It is ironic that the most dangerous of places in coal mining is the one nearest to the safety of the surface, that is the shafts. Sinkers could command the highest wages in the Coalfield due to the hazards that they faced.

  • 7th of September 1871, Thomas Metcalf, a sinker. Aged 30 years he died when the sides of the shaft fell and crushed him.
  • 22nd of January 1872, T. Chapel, a 36 year old sinker was killed in a shaft shot-firing incident.
  • 23rd of September 1872, D. Price, sinker, aged 38 years was killed in a shaft shot-firing incident.
  • 21st of June 1873, W. Morris, sinker, fell down pit.
  • 13th of October 1875, E. Lewis a 36 year old sinker died when hit by a pit prop.
  • 16th of May 1881, John Rees, a 19 year old collier, died when he fell down the shaft.
  • 6th of March 1884, a 22 year old collier called David Jones died in a shaft incident.
  • 14th of April 1884, Daniel Williams aged 25 years and a pitman fell to his death in the shaft.
  • 14th of October 1888, Robert Hughes, aged 45 years fell to his death.

A fire in the ventilating fan on the 25th of September 1918 burned the rope and a cage crashed to pit bottom, but ten hours later the pit was ready to work.

In June 1956 the two cages, one carrying coal up the shaft and the other taking empty trams down the shaft collided in the No.2 Pit. The damage was so bad that it took 10 weeks to fix, but just after work was restarted, the men waiting to go down heard a ‘grating’ noise and refused to go down. The No.1 Pit men then walked out as well because there would be no second way out if the shaft was closed. Following inspections and pleas by the NUM, they returned back to work.

TERRIBLE COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT MERTHYR VALE. A FALL OF 300 YARDS. A repairer, named Robert Hughes, aged 45, of 39, Cardiff Road. Merthyr Vale met a terrible death on Sunday morning. About three o’clock the poor fellow was engaged with John Yorath in driving wedges into the side of the shaft of Messrs: Nixon’s No 2 Pit Merthyr Vale. Both men stood on the top of the cage. By some means the deceased lost his footing and fell headlong into the sump. The depth was something about 300 yards the body, of course, was dreadfully mutilated.

It wasn’t only humans who died underground as this incident on the 2nd of February 1878 shows; HEAVY CLAIM AGAINST A HAULIER. At the police court on Saturday—before the Stipendiary — Evan Davies, a haulier, at the Merthyr vale Colliery, was summoned for having, through negligence, caused the death of a horse, the property of Messrs. Nixon, Taylor, & Cory, who claimed £10 damages.—Mr Plaws (Simone Plaws) prosecuted and Mr D. R. Lewis (Lewis & Jones) defended. On the 11th January, the defendant was working at his usual work in the above colliery, it being his duty to bring the full trams of coal from what is known as No. 1 Parting to the bottom of the shaft, a distance of 60 yards, which is an incline, Defendant should have had at least one sprag” in the wheels of each tram, and it was alleged that on the morning in question, he neglected this precaution, and the consequence was that the trams ran down the incline “wild,” and the horse was blocked between the trams it was drawing and others at the bottom of the incline. Several bones in the hind part of the animal were broken, and it died a few hours afterwards. It was elicited that there was no external mark on the animal, which the witness said was worth £40. Having heard all the evidence, the Stipendiary, considering that there had been no direct evidence of negligence, dismissed the summons.

Then in July 1896, in the No.2 Pit, a more serious incident occurred; a haulage engine was pulling a journey of full trams up an incline when the haulage rope broke and the trams ran back downhill, to protect the men working at the bottom of the incline a haulier turned the points on the track and the journey careered into a parting killing six horses and injuring many more who had been resting there.

Yet horses could be dangerous as well; on the 10th of April 1890 Henry Owen, an 18-year-old haulier died after being kicked in the head by a horse. An act of bravery was awarded with the National Horse Association Bravery Award which was presented by the Prince of Wales to Ernest Thomas on the 26th of May 1933. Mr. Thomas was the first non-member to receive the prize. A pit pony was buried under a roof fall but regardless of his own safety, he saved the horse.

Along with coalface roof falls, haulage incidents were the most common way to die in Merthyr Vale, particularly with the rope breaking. Such was the case on the 25th of July 1884:

MERTHYR VALE. COLLIERY ACCIDENT. -Another sad accident through the breaking of a wire rope in Messrs. Nixon’s colliery is reported. About nine o’clock on Friday morning the rope was at work drawing some full trams of coal up a deep, when it suddenly broke, and a piece struck an overman named David Davies. The unfortunate man had his leg broken in two places and one of his arms was broken, whilst he also received serious internal injuries. A master haulier, named Hy. Phillips was also injuried, though happily not seriously. Davies who has been employed at the colliery since its opening, is much respected, and widespread regret prevails at the sad accident. Dr. Jones is in constant attendance, but faint hopes were entertained for his recovery.

  • 1/7/1884, Morgan Jones, aged 54, and a roadman, struck by haulage rope and decapitated.
  • 23/5/1885, David Rees, aged 12, door boy, was crushed to death by trams.
  • 31/12/1885, John Jones, aged 12, door boy, was crushed to death by trams. At the other end of the age spectrum was 70 year old labourer, David John who was also run over and killed by trams.
  • 6/8/1886, David John, aged 70, labourer, run over by trams
  • 10/8/1887, when Alfred Jones, aged 21, a haulier, was crushed and killed by trams.
  • 22/8/1888, David Jenkins, aged 20, and a shackler, was killed when hit by a haulage rope.
  • 19/3/1890, Lewis Morgan, aged 35, a rope smith, was caught in a sheave wheel and crushed to death.
  • 10/4/1890, Henry Owen, aged 18, haulier, killed when kicked by a horse.
  • 19/11/1890, Samuel Knight, aged 55, carpenter, hit and killed by a haulage rope.
  • 20/10/1892, Daniel Heapy, aged 57, labourer, run over by trams.
  • 29/6/1893, John Davies, aged 71, pumpsman, crushed by trams.
  • 7/10/1893, John Bowman, aged 20, haulier, crushed by trams.
  • 18/10/1893, William James, aged 65, roadman, run over by trams.

On the 29th of March 1900, Patrick Doyle, an assistant timberman of Mackintosh Terrace, Aberfan, and David Davies, a collier from Pontygwaith were walking out at the end of their shift when a journey of 20 trams became detached from the rope and ran backwards into them. Mr. Doyle died on a stretcher midway between Aberfan and Troedyrhiw while Mr. Davies died in Merthyr General Hospital the same day. A similar incident occurred just a few years later on the 31st of January 1903:

MERTHYR VALE ACCIDENT. Run Down by Trams. At Merthyr Vale on Tuesday Mr R. J. Rhvs (coroner) opened an inquiry into the circumstances attending the deaths of Isaac Henry Johns and Edward Pring. colliers, who were killed by a journey of trams at No. 1 Merthyr Vale Pit on Saturday afternoon. Mr Evan Williams was chosen foreman of the jury. The arrangements were looked after by Police Sergeant Owen. Among those present were:—Mr Trump, Government inspector of mines Mr W. P. Nicholas, solicitor, representing the Miners’ Federation Mr Thomas Williams, colliery manager; and Mr Enoch Morell, Merthyr Vale, workmen’s secretary. Evidence of identity was given by Mr Isaac Johns and Mr James Foot, with whom Pring lodged. Evan Davies, shackler, one of the men who found the deceased men after the accident occurred, said he worked on the straight parting, and finding the full journey was over the road he went to see what was the matter. An empty journey was coming in, and it was the fall journey that was off the road. Four front trams were completely off the load, as well as two wheels of the fifth tram. The full journey consisted of about 20 trams. He saw one of the deceased between the fourth and fifth trams, lying in the middle of the road. he afterwards saw—when the journey was pulled back—the second man quite close to the other. The spot was about four hundred yards from the straight parting, from which the journey had started. There were no riders on the journey, which was the last one out on that shift. Workmen travelled out on the same road a single one.

He had worked on the straight parting 14 or 15 years. Deceased worked down in the dip in another district, and would not come out through the straight. It was not part of his instructions to caution men that a journey was on the way, but if he saw them he would do so. Had he been up at the knocker before the deceased had passed there he would have seen them, and he would have cautioned them. But he was not aware they were there. Another shackler, Isaiah Lewis, who worked with him. was there. Another shackler, Isaiah Lewis worked with him. Coroner Have you had any orders or directions to go up to the knocker to watch people going out at finishing time? Oh, yes, I have orders to go as far as the journey. Why did you not go this time ?—Because I had to go to sprag the empty journey. The other shackler was also employed on the same work. Isaiah the other shackler, was next examined. Coroner Have you had any instructions at finishing time. when the men are going out, to go to that place by the knocker and give the men a caution that a journey is going out ?-Yes I stop at the top of the parting, and Evan Davies at the bottom. I have to stop at my place until the full journey goes out. The knocker is at the bottom end. I am at the top. Daniel James, haulage engine driver underground, said he sent a journey into the straight parting, which was 1,300 yards or 1,400 yards from his engine. The journey, until it stopped, went at the usual rate of eight or nine miles an hour. The deceased men would have passed the engine house if they had not been run over. Ralph Dowdeswell, the colliery surveyor, produced plans of the new level drift”, and said the manholes were more frequent than were legally required, and there were wide spaces at the sides of the road. Thomas Williams, the manager of the Merthyr Vale collieries, said shacklers had instructions to warn the men when the ropes were working, and to watch people going out. It was impossible for one shackler to sprag a journey, but towards the end of the shift men were anxious to finish their work. If either of the shacklers was to blame it would be Davies, but he did not say so. The two men were doing their best to finish their work at the end of the shift, and they had previously warned others. An experienced man going out would know there was a full journey on the road by the tail rope running. By Mr Trump, There was no rule to prevent men from walking on the haulage whilst the journey was running. By a Juror Had the men been listening they must have heard the journey coming 40 or 50 yards behind them. The Coroner said he could not understand how the deceased men were surprised when they were caught. They must have been giving their attention to something else. The jury found a verdict of Accidental death.” The funerals of the deceased men will take place this afternoon. The bodies of Edward Pring and Isaac Hy. Johns will be interred at Aberfan and Cefncoed Cemeteries respectively.

On the 13th of September, 1909 Evan Bevan of Troedyrhiw, who was the foreman engineman was crushed to death by a haulage flywheel. Fortunately, no-one died on the 2nd of April 1914 when runaway trams crashed into the men at pit bottom waiting to go up, although 12 men were injured, 4 seriously. Owen Thomas, aged 38 years and a haulier from Danyderi Cottages was crushed to death by trams on the 6th of April 1923.

They were opening out the colliery when on the 29th of October 1875, two carpenters, James Jones and William Rolls, 45 and 43 years old respectively, died when the roof arches discharged on top of them due to ground pressure. One other man was injured.

At the coalface, the collier was disturbing a peace that had lasted hundreds of million years, and very often, Mother Nature would resent this, and retaliate in the most brutal manner. On the 29th of November 1878, James Lewis, a 28 year old haulier was killed when the roof fell on him. 8th of November 1879:

SAD ACCIDENT AT MERTHYR VALE COLLIERY. A sad accident happened at Messrs Nixon, Taylor, and Cory’s Colliery, at Merthyr Vale, on Thursday morning. A collier, named Levi, Matthews, 53 years of age, was working in his -Stall, when there was a slip of coal, which crushed the poor fellow, and death must have been almost instantaneous An inquest was held at the Windsor Hotel by the deputy-coroner, Mr Thomas Williams, oi} Thursday evening, when a verdict of “Accidental death” was returned.

In 1885 four men died in that way; two were just boys, Davies was 14 years old when he died under a roof fall on the 7th of January 1885, and just over two months later on the 17th of March Charles Massey aged 16 years, also a collier and also died under a roof fall. Something like 3 weeks later the same fate befell Henry Griffiths who was aged 28 years. David Evans was a 48 year old labourer when he died under a roof fall on the 27th of October 1885. Owen Williams aged 34 years had the dangerous job of removing the old posts to allow the roof to fall down behind the coalface. He died under a roof fall on the 1st of September 1886.

Four deaths by roof falls occurred in 1887, Evan Rees, aged 41, collier, on the 31st of January. On the the11th of February, John Rees, aged 36 and a collier, was leaving his stall when a fall crushed him – he died on the 14th., on the 26th of February Evan Price, aged 68, wasteman, and on the 24th of November William Crudge, aged 19 years and a collier. There was no respite in 1888; 18/4/1888, James Carter, aged 18, collier, roof fall.

11/9/1888, Evan Williams, aged 41, labourer, roof fall. This one was only 50 yards from the pit bottom where he was enlarging the road.

Edwin Sussex was 20 years of age and a collier when he died under a roof fall on the 2nd of July 1890. It was on the 6th of November 1890 when David Hughes aged 47 years, and a wastemen, along with his assistant George Thomas aged 14 years were carrying out their duties when a huge piece of clod measuring 13 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet fell on top of them, both died. William Haskell was only 14 years of age and a collier boy on the 21st of May 1892 when he died under a roof fall. On the 4th of April 1891 Daniel Connors aged 36 years and a labourer died under a roof fall when the posts gave way. John Owen aged 40 years and a heading man was ripping down the roof to make way for supports when more than he anticipated collapsed on top of him causing his death on the 14th of September 1892. John Emanuel was another timberman who died withdrawing old supports. The roof fell and killed the 33 year old on the 20th of March 1894. On the 21st of March 1897 in the No.2 Pit David Phillips a single man aged 47 years of Aberfan Crescent died under a roof fall. Michael Hurley was a collier aged 23 years of Cory Street Merthyr Vale when the coroner gave a verdict of accident death when he died under a roof fall.

The 15th of August 1902:

THE MERTHYR VALE FATALITY The remains of the young man named Joseph Frederick Wootton. aged twenty, who was killed by a fall of stone at Merthyr Vale Colliery, was interred at Merthyr Vale Cemetery on Wednesday. The funeral was one of the largest which have left Troedyrhiw for the above cemetery. It was headed by the Troedyrhiw Silver Band (conducted by Mr. Hannay), playing the “Dead March” in “Saul.” At the graveside “Lead. kindly light” was sung. The curate of St. John’s Church officiated. The coffin of polished oak was beautifully furnished and covered with wreaths from relatives and friends

.The consequences spread far and wide as the following article from the 1st of August 1903 shows:

MERTHYR VALE FATALITY, Inquest at Bristol. On Wednesday the Bristol City Coroner (Mr H. G. Doggett) resumed an inquest at the city mortuary on the body of Frederick William Ponting Smith, aged 24, a carpenter, lately living at the Mason’s Arms, Rudgeway, near Thornbury. Mr Thomas Williams, colliery manager, of Merthyr Vale, watched the proceedings on behalf of Nixon’s Navigation Co., Ltd., and Mr F. A. Gray, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Cardiff District, was also present. Frederick Smith, the father of the deceased, in giving evidence of identification, said that on October 8th last his son was working in one of the Merthyr pits in South Wales when he sustained severe injuries to his back owing to a fall in the roof. After being attended at Merthyr Hospital for some time he was taken to Dr. Horton in Gloucestershire. In May he was removed to witness’s home, but some five weeks ago, on the advice of a Thornbury doctor, he was taken to the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where he was operated upon. The death occurred on Saturday afternoon. Charles Collis, a collier, living at 12, Aberfan-crescent, Merthyr Vale, and in the employ of Nixon’s Navigation Co., and John Preece, of 44, Aberfan- road, Merthyr, spoke to the cause of the accident. Dr. Stack, the house surgeon of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, stated that the deceased died from kidney disease following on the fracture of the spine, which was discovered at the post-mortem examination. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence, the injury being caused by an accidental fall in the roof of the colliery.

A leading footballer with the Aberfan AFC life was cut short on the 18th of March 1907 when he died under a roof fall. Another footballer to die under a roof fall was Merthyr Town player William Sullivan who died on the 21st of September 1922. On the 14th of July 1927 John Davies was 57 years of age and residing at Herbert Street, Abercynon when he died at Merthyr General Hospital due to injuries received under a roof fall,

The inquest into the death of John Griffiths, aged 28 years and of Church Street, Troedyrhiw was held on the 24th of April 1940 where it was found that his death under a roof fall was Accidental.

There was a lucky escape for William Morgan aged 21 years of Bryntaff, Aberfan, and Albert Mortimer aged 15 years who were dug out from under a roof fall intact, that was on the 21st of September 1922, another lucky trio were William Jenkins, Samuel Edwards and Austen Davies who were working at the coalface with a cutter when they were buried. They were taken to Merthyr General Hospital where they recovered. Harry Taylor and Thomas Davies similarly survived on the 2nd of February 1956 when they were buried under a roof fall. Mr. Taylor suffered leg injuries and Mr. Davies shock.

There were no major explosions at Merthyr Vale, but one did occur on the 10th of December 1877:

RECENT EXPLOSION AT MERTHYR YALE COLLIERY. On the 30th ult., it will be remembered an explosion of gas occurred at the Merthyr Vale Colliery, the property of Messrs Nixon. Taylor, and Cory, by which three men were dangerously burned. After several days lingering one of the poor fellows, named William Jones, residing at Taff-street. Merthyr Vale, died late on Friday night. An inquest will be held. During the week Mr Wales, the Government Inspector, inspected the scene of the explosion.

Other disguises of the Grim Reaper were wide and varied and not confined to underground; on the 26th of November 1878 young Edwin Davies, a 16 year old stoker was crushed to death by wagons, which was also the fate, on the 23rd of October 1883, of C. Ford a screensman and Alfred Barns, a wagon examiner, aged 40 years on the 12th of September 1890, and of George Arkle aged 47 years who was living at Troedyrhiw when he died on the 6th of December 1933. On the 9th of June 1885, John Venn, aged 67 years and a labourer was killed when run over by a locomotive and two trucks. Alfred Salter aged 52 years and a stoker, died on the 31st of October 1934 following an accident on the boiler stand. It was on the 14th of November 1936 when the coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death on Frank Lovell aged 55 years of Moy Road, he was killed when drawn into the screening plant.

On the 14th of December 1937, a judge awarded Gertrude Alice Lovell damages following her claim for pain and suffering and loss of expectation of life over the death of her husband, Frank. It was the first time that the Fatal Accident Act had been implemented in South Wales. She received £500, her son £200, plus they received £5 for pain and suffering, £400 for loss of expectation and £15 for the funeral expenses.

On the 5th of January 1884, Michael Burgess, aged 38, haulier, fell over a wall and died. While poor old John Evans was 76 years old and an engineman on the 27th of January 1890 when he fell down some steps and died.

The 15th of January 1902:

MERTHYR VALE FATALITY. Funeral of the Victim: An Imposing Ceremony. The funeral of Mr. John Roberts, the fireman, who died of injuries received at No. 2 Pit. Merthyr Vale Colliery, took place yesterday afternoon. A vast number of people followed the body, on the way to Aberfan Cemetery a service was held at the Methodist Chapel, of which the deceased was a faithful member. The Rev. J. M. Davies (Aberfan), J. Roberts Corris. and T. Lloyd (Troedyrhiw) officiating. It was one of the largest civilian funerals ever seen in the place and manifested the respect in which the deceased was held. The Rachabites and Foresters took part in the rites pertaining ‘to their respective lodges, and members of both lodges turned out in strength.

On the 6th of October 1925 Albert Bevan aged 47 years died in Merthyr General Hospital the same day as the accident. As did William Mortimer aged 52 years and a repairer of Walters Terrace who was involved in an accident on the 11th of February 1937. On the 8th of January 1938, the coroner gave a verdict of Accidental Death on Evan Jones of Tydfil Terrace, Troedyrhiw who had contracted blood poisoning following an arm injury.

During the First War, a collier from Merthyr Vale was the first to show the benefit of artificial legs to the Queen Mary’s Convalescence Home for servicemen in London. 24th of July 1915. It is claimed that he danced around and ran up the stairs.

The Merthyr Vale Colliery waste tips were situated high up on the mountain at between 650 feet and 1,200 feet above sea level on the western side of the twin villages of Aberfan and Merthyr Vale. The slope of the mountain started off at 1 in 4 but increased to 1 in 3 until the top was reached where it levelled off. A tramway brought the rubbish up from the loading station down in the valley to the tipping point at the top of the mountain. The ‘journey’ of trams was hauled up the mountain by a haulage engine and attached to the journey by a wire rope. It was then tipped over by a crane at the tipping site and then sent back down in another journey. The No.7 tip, which was the working one had been started in 1958 and was around 111 feet high and contained about 300,000 tons of rubbish.

Suddenly at about 9.15 a.m. on Friday the 21st of October 1966 this tip started to collapse and rushed down the mountain towards Aberfan. Two farm cottages halfway up the mountain were engulfed and the occupants killed, but the mass continued down the mountain until it covered eighteen houses and the Pantglas school. By the time it had stopped one hundred and forty-four men women and children lost their lives. One hundred and sixteen of the victims were children, most of them between the ages of 7 to 10 years. One hundred and nine of them died in the Junior School. Of the twenty-eight adults who died five were teachers in that school. In addition, twenty-nine children and six adults were injured some of them seriously. Sixteen houses were damaged by the sludge and sixty houses had to be evacuated and others were unavoidably damaged during the rescue operations.

Young Howard Rees was on his way to the senior school when, “he saw a big wave, much higher than the houses, heading straight towards him. He could see trees, boulders trams, slurry and water in the flow and it appeared to him to be “moving as fast as a car.”

Three of his friends were overwhelmed by the mass and died. The others with Howard, although bruised by loose debris survived. George Lewis heard “a noise like a jet plane’ but couldn’t see anything due to the fog covering the mountain until the mass hit Moy Street and destroyed the houses.” Mr. Lewis was later rescued by some Council workmen.

Kenneth Davies was the acting headmaster of the Secondary School, and he reported; “I heard a sound which appeared to be like a jet plane screaming low over the school in the fog. Immediately following there was a bang and the part of the school I was in shook, and some girls came running and screaming into the hall. When passing the needlework Room I noticed that the furthest corner had collapsed and the roof has started to collapse into the room as well. The Girl’s entrance was approximately two thirds to three quarters full of rubble and waste material. I climbed onto the rubble in the doorway. I was still looking for this pane and when I look directly in front of me I saw the houses in Moy Road had vanished in a mass of waste tip material and that the Junior School gable ends or part of the roof, were sticking up out of the morass. I looked down to my right and I saw that the Moy Road houses had gone. Around the outer edge near the school where I was standing it would have been firm enough to stand on. I was standing on the outside edge.” Mr. Davies and his staff, although confronted by appalling conditions and still flowing filthy water managed to bring his pupils to safety.

At the top of the tip, the crane driver stated; “I was standing on the edge of the depression. I was looking down into it, and what I saw I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was starting to come back up. It started to rise slowly at first. I still did not believe it, I thought I was seeing things. Then it rose up pretty fast, at a tremendous speed. Then it sort of came up out of the depression and turned itself into a wave. That is the only way I can describe it, down towards the mountain, towards Aberfan village, into the mist.”

Mr. Brown’s shout brought the rest if the tipping gang out of the cabin, and the story was taken up by Leslie Davies who said:

“When he shouted, we all got to the top of the tip and all I can tell you it was going down at a hell of a speed in waves. I myself ran down the side of the No.3 tip all the way down towards No.2 and No.1 tip on the side. As I was running down, I heard another roar behind me and trees cracking and a tram passing me. I stopped, I fell down in fact. All I could see was waves of muck, slush and water. I still kept running. I kept going down shouting. I couldn’t see, nobody could. And I heard a voice answer me and he shouted, “Come out of there, for God’s sake”. That man was Trevor Steed. I went with Trevor Steed down to the old railway line. By that time my mates had come down behind me. We went along the line as far as we could towards the school which we could see. All the houses were down. We could not pass that way because there was too much water running down. We could not go the way we wanted to go.”

Inside the stricken Pantglas Junior school some of the survivors stated; “Mr Davis, our teacher, got the board out and wrote our maths class work and we were all working, and then it began. It was a tremendous rumbling sound and all the school went dead. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was petrified, afraid to move. Everyone just froze in their seats. I just managed to get up and I reached the end of my desk when the sound got louder and nearer, ‘til I could see the blackout of the window. I can’t remember any more but I woke up to find that a horrible nightmare had just begun in front of my eyes.”

Pupil, Pantglas Junior School:

I was standing in front of the class and the thing I remember the most was what I thought was a couple of slates dropping off the roof; because they had been repairing the roof. And with that, I looked up through the fog and I could see this enormous spinning boulder and there was a black line alongside it. And I had time to realise that that spinning boulder wasn’t heading for me. I immediately looked at the class and with that, it crashed into the room at the speed of a jet aeroplane and I was hurled from the centre of the room to the corner by the door. … I could feel the room shaking and I could see the room filling up. I’m afraid my life didn’t flash in front of me. What was happening I just didn’t know. And then it stopped. And there was such an eerie silence I remember. From … a tall old classroom … with echoes and sounds, there was nothing, there was just this deadness. And I had a chance to reassess the situation. I was trapped up to my waist in desks and rubble and goodness knows what else. And I looked up to the roof and I could see a young lad in my class right up at the roof and climbing down what was then a tip inside my classroom. And I could hear children all, well they weren’t screaming, they were trapped amongst their desks. And mercifully in my classroom, no one was injured badly as far as I can remember, they were trapped but no one was injured badly. And I remember this boy climbing down and he climbed to the door, and I was trapped near the door, and he started kicking the top half of the door in. So I said to him ‘What are you doing?’ And he said ‘I’m going home’. And the reality still hadn’t come home to me I don’t think because I felt like giving him a row for breaking the glass. So he kicked the top half of the door and then he went out. And I thought well I better try and get out of here.

Teacher, Pantglas Junior School:

I was about to start marking the register when there was a terrible noise like a jet plane and I was afraid it was going to fall on the school. So I said to my children ‘Get under your desks quickly and stay there’. And there was one little boy in front of me … and he kept poking his head out, ‘Why Miss? Why have I got to do that?’ And I said, ‘Because I’m telling you to, get under your desk’, and I had to go and put his head under and stand by him. As it happened nothing happened in our classroom, just this dreadful noise. It seemed like ages but it must have been only a few minutes and there was silence.

Teacher, Pantglas Junior School:

I went to the door of the classroom and tried the door of the classroom, the children were still under their desks, the door opened, and some rubble fell but when I looked out all I could see was black and large lumps of concrete which were parts of the cloakroom. But when I looked I could see there was enough room for us to crawl through sort of a tunnel. So I went back to the children and I said we had a fire drill and I wanted them to walk out of class quietly. That I’d go to the school door and open it and then I’d come back and they were to go out one at a time. They weren’t to talk, they were to go out and stand in the yard and wait for a fire drill. And every one of the children did as I asked them. They went out quietly and stood in the yard. I came out then at the end and Mair had come down from the room and we didn’t know what had happened. We went round the corner and when we looked around the corner well it just looked as if the end of the school had just vanished, there was just a black tip.

Teacher, Pantglas Junior School:

… when I got outside I looked at what was to become a famous picture of where the school, where three classrooms had been… the school was smashed over with this rubble. And I remember standing looking at that and thinking, well, the reality of it, I just couldn’t believe it. And from where there were, at least to my calculations, a hundred children there wasn’t a sound.

Teacher, Pantglas Junior School:

I remember being thrown across the classroom when the stuff hit us, then I must have blacked out. I woke to the sound of rescuers breaking a window, and then I saw [my friend]. I will never forget the sight. There was blood coming out of his nose and I knew he was dead. If I close my eyes I can still see his face as plain as that moment.

Pupil, Pantglas Junior School:

I was there for about an hour and a half until the fire brigade found me. I heard cries and screams, but I couldn’t move. The desk was jammed into my stomach and my leg was under the radiator. The little girl next to me was dead and her head was on my shoulder.

As soon as the waste tip stopped its murderous journey people rushed towards the buried Pantglas Junior School and started digging for the children, some with their bare hands, the miners of Merthyr Vale were soon involved and frantically dug and scraped in the search for life. As the news spread thousands of people hastened to Aberfan to help including miners from local pits with their shovels, but after the first hour when a few children were pulled out, it was a matter of recovering the bodies. Due to the continuing threat of water pouring down the hillside and the amount of slurry, it was almost a week before all the bodies were recovered. Two nearby chapels were used as mortuaries. Most of the victims were interred at the Bryntaf Cemetery in Aberfan in a joint funeral held on 27 October 1966, attended by more than 2,000 mourners.

At the inquiry, it emerged that as early as the 29th. July 1959, the Town Clerk of Merthyr had written to The Area Estates Manager of the National Coal Board regarding the ‘reference made to the potential danger of the tip at Aberfan’ and on 17th. June 1960, the Town Clerk wrote to the Coal Board that a deputation, ‘wish to discuss with you the potential danger of the above Tip. Concern has been expressed that the Tip could slide after heavy rainfall.’

In 1963 there was a slide on the No.7 Tip and there was evidence that this had an effect on the surface after and drainage of the area but tipping did not stop. After hearing all the evidence, the Tribunal came to the following conclusions:

  1. That the blame for the disaster rests upon the National Coal Board. the blame is shared, through varying degrees, among the National Coal Board Headquarters, the South Western Divisional Board and certain individuals.
  2. There is a total absence of tipping policy and this was the basic cause of the disaster. In this respect, however, the National Coal Board were following in the footsteps of their predecessors, they were not guided either by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Mines and Quarries or by legislation.
  3. There is no legislation dealing with the safety of tips in force in this or any country, except in part of West Germany and in South Africa.
  4. The legal liability of the National Coal Board to pay compensation for the personal injuries (fatal or otherwise) and damage to property is incontestable and uncontested.

There were certain lessons to be learned and action needed to be taken to safeguard the future condition of the tips at Aberfan. Underground storage of rubbish was not regarded as a practical proposition. All tips should be regarded as potentially dangerous and should be treated as civil engineering structures. There was an obvious need for the communication system within the National Coal Board to be overhauled, The Tribunal made the following recommendations:

  1. A National Tip Safety Committee should be appointed to advise the Minister and to co-ordinate research into the problem of tip safety and of bulk disposal of industrial waste products.
  2. The National Coal Board should continue to have prime responsibility in respect of all tips in its ownership.
  3. A standard Code of Practice should be prepared for consideration by the National Tip Safety Committee with a view to its being issued publicly and applied to all tips, whether in the ownership of the National Coal Board or otherwise.
  4. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate, strengthened by the addition of qualified civil engineers and armed with statutory powers, should be made responsible for ensuring the discharge by the National Coal Board officials of their duties in relation to tip stability and control.
  5. A local authority should have access to plans for tipping and reports on existing tips and, if not satisfied with them, should have the right to appeal to the Minister, who might appoint an independent expert to conduct an examination and make recommendations.
  6. Men engaged in the daily management and control of tips should be trained for their responsibilities.
  7. Managers and surveyors should as soon as possible be made aware of the rudiments of soil mechanics and ground-water conditions. The statutory qualifications of managers and surveyors should be amended to include awareness of the rudiments of soil mechanics and hydrogeology in addition to the geology already comprised in the syllabus.

Many of the Tribunal’s recommendations were accepted and tips all over the country were examined. The Institution of Civil Engineers produced a paper that laid down their findings and gave guidelines for further tipping so that the disaster could never be again repeated.

The NCB cleared the seven tips overlooking the village but they sent the bill to the Disaster Fund. It was not until 1997 that the Government of the day paid back the money.

 

Information supplied by Ray Lawrence and used here with his permission.

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