This is the memorial garden in Aberfan located at the former Pantglas Junior School which was destroyed on 21 October 1966 following a landslip at the local coal mine. The tragedy killed 116 children and 28 adults.
Recently restored, this is a beautifully laid out area which is accessible for those with mobility needs.
The tree planted by local schoolchildren to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the tragedy.
The tree planted by the then Prince of Wales.
And the tree planted by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 May 1997. The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, had visited the site the day after the tragedy, but the Queen took eight days. This wasn’t a mark of disrespect, she wanted to give time for the rescue work to take place and not distract from that.
Martin Charteris, the Queen’s adviser at the time, acknowledged that his advice to the Monarch had been misguided and she should have gone sooner. However, she returned to the village on several occasions and the community always welcomed her warmly.
A really rather beautiful cat came to say hello when we were walking around. Excuse my shoes, that was a legacy of the climbing I’d just done.
There are no information panels at the memorial garden, but I understand that the design attempts to incorporate the former location of the classrooms. Some of the original stone which survived the destruction of the building has been maintained.
The site is peaceful, calm and dignified, it’s hard really to picture the enormity of what happened here. There’s seating for those who want to reflect, where beauty has replaced devastation. There’s a separate memorial at the cemetery in the village which we visited after this.