Memories of Aberfan tragedy preserved 60 years on

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, a former officer of The Salvation Army who supported families in the immediate aftermath recalled a grieving father asking, ‘Where is your God now?’

To mark the anniversary on 21 October, two members of The Salvation Army who witnessed the tragedy first hand, Sheila Davies (94) and David Tribble (75), met in September at the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon, south Wales, to record their memories. Their valuable oral testimony will be preserved by the museum and in The Salvation Army’s International Heritage Centre at Denmark Hill, London.

On 21 October 1966, a huge colliery spoil tip rising 500 ft. above the mining town of Aberfan collapsed after heavy rainfall, engulfing Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses killing 116 children and 28 adults.

Members of The Salvation Army were among the first on the scene. Officers worked alongside emergency services, community and voluntary organisations providing practical and pastoral support during the recovery operation and in the weeks and months that followed.

Sheila Davies was among The Salvation Army’s personnel serving at Aberfan in the days following the disaster. She recalled two conversations with bereaved parents that have stayed with her for six decades.

“One mother answered the door in obvious agony and said, ‘We knew no happiness until she came to live here, and now that’s been taken away from us.’ Those words have stayed with me ever since,” said Sheila. “On another visit, a man opened the door and simply asked, ‘Where is your God now?’ Even with faith, there are moments when tragedy challenges us. I’m grateful that my faith has sustained me to this day.”

David Tribble was just a teenager when his father, Major Derrik Tribble, was the first officer from The Salvation Army at the scene.

“I was 15 when Aberfan happened and I simply had no way of understanding the enormity of what I was seeing,” said David. “I was just a lad. It was only years later that I fully grasped the scale of the tragedy. Our dad returned from working in the chapel and the mortuary. When he saw my two younger sisters, what he had witnessed suddenly hit him. He looked at them and burst into tears.”

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Roberts, leader of The Salvation Army in Wales, said:

“We remember those who lost their lives in the Aberfan disaster and the families who were changed forever. We pay tribute to the emergency services, voluntary organisations and local people who responded with such compassion and dedication. We also remember with gratitude The Salvation Army officers and members who served the community in its darkest hours.”

The recordings made at The Big Pit will help preserve priceless first-hand accounts of Aberfan for future generations. Steven Spencer, Director of The Salvation Army’s International Heritage Centre, said:

“It was an honour to meet Sheila and David and hear them speak so movingly about their experiences. Recording memories such as theirs is vital to ensure that future generations understand the human impact of one of the worst disasters in Welsh history and that lessons from it continue to be learned.”

Ceri Thompson, Curator of Coal Mining at The Big Pit, said:

“Aberfan is an important moment in modern Welsh history. It was especially moving to hear from someone who attended the scene at just 15-years-of-age, not that much older than some of those children who so tragically died in the disaster.”

Cadw atgofion am drasiedi Aberfan 60 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach

Yn y cyfnod cyn 60fed pen-blwydd trychineb Aberfan, cofiodd cyn-swyddog o Fyddin yr Iachawdwriaeth – a fu’n cefnogi teuluoedd yn syth ar ôl y digwyddiad – dad oedd yn galaru yn gofyn, ‘Ble mae eich Duw chi nawr?’

I nodi’r pen-blwydd ar 21 Hydref, cyfarfu dau aelod o Fyddin yr Iachawdwriaeth a fu’n dystion uniongyrchol i’r trasiedi – Sheila Davies (94) a David Tribble (75) – ym mis Medi yn Amgueddfa Genedlaethol y Glofa Big Pit ym Mlaenafon, de Cymru, i recordio eu hatgofion.

Bydd eu tystiolaeth lafar werthfawr yn cael ei chadw gan yr amgueddfa ac yng Nghanolfan Treftadaeth Ryngwladol Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth yn Denmark Hill, Llundain.

Ar 21 Hydref 1966, dymchwelodd tip sbwriel glofa enfawr – a oedd yn codi 500 troedfedd uwchben tref lofaol Aberfan – yn dilyn glaw trwm, gan foddi Ysgol Iau Pantglas a rhes o dai a lladd 116 o blant ac 28 o oedolion.

Roedd aelodau o Fyddin yr Iachawdwriaeth ymhlith y cyntaf i gyrraedd y safle. Bu swyddogion yn gweithio ochr yn ochr â gwasanaethau brys, a sefydliadau cymunedol a gwirfoddol, gan ddarparu cymorth ymarferol a bugeiliol yn ystod y gwaith adfer ac yn yr wythnosau a’r misoedd a ddilynodd. Roedd Sheila Davies ymhlith staff Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth a fu’n gwasanaethu yn Aberfan yn y dyddiau yn dilyn y trychineb.

Cofiodd ddau sgwrs gyda rhieni a oedd wedi colli eu plant, sgyrsiau sydd wedi aros gyda hi ers chwe degawd. “Agorodd un fam y drws mewn trallod amlwg a dweud, ‘Doedden ni ddim yn gwybod beth oedd hapusrwydd nes iddi hi ddod i fyw yma, ac nawr mae hynny wedi’i gymryd oddi arnom ni.’

Mae’r geiriau hynny wedi aros gyda mi byth ers hynny,” meddai Sheila. “Ar ymweliad arall, agorodd dyn y drws a gofyn yn syml, ‘Ble mae eich Duw chi nawr?’

Hyd yn oed gyda ffydd, mae adegau pan fydd trasiedi yn ein herio. Rwy’n ddiolchgar bod fy ffydd wedi fy nghynnal hyd heddiw.” Dim ond yn ei arddegau oedd David Tribble pan oedd ei dad, y Major Derrik Tribble, yn swyddog cyntaf Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth i gyrraedd y safle.

“Roeddwn i’n 15 oed pan ddigwyddodd Aberfan ac nid oedd gen i unrhyw ffordd o ddeall maint yr hyn yr oeddwn yn ei weld,” meddai David. “Bachgen yn unig oeddwn i. Dim ond blynyddoedd yn ddiweddarach y deallais yn llawn faint oedd maint y drasiedi. Dychwelodd ein tad o weithio yn y capel ac yn y morgue. Pan welodd fy nwy chwaer iau, fe darwyd ef yn sydyn gan yr hyn yr oedd wedi’i weld. Edrychodd arnynt a thorri i wylo.”

Dywedodd yr Is-gyrnol Jonathan Roberts, arweinydd Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth yng Nghymru: “Rydym yn cofio’r rhai a gollodd eu bywydau yn nhrasiedi Aberfan a’r teuluoedd a newidiwyd am byth. Rydym yn talu teyrnged i’r gwasanaethau brys, y mudiadau gwirfoddol a’r bobl leol a ymatebodd gyda chymaint o dosturi ac ymroddiad.

Rydym hefyd yn cofio gyda diolchgarwch swyddogion ac aelodau Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth a wasanaethodd y gymuned yn ei horiau tywyllaf.”

Bydd y recordiadau a wnaed yn Big Pit yn helpu i gadw cyfrifon uniongyrchol amhrisiadwy am Aberfan ar gyfer cenedlaethau’r dyfodol.

Dywedodd Steven Spencer, Cyfarwyddwr Canolfan Treftadaeth Ryngwladol Byddin yr Iachawdwriaeth: “Roedd yn anrhydedd cwrdd â Sheila a David a’u clywed yn siarad mor deimladwy am eu profiadau.

Mae recordio atgofion fel eu rhai nhw yn hanfodol i sicrhau bod cenedlaethau’r dyfodol yn deall yr effaith ddynol o un o’r trychinebau gwaethaf yn hanes Cymru, a bod gwersi yn parhau i gael eu dysgu ohono.”

Dywedodd Ceri Thompson, Curadur Mwyngloddio Glo yn Big Pit: “Mae Aberfan yn foment bwysig yn hanes modern Cymru. Roedd yn arbennig o deimladwy clywed gan rywun a aeth i’r safle pan oedd yn 15 oed yn unig – dim llawer hŷn na rhai o’r plant a fu farw mor drasig yn y trychineb.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was established as a direct result of the regulatory overhaul triggered by the 1966 Aberfan disaster. The tragedy exposed massive gaps in British safety legislation, fundamentally shifting how the nation regulated industrial hazards.

The Regulatory Blindspot Exposed by Aberfan

Prior to the disaster, UK health and safety laws were highly fragmented and reactive. Different sectors were governed by separate rules, such as the Mines and Quarries Act 1954, which primarily focused on the safety of workers within the site boundaries.

When a massive coal waste tip collapsed and engulfed Pantglas Junior School in Aberfan, Wales, killing 116 children and 28 adults, it was not legally classified as a “notifiable accident” because no colliery employees were harmed. This horrific event demonstrated that dangerous industrial practices could severely impact the general public beyond the factory gates without clear legal accountability.

The Robens Report and the Birth of the HSE

The resulting public outrage forced the UK government to rethink public safety entirely. In 1969, Employment Secretary Barbara Castle commissioned a complete review of the country’s safety laws. The committee was controversially chaired by Lord Alfred Robens, the former Chairman of the National Coal Board responsible for the Aberfan tip.

The Robens Report (1972): The committee published a landmark report recommending a unified, flexible, risk-based system to replace outdated and inflexible rules.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974: This groundbreaking legislation enshrined a universal “duty of care”. For the first time, employers were legally obligated to safeguard both their employees and members of the public who could be affected by their activities.
The Creation of the HSE: To enforce this new broad-reaching legal framework, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was officially formed on 1 January 1975.

Ultimately, the HSE grew out of a vital national movement to ensure that an avoidable industrial tragedy like Aberfan would never happen again.