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Aberfan disaster Aberfan Tips and the Tramway before the 1966 disaster The Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil-tip that occurred in the Welsh village of Aberfan on Friday 21 October 1966, killing 116 children and 28 adults THE ABERFAN DISASTER: 21st October 1966 "I have been asked to inform that there has been a landslide at Pantglas. The tip has come down on the school." – Emergency call received by Merthyr Tydfil Police at 9.25am he Tragedy At approximately 9.15am on Friday 21st October 1966, Merthyr Vale colliery tip situated on the mountainside overlooking the village of Aberfan in South Wales, slipped and descended on Pantglas Junior School like an avalanche, destroying both the school and 20 nearby houses in its path, and rendering other houses in the vicinity unsafe for habitation. Half a million tonnes of coal waste in a tidal wave 40 feet high hit the village. The school was in session; it being the last day before half term week. 144 children and adults died – 116 were schoolchildren. Half of all the children at Pantglas Junior School were killed together with 5 of their teachers..................

Bethania Chapel, under the ministry of Reverend S. Lloyd, was provided as a temporary mortuary, some 250 yards from the scene of devastation. The chapel with its balcony seated a congregation of 500; its size approximately 30 yards by 20 yards. The vestry, 20 yards by 10 yards, housed voluntary workers for the Red Cross together with St John’s Ambulance stretcher-bearers. The chapel was in use as a mortuary and missing person’s bureau from 21st October until 4th November 1966. A second mortuary at Aberfan Calvinistic Chapel was in use from Saturday 22nd October until Saturday 29th October. This was a smaller chapel, some 50 yards away from Bethania and was used as the final resting-place for the deceased before burial..The Emergency Services co-ordinate the retrieval of bodies A total of 15 Glamorgan Police officers and 17 Merthyr Borough Police Officers provided 24-hour coverage at the mortuary. They organised a water supply to the chapel, telephone installation, an administration system and made the necessary arrangements for identification and medical examination of the deceased, inquests and the issuing of burial and cremation orders.

By 11.30pm on the day of the disaster, 67 bodies had been brought to the mortuary and identification had begun. By the following morning every pew in Bethania Chapel, both upstairs and downstairs, was occupied by a body. Stretchers were subsequently brought into use and placed across pews.

Coffins were supplied from South Wales, the Midlands, Bristol and Northern Ireland. Between Saturday and Monday, 192 coffins arrived at the mortuary and were stored in part of the vestry.

On Sunday morning, 400 embalmers arrived at Aberfan and cleaned, dressed, and properly coffined over 100 bodies. An officer from Cardiff City Police together with colleagues from the Merthyr Borough Force, supervised the work of the embalmers and attended to the proper release of coffins to the undertakers. The embalmers had to work in the vestry where space was extremely restricted, but despite these restrictions the police were satisfied that their work was to the highest standard.

Arrangements were made for the bodies to be released to the bereaved relatives from 10am on Monday 24th October.

The Coroner for Merthyr Police made sure that only two doctors were involved in the certification of death and the examination of bodies; the bodies were identified to the Coroner’s Officer and then in turn identified to the doctor and the coroner at the inquest. Arrangements for the burial/cremation orders were handed to representatives of the bereaved families. Notification of all inquests was pinned to the Chapel door. The cause of death was typically found to be asphyxia, a fractured skull or multiple crush injuries.

The police supervised all identifications. As bodies were brought to the mortuary, each was labelled with a consecutive number in the presence of a police officer, recorded and placed in the chapel to await identification. After identification the name was inserted on the label and in records. The body was then dealt with by the embalmers, properly coffined, and released to undertakers in accordance with the wishes of the relatives. The label never left the body.

To ensure best identification, relatives were admitted to identify one body at a time. No room was available in the early stages to accommodate everyone waiting, so the other relatives patiently and co-operatively waited on the forecourt of the chapel. The situation was explained and seats provided. Where no identification could be obtained, a description of the missing person was obtained by police officers assisted by selected red-cross workers. The method of identification was visual where possible, and confirmed by clothing or property; otherwise identification was made by means of clothing/property combined with a general description.

There were 15 difficult cases and 4 cases where the lower limbs formed part of a body. Fingerprints were taken in these instances and checks were made from school dentistry records in relation to children. Funeral Arrangements The relatives of the deceased met at Zion Chapel to discuss funeral arrangements. A mass funeral was favoured, but some relatives expressed a preference for individual burials/cremations. The police ensured that all burial arrangements were made in accordance with the wishes of the relatives. They explained the procedure of identification to the relatives to reassure them that correct identifications had been made in all cases prior to burial. In addition, they guaranteed that the bodies had been revered throughout the process of checking, embalming and burial. The coffins were placed for viewing in the vestry at Aberfan Calvinistic Chapel. The children and teachers from the school who died were buried on the hillside after there bodies were recovered in a massive funeral that took place on the 27th October 1966............ and a Disaster fund was launched just after that for the families of the victims of the Aberfan disaster. A inquest into the disaster was also launched and found that the blame for the disaster firmly laid with the National Coal Board and also founded in the tribunal report that it was utterly disgusted with the actions of the Nation Coal Board and some of its employee's both before and after the disaster. he National Coal Board refused to accept sole responsibility for the disaster and therefore money from the 1 million-disaster fund was made to be paid towards the costs of safely disposing of the rest of the excess slurry from the tips that overlooked Aberfan. This money was made to be repaid to the fund eventually but not until 1997 after many years of legal battles. In 1969 and 1971, eventually new laws were passed to prevent the chances of this happening ever again by enforcing new regulations in the disposal of waste from the mining collieries.

The NCB was ordered to pay compensation to the families: £500 per child. In a controversial move, this payment was reduced by the amount that a publicly subscribed disaster fund paid to families. Lord Roben of Woldingham, chairman of the National Coal Board, did not rush to the scene; he instead went to accept an appointment as chancellor of the University of Surrey. Subsequently, he misrepresented the cause of the slide to the community and falsely claimed that nothing could have been done to prevent it. Robens never apologised. Nobody was ever prosecuted despite the damming reports from the tribunal. Although lessons have been learnt since this disaster, it could have been avoided in the first place. It is a disaster that rocked a whole nation and should always be remember as a tribute to those who lost there lives and there families. Please take the time to spare a thought for the families of the dearly departed on this the 40th anniversary of that fated day. This Disaster holds a special place in my heart always as my Father lost his cousin in the disaster; it is remembered and marked with remembrance every year by relatives of those who lost lives. We hope a nation will remember this sad occasion this year on the 40th anniversary. A heart felt Poem written by a resident of the community of Aberfan