openly talking about 1966.

I remember this as I was 13 and living in Cwmbran at the time. My stepfather went to offer help digging. The hopelessness of the disaster, and the people of Aberfan living in such a filthy hole created by greed, still makes my blood boil, and a sense of anger that will never cease!

Government may wonder why the public are baying for their demise with the expenses fiasco, but this is a good pointer, why!

I just find it unbelievable that - "Here's £50!" - Was the attitude and offer of compensation to those that lost their children, and in some cases whole families wiped out? I'm speechless!

hello my name is james and i have just got back from aberfan wales and was deeply saddened on what i heard and saw on the placks my heart goes out to all the family and i am very greatful to come and see your village what an amazing view that you have. i am thinking off going back to pay my respect for those poor children and teachers in that school on that day of hell.

Some more info' for anyone interested. =>

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3258879165924628533&hl=en#

I have lived in the US for 20 years, traveled a good part of the world....I will however, never ever forget that day in all my life. I was 13 years old and living with my parents in a small village in Berkshire at the time. I can still remember feeling the horror to this day for the children who passed away. I have 4 children of my own, my heart still goes out to those families. Time may pass, but the memories still do not quite fad.

50.00 pounds.....THAT is a shame beyond shame and disgusting. The NCB would have been "roasted" if it had been in the US. What everyone had to have a stiff upper lip and just say "Ta" for a pittance. More like an insult.