Sixty years after a catastrophic coal tip landslide devastated the Welsh village of Aberfan, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and Prince William led commemorations to remember the 144 people, including 116 children, who lost their lives.
On October 21, 1966, a mountain of coal waste from the National Coal Board's Aberfan depot slid down the mountainside, engulfing the Pantglas Junior School and surrounding houses. The disaster remains one of the darkest days in post-war British history.
During the 60th anniversary commemorations, cadet nurse Dianne Thomas, who was just 18 at the time, shared her enduring trauma from her role in the makeshift mortuary. Thomas was tasked with washing the bodies of the young victims to prepare them for identification by grieving parents. She recounted holding and singing to an eight-year-old boy whose name she never learned, and finding his spelling book with a recent good grade, a detail she hoped might offer his mother some comfort.
The smell of pine and the nursery rhyme "Hey, diddle, diddle" continue to trigger flashbacks for Thomas, who later abandoned her nursing ambitions to pursue a career in child protection and social work. "I was going to be the last person to hold him like his Mam had held him. So I held him in my arms and started singing to him. 'Hey, diddle, diddle...'", she recalled.
King Charles, who has a long-standing connection with Aberfan and its bereavement groups, was joined by Queen Camilla and Prince William in laying floral tributes at the Garden of Remembrance, located on the site of the former school. The royal party then visited the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre to meet survivors and community members. The King spoke of hearing "stories of heartbreak, but also of heroism" and "the most agonising grief but also of the most inspiring grace."
Among those present was Jeff Edwards, the last child to be pulled alive from the wreckage. Edwards, who was eight at the time, survived due to a pocket of air that allowed him to breathe. He performed the introductions for the King, telling him, "From our darkest hour, to this present day, you have remembered us, you have stood with us."
Denise Morgan, who lost her 11-year-old sister Annette, shared how her father described Annette as looking "so peaceful – as if she was sleeping" when he identified her body. Gaynor Madgwick, who lost her sister Marylyn and brother Carl, recounted the guilt her mother lived with for persuading Carl to attend school that day, as he had disliked it and it was just before half term. Madgwick escaped the disaster herself because she was shielded by a radiator.
Mair Morgan, 85, the last surviving teacher from Pantglas Junior School, was also in attendance. She managed to evacuate all the children on the far side of the school to safety and dedicated the rest of her career to rebuilding the school, which had been housed in caravans.
Queen Elizabeth II visited Aberfan eight days after the disaster and was deeply affected by the tragedy, with her visit later described as one of her biggest regrets for not going sooner. The national tribunal that investigated the disaster placed blame on the National Coal Board for failing to manage waste piles safely, though no one was prosecuted or demoted.
Despite the profound grief that continues to mark the anniversary, the memorial garden now includes a playground, symbolizing the continuation of life in Aberfan. The Ynysowen Male Voice Choir, formed in the aftermath as a therapy for grieving men, performed during the commemorations, with members like Ray Lee singing in memory of the children they lost.