Aberfan Remembered--By George L. Ellison--England

Aberfan Remembered

It was on a dark October morn

When a South Wales town was so forlorn

A little village it was filled with strife

As a gross of people lost life’s fight

The disaster was fifty years ago

Generations they will never know

The love of life and what it would hold

As the slag heap started to roll

Down the hill the school day had begun

Unfortunately, with no time to run

One and all were buried alive

Not one soul, in its way, survived!

Many a boy, girl, woman and man

Lost their lives in the school at Aberfan

All flowers on graves are still well kept

In remembrance of the tears they wept

So many lives that would never be

They are lost for all eternity

Generations that would never see

A dawning day in that welsh valley

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The Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip in the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, on 21 October 1966, killing 116 children and 28 adults. It was caused by a build-up of water in the accumulated rock and shale, which suddenly started to slide downhill in the form of slurry.

Over 40,000 cubic metres of debris covered the village in minutes, and the classrooms at Pantglas Junior School were immediately inundated, with young children and teachers dying from impact or suffocation. Many noted the poignancy of the situation: if the disaster had struck a few minutes earlier, the children would not have been in their classrooms, and if it had struck a few hours later, the school would have broken up for half-term.

Great rescue efforts were made, but the large numbers who crowded into the village tended to hamper the work of the trained rescue teams, and delayed the arrival of mineworkers from the Merthyr Vale Colliery. Only a few lives could be saved in any case.

The official inquiry blamed the National Coal Board for extreme negligence, and its Chairman, Lord Robens, for making misleading statements. Parliament soon passed new legislation about public safety in relation to mines and quarries.

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George L. Ellison is a writer of poetry and short stories. He has published three books called Poetic Reminiscences, Weaving Words and Reflections. George lives with his wife and dogs in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham in England. He is a member of The Writers and Poetry Alliance and owner of Poetry and short story ink.  George has a Facebook Author page and is currently working on various projects as well as learning to play the saxophone at the Sage Gateshead!