The key facts

  • On 21 October 1966 at 09:15 a coal-tip landslide engulfed Pantglas school and houses on Moy Road in Aberfan; 144 people died, including 116 children.
  • It was the last school day before the half-term break.
  • For the 60th anniversary, the BBC publishes recollections of surviving pupils, teachers, rescuers and parents who lost children.

The disaster that changed Wales

According to the BBC, few events have left such a deep mark on Wales's memory as the Aberfan disaster. On the morning of 21 October 1966 at 09:15, the coal tip above the small town collapsed, and black slurry surged down the slope, engulfing Pantglas Junior School and neighbouring houses. Within minutes, 144 people were killed, including 116 children — on the last school day before the half-term break. The tragedy changed attitudes to industrial safety across Britain. For the 60th anniversary, the BBC publishes testimony from those who were there.

The teacher and the rescued children

Mair Morgan, then a 25-year-old teacher who had worked at Pantglas for a year, recalled the drizzle and fog: she rang the bell at about 08:50, heard a terrible noise, saw a wall collapse and led the pupils outside. The Bethania chapel was later used to house the dead children; she had to identify bodies before parents were informed. Six-year-old Gareth Jones, one of the first to be rescued, described a growing rumble, water seeping through the floor, and the teacher who, climbing onto a desk and chair, smashed a window and pulled the children out — 'she saved our lives'. Eight-year-old Jeff Edwards, the last child pulled out alive (at around 11 o'clock), came to under a collapsed roof next to a dead girl; the cries around him gradually faded because children were dying from injuries and lack of air. A 'pocket' of air around him saved him; firefighters broke through a window and passed him along a chain of hands; the local grocer Tom Harding drove him to St Tydfil's Hospital. David Davies, who lost consciousness under debris on the western side of the school, was presumed dead and covered with a blanket — until someone noticed his leg moving; a doctor examined him again, and the boy was taken to hospital.

'My life changed forever'

Eight-year-old Gaynor Madgwick went to school with her brother Carl (7) and sister Marilyn (10). She described a sound 'like a hurricane', a black mass bursting through the window, the collapsed roof and her broken hip. Her grandfather found her alive; her mother promised to buy her 'as many shoes as she wanted'. Carl and Marilyn died. Jeannette Beakley, who had almost stayed home after pneumonia, noticed smoke above the tip — the teacher said it was steam from the canteen, although the junior school had none. Coming to under coal and water, she was dug out by a classmate; she later learned that a boy standing nearby in shock had died of a heart attack before he could be rescued.

Parents and witnesses

Ray Lee lost his only daughter Ann, aged eight: he wandered the roads until ten in the evening hoping, and learned of her death when he saw her in the mortuary at Bethania chapel. David Evans, who had one of the few telephones in Aberfan, called the fire brigade, heard the cry 'the school has collapsed' and saw houses on Moy Road flattened 'like an accordion'; lorries arrived carrying miners from Merthyr Vale colliery with shovels and picks. Mel Parry, an 18-year-old trainee photographer for the Merthyr Express newspaper, photographed the destruction. Journalist Calvin Pugsley, writing for the Birmingham Evening Mail, described the minutes of silence at a whistle, when the diggers listened for signs of life, and the story of deputy head Dai Beynon, who shielded children with his own body — he was found still holding them; teacher Bill Evans lost his wife, two children and his home.

Families' losses

Janette Keen, a pupil at Quakers Yard Grammar School, recounted how her father, digging at the site, found her sister Edwin alive but could not pull her out because of the threat of the roof collapsing — he lay beside her and held her hand until she suffocated. Eleven-year-old Denise Morgan recalled how her father brought the purse and a piece of dress belonging to her sister Annette, identified in the makeshift mortuary in the chapel: 'as if she were asleep,' he said. 'Ever since, her absence beside me has been a huge loss,' said Denise.

A composite image of the disaster site and people affected. They are all black and white photos and include an aerial view of the submerged school and individual photos of young children.Image source, Getty Images/ Family photos
Black and white picture shows the mud and devastation caused at Pantglas Junior School on 21st October 1966. A row of men pull a rope, with the submerged school with a collapsed roof in the background. Crowds are gathered around the scene.Image source, Staff/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Image caption,

144 people died following the Aberfan landslide in October 1966

A black and white photo of Mair, a woman in glasses with short brown hair and pointed glasses, and a colour photo of the same woman 60 years later with short white hair and glasses.Image source, Getty Images/ BBC
Image caption,

Mair was a 25-year-old teacher and had worked at Pantglas School for a year

A composite image. The first black and white photo is of a little boy standing in the doorway with his dad's arm around him. In the second photo is Gareth as a grown man with glasses and short white hair, wearing a suit with a black tie.Image source, Family photo/ BBC
A little girl with a short bob smiles at the camera in a black and white photo. On the right is a colour image of Gaynor as an adult, with long blonde hair and glasses.Image source, Family photo/ BBC
Image caption,

Gaynor Madgwick was eight and went to school that day with her brother Carl, seven, and sister Marylyn, 10

A little boy with white hair wears a jumper, shirt and tie in the first black and white photo. Next to it is a colour photo of Jeff with white hair and glasses in a blue and white check shirt.Image source, Getty Images/ BBC
Image caption,

Jeff Edwards was the last child to be pulled out alive

A little boy runs on grass in a woollen sweater in the first black and white photo. On the right, David is an adult and wears a suit with a colourful tie, holding a pen.Image source, Getty Images/ Family photo
Image caption,

David Davies was presumed dead and placed with other bodies before somebody noticed his foot moving

A black and white photo of a woman with brown hair smiling. On the right, Janett, now an adult, has short blonde hair and wears a red dress with a gold necklace.Image source, Family photo/ BBC
A black and white photo of a young Ray in a black suit and white shirt. On the right, a modern image of Ray shows him sitting in a chair, with grey hair and glasses.
Image caption,

Ray Lee hoped to find his only child Anne, who was eight

A black and white photo of David in a suit and tie. Next to it is a modern photo of David in a red top lying on a bed.Image source, Family photo/ BBC
Image caption,

David Evans was one of the few people in Aberfan with a telephone, and called emergency services

On the left, a black and white photo shows Mel in a black suit and tie. On the right, a modern photo shows Mel in a sweater with glasses.Image source, Mirrorpix/ BBC
Image caption,

Mel Parry was an 18-year-old apprentice photographer with the Merthyr Express newspaper

On the left is Calvin in glasses and scarf in the snow. On the right, a modern photo shows him with a shirt, gilet and wearing sunglasses, leaning on a gate.Image source, Family photos
Image caption,

Calvin Pugsley, originally from Merthyr Tydfil, covered the story for the Birmingham Evening Mail. He described his experiences before his death

Jeanette as a girl has short brown hair in a black and white photo. On the right, she has short brown hair and wears a red top.Image source, Family photo/ BBC
Image caption,

Jeanette Keane was in a nearby grammar school when she heard her sister Edwina was in danger

On the left is Denise in a stripey top as a child. As an adult, she has white short white hair, and is wearing a floral dress and smiling.Image source, Family photo/ BBC
Image caption,

Denise Morgan remembers it being very hard after losing her sister