To remind people of the minute silence

[Famalam13]

Posting here due to traffic.

Today is 50 years since the Aberfan disaster in which 116 children and 28 adults died. A minute silence will be held at 9:15am.

Don't panic - that's a horrendously sad story with a happy ending in a bittersweet way.

I don't live far from Aberfan, I've always known about it (born after it happened) my mum's xh (not my dad) was a fireman who helped in the clean up and could never speak about it.

What a terrible terrible day for us all to remember whether we were alive or not at the time, glad some channels did the silence.

I have to agree it's disgusting that none of the royal family are present for the memorial events and there is very little coverage on the major newspaper websites

the so called Prince of Wales seems to be conspicuously absent from the memorial events too.

He is there. Or will be later.

icrapoport.com/series/aberfan/

This is a link to the American photographers work. John Collins 'The man who lost everything' is there.

Prince of Wales is there according to the BBC.

aberfan.walesonline.co.uk/
i linked to this on another thread
Warning it it distressing to read but also humbling

There must have been so many people with PTSD which wasn't really a recognised thing at the time. The prevailing wisdom in those days was just to soldier on as talking about it would be too upsetting. There are several people in one of the links who say they have never spoken about it until now. I just can't imagine keeping something like that inside you for 50 years.

Ok - I'll stand corrected on the PoW. It didn't come up in a google search I did earlier - My comments remain on the Daily Mail - maybe this is one thread they'll avoid lifting to create content!

I'm from East Anglia and we studied Aberfan in the mid-80s - it is probably one of the things I remember learning about most vividly (I would have been 8/9 at the time).

I'm Irish and I remember our geography teacher telling us all about this in a lesson in the 90's, he was in tears.
I don't think it was anything on the syllabus that we had to do, perhaps it was around this time of year and that's why he told us about it but it is one of the lessons from school that has stuck with me, and probably influenced my career choice in a way. - engineer with a strong focus on safety.

aberfan.walesonline.co.uk/

I am in my mid 30s, not from Wales and no family from Wales.

But my mum made sure we all knew about this terrible, God awful tragedy. She would have been a teenager at the time and it obviously touched her enough to want to make sure those children weren't forgotten within her own family. I'll do the same.

RIP little angels.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-150d11df-c541-44a9-9332-560a19828c47?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_wales_news&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=wales

MissHooliesCardigan [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-150d11df-c541-44a9-9332-560a19828c47?ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook this article]] talks about PTSD and also survivor syndrome.

Try again this article

I was at school further down the valley and all morning there were sirens going past on the road outside. Then the headmaster came in and told us the tip had fallen. My Dad and Grandfather were there digging. Dads in his 80s now and still so angry about it.
My secondary school included Aberfan in the catchment, there was a silence held every year on the anniversary. It wasn't really discussed other than that, many of the survivors and family members from Aberfan were at the school and you knew who they were, but there was a lot of privacy and respect given in the aftermath of such a public disaster.

Both Lord Snowden and Prince Phillip visited shortly after the disaster. There are suggestions that the Queen was advised not to come too soon as it might disrupt the rescue effort.
I heard that story too. I also read somewhere that Philip advised the Queen not to go. It's worth remembering that at the time she had a small children herself.

The Aberfan disaster made a deep impression on me. I remember watching the BBC live coverage of all the people desperately trying to dig the victims out. Even at 8 years old, I could see it was futile. I remember talking to my mother about it and asking "are all the children dead, mummy?" and her saying that yes, she thought they probably were.

That was the first time that I fully understood that life ends in death and that people don't necessarily have a long life because life can be snatched away when you least expect it. I think I have been afraid of dying ever since then.

officer for your father.

For everyone effected by this tragedy

I had heard of the events but still felt shocked and emotional watching footage on channel 4 news last night.

I remember my mother ranting too about Princess Ann visiting the scene and bringing toys ffs. Someone told her 'there are no children left' what a terrible misjudgment and crass stupidity.

I've been thinking about this since earlier. There were children left- children who'd lost brothers and sisters, children who had been in the school but had survived, children who lost all their friends. Children who then weren't allowed to play because it upset the parents of the children who'd died, children who suffered survivors guilt and PTSD. Children whose childhoods ended that day. Their existence should have be acknowledged and remembered and I don't think bringing toys for the children who survived was wrong because they needed remembering and caring for too.

Thank you for posting that tiggles what heartbreaking stories. The little girl who had surgery as a baby then to be killed in the disaster aged 10
The guilt carried by her father for making her to go to school that day. And to think the whole thing could have been avoided.

I agree burn

burn that's so terrible.

And yes I see your point about the toys for the surviving children but I can also see it as my mum did as a massive ill judgment too.

Yes agree PTDS must have been bloody rife. A elderly was talking about it last week on radio 5 and she lost a sister. She said no one asked anyone 'how are you' as the normal conversation opening as 'everyone knew how they were all feeling and they were all broken'

Makes you cry

emerge apparently that photographer stayed in the village for a long time and became trusted and integrated into the community. Very powerful photos.