MineArchive
Aberfan Memorial Garden
| Category | Art |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 October 1966: the tip slide. March 1973: garden opened by the Queen. May 1997: tree planted by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. October 2016: fiftieth anniversary. February 2022: registered by Cadw. |
The memorial garden at Aberfan stands on the site of Pantglas Junior School, destroyed on 21 October 1966 when a waste tip from Merthyr Vale Colliery slid down onto it, killing 116 children and 28 adults. It was opened by the Queen in March 1973.
The mining history in this record
On the morning of 21 October 1966 a tip of waste from Merthyr Vale Colliery slid down the hillside above Aberfan onto Pantglas Junior School, a farm and some twenty houses. 116 children aged between seven and ten died, out of a total of 144. The inquiry blamed the National Coal Board, which owned the colliery and its tip.
The disaster fund paid for a community centre and for a memorial garden on the site of the school, which the Queen opened in March 1973.
People
Unknown.
Legacy today
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh planted a tree in the garden in 1997, and the fiftieth anniversary was marked there and at the cemetery in October 2016. In 2022 Cadw registered the cemetery, the garden and the tip and its slide path together at Grade II*.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- The Aberfan Memorial Garden is on the site of Pantglas Junior School, destroyed when a Merthyr Vale Colliery tip slid onto it on 21 October 1966. (documented fact) 1,2
- 116 children aged seven to ten were killed, out of 144 dead. (documented fact) 2
- The garden was funded by the disaster fund and opened by the Queen in March 1973. (documented fact) 1
- The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh planted a tree there in May 1997, and memorial events were held at the garden in October 2016, the fiftieth anniversary. (documented fact) 1
- In February 2022 the cemetery, the memorial garden and the tip and its slide path were registered at Grade II* by Cadw. (documented fact) 1
Mines
- Merthyr Vale Colliery — Rhondda Cynon Taf
The garden marks the site of Pantglas Junior School, buried by a Merthyr Vale Colliery waste tip in 1966.
Disasters
- Aberfan disaster, 1966 — 21 October 1966
Sources
- (secondary) Aberfan disaster — Wikipedia
- (observational) Aberfan Memorial Garden (Geograph 3380467) — Geograph
- (secondary) Garden of Remembrance, Moy Road, Aberfan (NPRN 411051) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026