When I was at secondary school in the early 1980s, there was a teacher who had been at university in Cardiff at the time. She and others from there volunteered to go to Aberfan and help provide support for the people. She told the class I was in that she couldn't ever speak about most of what she experienced as it was too difficult for her. However she said her overriding memory was seeing women standing in the streets screaming because they had lost their children.
Incredible story. If you haven't read the article, please do. It had me tearing up with the survivors talking about how lovely a person she was before it happened.
The truest and most accurate definition of a hero is an ordinary person who does and extraordinary thing under extraordinary circumstances. It's why so many emergency responders refuse the appellation of hero. And it's why this person definitely was one.
“Without Nansi there would be no son, there would be no grandchildren” it’s incredible to think about how many generations of these 5 family are here today in part because of Nansi’s courage.
“Dinner lady” sounds like such an ordinary job title until you read what she did. Those children were in her care, and she tried to protect them with the only thing she had left. I’m glad her story is still being told.
That happened in Wales in 1966. Aberfan. A school was built below a slag heap - all the waste from a coal mine. The flag heap collapsed on the school, killing many children and some adults. Could have been prevented if the National Coal Board had done its job properly.
Pantglas Junior school pre dates the slag heap (Tip 7) that slipped onto the village by approximately 100 years.The school certainly wasn’t built below it.
For those who have not, just watch the opening sequence to the Crown episode on the Aberfan disaster. The entire episode is excellent (and show generally), especially discussing the harrowing review of the emotions from the funeral. The opening sequence shows everything, including a hard to watch scene of the landslide hitting the school and how helpless everyone would have been.
Ah, no, that's not what happened. The school was very much there first; it was not built beneath a slag heap. It's the other way around.
One of the reasons the local residents had been complaining about the slag heap for so long was because it was being tipped on a hill directly above the school, where there was a series of clearly marked springs where children used to play. Residents of Aberfan had written about their concerns with the location of the slag heap but had been ignored.
The springs are what caused the slag heap to collapse; it rained heavily one morning (because Wales) and it turned the base of the slag heap to slurry, making it too unstable to support its own weight.
I remember learning about this in school in the 90s and what stayed with me was the "missing generation" - that as time went on, the town had no teenagers, then no young adults, then no 30somethings.
Fun fact: Lord Robens who was in charge when the Aberfan disaster happened was widely hated and blamed for ignoring the warnings. He later went on to write the Robens report which championed the idea that employers should regulate themselves. That report led to the workplace health and safety act of 1974 and its basically the way we keep workers safe to this day.
Had Robens not taken the NCB post when Macmillan offered it to him in 1961, there is a reasonable chance he could have been Prime Minister at the time of Aberfan. When Gaitskell died, the Labour right could only put forward the drunken and histrionic George Brown, and Jim Callaghan, who was too junior and unproven at the time. Robens could have just beaten Wilson.
Yes, there was compensation, but it's complicated.
The public raised a lot of money for the Aberfan disaster fund, which was supposed to help with relief efforts for the community, therapy for survivors, memorials etc. It raised £1.6mil in 1966, which is around £20mil in today's money. The government ended up taking £150,000 out of the fund to clear the remaining spoil tips, which was repaid by the devolved Welsh government to the fund in 2007, corrected for inflation.
In terms of compensation, the NCB initially offered all bereaved families £50 (about £850 in today's money) which was then increased to £500. The Aberfan Disaster Fund had wanted to give £5,000 to each family, but the Charity Commission only sanctioned £500, and specified that 'before any payment was made, each case should be reviewed to ascertain whether the parents had been close to their children and were thus likely to be suffering mentally' (direct quote, if you can believe it.) Families later said that they'd essentially been tested to prove that they were actually sad about their dead children before they got any payment. Some of the surviving children were given psychiatric tests to prove that they were suffering from trauma and shock; some of these children later described it as 'torture'.
So... yeah, they did get compensation, but nowhere near enough, and they were essentially psychologically tortured to get it.
Yep, as someone who lives about 20 minutes from Aberfan, I sort of exist in a perpetual state of rage about it. The Welsh Valleys in general have been so neglected and mistreated by successive governments.
My stepmother's mother was one of the survivors at Aberfan. She died an alcoholic in her 40s, partly due to the trauma and partly because there were so few kids left that she was allowed to go off the rails because noone had the heart to discipline her. Sad situation all round...
Stephen_Dann | 13 hours ago
When I was at secondary school in the early 1980s, there was a teacher who had been at university in Cardiff at the time. She and others from there volunteered to go to Aberfan and help provide support for the people. She told the class I was in that she couldn't ever speak about most of what she experienced as it was too difficult for her. However she said her overriding memory was seeing women standing in the streets screaming because they had lost their children.
Jabberbrill | 23 hours ago
Incredible story. If you haven't read the article, please do. It had me tearing up with the survivors talking about how lovely a person she was before it happened.
wardog1066 | 10 hours ago
The truest and most accurate definition of a hero is an ordinary person who does and extraordinary thing under extraordinary circumstances. It's why so many emergency responders refuse the appellation of hero. And it's why this person definitely was one.
not_falling_down | 22 hours ago
A haunting song about this
SQL617 | 9 hours ago
“Without Nansi there would be no son, there would be no grandchildren” it’s incredible to think about how many generations of these 5 family are here today in part because of Nansi’s courage.
theodore_70 | 8 hours ago
“Dinner lady” sounds like such an ordinary job title until you read what she did. Those children were in her care, and she tried to protect them with the only thing she had left. I’m glad her story is still being told.
DizzyMine4964 | a day ago
That happened in Wales in 1966. Aberfan. A school was built below a slag heap - all the waste from a coal mine. The flag heap collapsed on the school, killing many children and some adults. Could have been prevented if the National Coal Board had done its job properly.
RhubarbSalty3588 | 21 hours ago
Pantglas Junior school pre dates the slag heap (Tip 7) that slipped onto the village by approximately 100 years.The school certainly wasn’t built below it.
Mythic514 | 23 hours ago
For those who have not, just watch the opening sequence to the Crown episode on the Aberfan disaster. The entire episode is excellent (and show generally), especially discussing the harrowing review of the emotions from the funeral. The opening sequence shows everything, including a hard to watch scene of the landslide hitting the school and how helpless everyone would have been.
Jumpy-Highway-4873 | 23 hours ago
I’m from America had never heard of that event before watching the crown. So tragic
Busy-Doughnut6180 | 5 hours ago
I get painful goosebumps all the way up to my scalp every time I even think of that episode.
melonofknowledge | 14 hours ago
Ah, no, that's not what happened. The school was very much there first; it was not built beneath a slag heap. It's the other way around.
One of the reasons the local residents had been complaining about the slag heap for so long was because it was being tipped on a hill directly above the school, where there was a series of clearly marked springs where children used to play. Residents of Aberfan had written about their concerns with the location of the slag heap but had been ignored.
The springs are what caused the slag heap to collapse; it rained heavily one morning (because Wales) and it turned the base of the slag heap to slurry, making it too unstable to support its own weight.
Icy_Mango6803 | 15 hours ago
I remember learning about this in school in the 90s and what stayed with me was the "missing generation" - that as time went on, the town had no teenagers, then no young adults, then no 30somethings.
Pledgeofmalfeasance | 12 hours ago
It must have been an extremely uncomfortable reminder to live alongside
Glydyr | 14 hours ago
Fun fact: Lord Robens who was in charge when the Aberfan disaster happened was widely hated and blamed for ignoring the warnings. He later went on to write the Robens report which championed the idea that employers should regulate themselves. That report led to the workplace health and safety act of 1974 and its basically the way we keep workers safe to this day.
erinoco | an hour ago
Had Robens not taken the NCB post when Macmillan offered it to him in 1961, there is a reasonable chance he could have been Prime Minister at the time of Aberfan. When Gaitskell died, the Labour right could only put forward the drunken and histrionic George Brown, and Jim Callaghan, who was too junior and unproven at the time. Robens could have just beaten Wilson.
hiraeth555 | 16 hours ago
Not to mention the battle for compensation that came after
palabradot | 11 hours ago
I don't think there was ever any compensation to the town or families, was there? Or if so, not as much as there should have been.
I remember watching something about this years ago and being more and more upset as it went on.
melonofknowledge | 10 hours ago
Yes, there was compensation, but it's complicated.
The public raised a lot of money for the Aberfan disaster fund, which was supposed to help with relief efforts for the community, therapy for survivors, memorials etc. It raised £1.6mil in 1966, which is around £20mil in today's money. The government ended up taking £150,000 out of the fund to clear the remaining spoil tips, which was repaid by the devolved Welsh government to the fund in 2007, corrected for inflation.
In terms of compensation, the NCB initially offered all bereaved families £50 (about £850 in today's money) which was then increased to £500. The Aberfan Disaster Fund had wanted to give £5,000 to each family, but the Charity Commission only sanctioned £500, and specified that 'before any payment was made, each case should be reviewed to ascertain whether the parents had been close to their children and were thus likely to be suffering mentally' (direct quote, if you can believe it.) Families later said that they'd essentially been tested to prove that they were actually sad about their dead children before they got any payment. Some of the surviving children were given psychiatric tests to prove that they were suffering from trauma and shock; some of these children later described it as 'torture'.
So... yeah, they did get compensation, but nowhere near enough, and they were essentially psychologically tortured to get it.
palabradot | 9 hours ago
Ah. That would explain why I got so angry with the whole thing. Thank you.
melonofknowledge | 9 hours ago
Yep, as someone who lives about 20 minutes from Aberfan, I sort of exist in a perpetual state of rage about it. The Welsh Valleys in general have been so neglected and mistreated by successive governments.
Lem0n_Lem0n | 20 hours ago
Oh yeah I read about this story once..
I always if they ever made a statue of her ?
GokouD | 5 hours ago
My stepmother's mother was one of the survivors at Aberfan. She died an alcoholic in her 40s, partly due to the trauma and partly because there were so few kids left that she was allowed to go off the rails because noone had the heart to discipline her. Sad situation all round...