A terrible tragedy on this day 49 years ago

I was attending Dodworth C of E School at the time. Just before dinner, we all had to assemble in the hall but none of us knew why. The vicar of St. John The Baptist Church, a Mr Unwin, was there. He then announced that earlier in the morning many children had died in a pit village called Aberfan due to a terrible accident. He talked about the similarity between Dodworth & Aberfan and the fact that both villages were dominated by huge slag heaps from the local coal mine. It was the first time I saw some of our teachers openly crying, Mr Unwin was also struggling to keep his emotions in check. In my child's mind, I couldn't understand why God had allowed such a thing to happen. After all, we had a sign up in the school which said "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."
That afternoon every child in the school wrote a letter of condolence to the grieving village. When I got home, the news was on the television (something unheard of at the time) live from Aberfan. My Mother had tears running down her face, as the obviously upset reporters read out the latest news.
Over the next few weeks, our school raised as much money as it could through various means for the poor folk of Aberfan, as did most schools in the Barnsley area.
A dreadful. nightmarish day that's stayed with so many for so long, nowhere more so than in Wales.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/21/newsid_3194000/3194860.stm

 

A tragic disaster. RIP those who lost their lives.

 

There was a documentary on TV about this not so long ago. Awful tragedy and so many young lives lost. RIP.

 

I remember it pretty well too - I lived at the time in the concrete canyon in Bolton on Dearne - on our small street of ten houses we had two families that had migrated from Wales to work in the coalfields up here.

Terrible, terrible tragedy.

 

Dreadful day and god bless all the children who died.

How times have changed since that particular era.

Not for the better in some instances.

 

I remember it well. I was 10 at the time but it was such a huge story, everyone knew. Strangely enough, I do think of it from time to time. I think it was that sea of mud or muck that stuck in my mind. They were very powerful images for a child to handle.

 

Remember that well, I was at Junior school too at the time and we were the same raising money.

 

rip

 

I was at Holgate and bought the paper going home with news of the tragedy.

That night I went to watch Barnsley boys and there was a minutes silence.

Cliff Michelmore was the anchor for the reporting and he was close to tears.

 

Echo all above. I was only 1 at the time & wasn't aware till posted.

 

A girl at my school's mother went to the school. She left at the beginning of that term to move to Barnsley.

The timing of the disaster makes it even more tragic.

 

yes, an appalling tragedy.

The Aberfan miners knew of the instability of the Pant Glas tip because of the water seeping from the base bur they didn't raise concerns because of their fear that the mine would be closed.

The reaction of the NCB and Robbens to the disaster totally and utterly despicable.

And now the headstones and memorials in Aberfan Cemetery are being vandalised by the local yobs.

 

I remember it like it was yesterday, i recall my mother breaking down and openly crying in front of the tv. We knew no one but it struck a cord deep within. Some years later when i worked on the tracky one of the drivers who at the time was in the services , was one of those who dug for life and sadly found bodies. It affected him so much that he refused to have children sadly his life was taken too soon as well

 

I was only 10 at the time but remember it well. RIP to all who died that day.

Absolutely tragic.

 

Remember it well. I was at Barnsley Road J&I at the time and imagining what it would be like if the "muck stack" suddenly came through our classroom windows.

At the time I couldn't envisage how it could have happened but I've since visited the area and the topography's totally different to around here. When a muck stack's piled on the side of a steep valley it's asking for trouble.

 

I think at the time Mr Unwin was simply drawing up the similarities between the two villages (as opposed to claiming them to be mirror images) in order to help young children to try to understand such a terrible event.
Interestingly enough, after the disaster, the slag heap at Dodworth had the top lowered considerably, with various grasses, bushes & trees being planted, increasing stability over the site.

 

There was a big accident at Higham pit many years ago which is down my lane. Never seen any pics of the pit that was there but woudlnt mind some if anyone has any.

http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1860_62.pdf

 

Thanks for that, old mate. I'd heard of this, but never seen any details.

 

Yes, they did the same with Mitchels' stack at Wombwell.

 

Coming from Welland Crescent Elsecar with all its mining families it was heartbreaking seeing it on the tele. Never forgot it, never will even though I was only 10 at the time