Browse content similar to 21/10/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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That's all from the BBC News at 6, so it's goodbye from me, | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
It was among this country's darkest days - a generation wiped out, | :00:00. | :00:12. | |
an unimaginable loss of life that changed this village forever. | :00:13. | :00:25. | |
50 years on, the village and the nation come to a standstill | :00:26. | :00:29. | |
116 children and 28 adults died when an avalanche of coal waste | :00:30. | :00:39. | |
collapsed onto their school and nearby houses. | :00:40. | :00:44. | |
Living a life with losing two siblings in our family | :00:45. | :00:48. | |
But I think the community has shown that today, has come together, | :00:49. | :00:56. | |
and we are still as strong 50 years on as what we were then. | :00:57. | :01:00. | |
Among the last to be pulled out alive - | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
this little boy shocked, bewildered, but safe. | :01:06. | :01:10. | |
I didn't know what had happened to me. | :01:11. | :01:14. | |
All I could hear was the shouts and screams of people | :01:15. | :01:18. | |
Obviously, those got less and less as time went by. | :01:19. | :01:23. | |
I tried to get out, but I couldn't move. | :01:24. | :01:28. | |
But amid the grief and sorrow, a story of strength and resilience, | :01:29. | :01:32. | |
of how Aberfan came together to face the future. | :01:33. | :01:54. | |
Once Aberfan was much like any other village in these mining valleys - | :01:55. | :01:58. | |
a village dominated by coal and the vast coal waste tips | :01:59. | :02:04. | |
It was on this street, Moy Road, that Pantglas School stood. | :02:05. | :02:11. | |
But on the 21st of October 1966, at 9:15 in the morning, | :02:12. | :02:16. | |
one of the waste coal tips slid down the mountain, | :02:17. | :02:21. | |
engulfing the school and a row of terraced houses. | :02:22. | :02:24. | |
144 people lost their lives - most of them children. | :02:25. | :02:31. | |
50 years on, a memorial garden and playground stand | :02:32. | :02:34. | |
And today the people of Aberfan have been remembering those who died. | :02:35. | :02:43. | |
And joining them in their silent reflection, | :02:44. | :02:46. | |
Wales came to a standstill to remember that terrible morning. | :02:47. | :02:56. | |
At 9:15am on the 21st of October 1966, Time stood still. Today, | :02:57. | :03:05. | |
exactly 50 years and, Wales and the children of Aberfan fell silent to | :03:06. | :03:08. | |
remember those who perished. 150,000 tonnes of coal slurry that | :03:09. | :03:33. | |
down the mountain. In its path, homes and Pantglas School. Something | :03:34. | :03:39. | |
like a jet came very low and was crashing. All I could see was a | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
terrible black cloud. My neighbours said there was an explosion, and | :03:45. | :03:53. | |
that Pantglas School had gone. I was 8.5. I was buried and rendered | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
unconscious. When I was brought out initially, I was placed with the | :03:59. | :04:02. | |
dead bodies, until someone thought they saw my foot move. But as myself | :04:03. | :04:08. | |
there, that is my father. This is the day after the disaster, a | :04:09. | :04:13. | |
Saturday morning. Gareth was one of the lucky ones. As a six-year old, | :04:14. | :04:18. | |
he was able to climb out of a window. My teacher put a chair next | :04:19. | :04:28. | |
to the window and we kind out. It was a matter of seconds. It was her | :04:29. | :04:32. | |
quick thinking that saved our lives. Everyone nearby rushed to help. | :04:33. | :04:39. | |
There were 50 people there, and they had their normal clothes on, with | :04:40. | :04:46. | |
much all over. The miners came. When they came to me, it was like | :04:47. | :04:50. | |
something from a John Wayne film, the cavalry while driving. The | :04:51. | :04:57. | |
miners went in as part of the rescue team. They quickly realised there | :04:58. | :05:04. | |
was no one to save. It was an adult, we issue a teacher, with her back to | :05:05. | :05:12. | |
me, with their arms stretched out. That was awful. We were trying to | :05:13. | :05:23. | |
protect from the slurry. Every so often, there is absolute quiet as | :05:24. | :05:26. | |
the would-be rescuers and listen to see if anyone is alive underneath. | :05:27. | :05:29. | |
When we were passing the dead children through, one man looked | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
down, looked at me and said, that was my child. It was one of the | :05:35. | :05:42. | |
worst things. He carried on working. You know, he passed his dead child | :05:43. | :05:49. | |
along and he carried on working. I mean, that shows the strength of the | :05:50. | :05:55. | |
people in Aberfan. Never in my life have I ever seen anything like this. | :05:56. | :06:01. | |
50 years ago, news of the disaster spread across the world. Within | :06:02. | :06:04. | |
days, the Queen came to Aber van, the first of four visits to the | :06:05. | :06:08. | |
village. Today, the Prince of Wales joined villagers to lay a wreath. | :06:09. | :06:14. | |
Aberfan showed the world the darkest sorrow, but also the most shining | :06:15. | :06:22. | |
selflessness. 10-year old Mackenzie has a special interest in Aberfan. | :06:23. | :06:27. | |
His grandmother, who is a dud the time, was amongst those rescued. | :06:28. | :06:33. | |
Today, he showed Prince Charles this cool project he had been working on | :06:34. | :06:39. | |
about his family's personal story. My grandmother was one of the last | :06:40. | :06:42. | |
to be pulled out of the disaster. I am paying for she came out alive, | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
otherwise I would not be here today. Coal-mining evicted the physical | :06:47. | :06:50. | |
scars on the townscape of South Wales. With the demise of the | :06:51. | :06:57. | |
industry, the light is Green and pleasant once more. But the deep | :06:58. | :07:01. | |
emotional scars infected and this smoke amenity, who lost a whole | :07:02. | :07:05. | |
generation, still have not healed half a century on. The people here | :07:06. | :07:11. | |
want of the danger of water and tip another seven. They were ignored. | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
The subsequent tribunal blamed the National coal board for ignorance | :07:15. | :07:19. | |
and ineptitude. The tragedy of October 1966 changed Wales for ever | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
and the country came together today to amend what happened, at two hope | :07:24. | :07:27. | |
for a brighter future. Nick Palit on how | :07:28. | :07:30. | |
the people of Aberfan Denise Morgan lost her sister in the | :07:31. | :07:41. | |
school. What are your thoughts today, on this difficult day? | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
It has been a difficult few months as we have led up to the 50th | :07:47. | :07:50. | |
anniversary, really. But I think it is there to say that today has been | :07:51. | :07:57. | |
a fine tribute to those who lost their lives, to the survivors and to | :07:58. | :08:01. | |
those who helped us at that time to overcome the difficulties and to | :08:02. | :08:05. | |
look for the children. It has been a fitting memorial. To have Prince | :08:06. | :08:09. | |
Charles here as well has been wonderful, really. To see groups of | :08:10. | :08:16. | |
people get together that possibly happen seen each other for 30 or 40 | :08:17. | :08:21. | |
years, it was laughter in the Hall this afternoon. I think that is a | :08:22. | :08:26. | |
fine tribute to the drapery and richness of everyone. We have been | :08:27. | :08:29. | |
surrounded by children playing in the playground here, it has been | :08:30. | :08:34. | |
wonderful to hear them playing. I wonder if it becomes easier, 50 | :08:35. | :08:40. | |
years on? It has become easier. This anniversary has been particularly | :08:41. | :08:46. | |
difficult in many ways, but also a lot easier in many ways because | :08:47. | :08:48. | |
people have spoken for the first time, and this is help them overcome | :08:49. | :08:54. | |
their grief over the years. There are many inability wanted to get now | :08:55. | :08:57. | |
and move on. It is a difficult junction, isn't it? Do you move on? | :08:58. | :09:05. | |
It is impossible to forget. It is impossible to forget but we must | :09:06. | :09:08. | |
move on. What has happened today is evidence that people have moved on | :09:09. | :09:13. | |
and will continue to do so. Thank you very much. | :09:14. | :09:14. | |
Tonight, a memorial service is being held | :09:15. | :09:16. | |
at St Mary's Church, a mile from here. | :09:17. | :09:19. | |
You join me as people start to arrive for that service, | :09:20. | :09:30. | |
after a day which has clearly been difficult for so many. | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
Among them, Jeff Edwards, one of the last children | :09:35. | :09:37. | |
He still lives just a short distance from where the school once stood. | :09:38. | :09:44. | |
He's been speaking to me about how the experience has shaped his life. | :09:45. | :09:49. | |
Today, Jeff Edwards still lives in Aberfan. | :09:50. | :09:54. | |
because, in the darkness of the ruined school, | :09:55. | :10:00. | |
This is where I lived at the time of the disaster. | :10:01. | :10:05. | |
37 Aberfan Road, which is the main road that goes through Aberfan. | :10:06. | :10:11. | |
And this was a bustling commercial area then, | :10:12. | :10:13. | |
The morning of the disaster, I left this house here and walked | :10:14. | :10:20. | |
down to the next big house that you see, and that was where | :10:21. | :10:25. | |
the general practitioner lived, David Jones. | :10:26. | :10:31. | |
and, every morning, we used to walk to school together. | :10:32. | :10:36. | |
On that morning, it was no different. | :10:37. | :10:38. | |
We walked to school, but Robert would not return. | :10:39. | :10:42. | |
Every detail of that day is etched in his memory. | :10:43. | :10:49. | |
The noise that we heard was a rumbling sound, | :10:50. | :10:53. | |
and that noise got louder and louder. | :10:54. | :10:59. | |
The teacher assured the children in the classroom | :11:00. | :11:02. | |
that there was nothing to worry about, it was only thunder. | :11:03. | :11:06. | |
was waking up with all this material above me. | :11:07. | :11:15. | |
There were desks, and the roof had fallen down, | :11:16. | :11:19. | |
and I survived because I was in a pocket of air. | :11:20. | :11:23. | |
Above me, I could see the sky, actually. | :11:24. | :11:26. | |
The roof had fallen in, and all the materials around me, | :11:27. | :11:29. | |
there was a little gap at the top, which enabled me to see. | :11:30. | :11:37. | |
That's where I think the rescuers, when they came in to the room, | :11:38. | :11:41. | |
actually saw my white hair through that chink | :11:42. | :11:44. | |
by the local greengrocer, Tom Harding. | :11:45. | :11:56. | |
When I was rescued from the classroom itself, | :11:57. | :11:59. | |
I was thrown out in a human chain, out into the yard. | :12:00. | :12:04. | |
We were seen by medics there, and wrapped up in that blanket. | :12:05. | :12:09. | |
Tom Harding actually carried me out of the school. | :12:10. | :12:12. | |
In that photograph, there is an image of my mother | :12:13. | :12:15. | |
You can see how worried her face is at this time. | :12:16. | :12:21. | |
When you look at that now, what do you think? | :12:22. | :12:26. | |
I think I was a very lucky lad, really. | :12:27. | :12:29. | |
That really gave me the motivation to do things for the community. | :12:30. | :12:40. | |
In the years that followed, growing up with his friends gone, | :12:41. | :12:43. | |
he found it hard to speak to his family about the disaster. | :12:44. | :12:47. | |
But, in the end, it was speaking publicly about his experience | :12:48. | :12:51. | |
First, I think, you've got to come to terms with the problem | :12:52. | :12:56. | |
Once you put that aside, I think the driver then | :12:57. | :13:01. | |
is to do the best that you can with your life, | :13:02. | :13:04. | |
because you were saved for a purpose. | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
Effectively, that's been my motivation and drive, really, | :13:09. | :13:10. | |
to make up for the lost lives that day. | :13:11. | :13:17. | |
So despite building a successful career in London, | :13:18. | :13:19. | |
As well as a cybercafe, he started an award-winning scheme | :13:20. | :13:34. | |
to provide cars for unemployed people. | :13:35. | :13:36. | |
And a dial-a-ride service for the elderly. | :13:37. | :13:39. | |
When I came back and saw how badly affected the community had been, | :13:40. | :13:44. | |
through the cars being stolen, through crime in the area, | :13:45. | :13:49. | |
through young people just hanging around the streets, | :13:50. | :13:51. | |
who would have traditionally gone into the mining industry - | :13:52. | :13:54. | |
really, it was another lost generation | :13:55. | :13:56. | |
The childcare he put in place is a particular source of pride. | :13:57. | :14:06. | |
Helping the village move on has helped him move on. | :14:07. | :14:10. | |
50 years later, he is clear how the world should think of Aberfan. | :14:11. | :14:16. | |
I think they should think of a lively community | :14:17. | :14:20. | |
that's come to terms with its past, that has a future, | :14:21. | :14:26. | |
and one which looks for inspiration in its young people. | :14:27. | :14:33. | |
I don't want them to remember Aberfan for the tragedy. | :14:34. | :14:38. | |
I want it to be remembered as a community | :14:39. | :14:40. | |
that has overcome tragedy, that has built a future. | :14:41. | :14:44. | |
for anyone that's been involved in any tragedy. | :14:45. | :14:50. | |
Jeff Edwards speaking to Caroline Evans. | :14:51. | :14:59. | |
I'll be finding out how the younger generation here | :15:00. | :15:01. | |
and how they are helping the village to move on. | :15:02. | :15:07. | |
First, the rest of the day's news with Lucy. | :15:08. | :15:11. | |
A former North Wales Police Superintendent has been convicted | :15:12. | :15:15. | |
of four counts of historical sexual abuse against two boys. | :15:16. | :15:19. | |
Gordon Anglesea, who's 79, indecently assaulted the teenagers | :15:20. | :15:24. | |
when he was a police inspector in Wrexham in the early 1980s. | :15:25. | :15:27. | |
From Mold Crown Court, Matthew Richards reports. | :15:28. | :15:36. | |
Opting not to answer police questions about his big things, | :15:37. | :15:41. | |
Gordon Anglesea remained defiant to the end. Do you know? I have nothing | :15:42. | :15:46. | |
further to say. In the early 80s, he indecently | :15:47. | :16:07. | |
assaulted a boy who had been brought to his house by John Allen. The | :16:08. | :16:11. | |
predatory paedophile was jailed in 2014 after abusing boys at homes he | :16:12. | :16:22. | |
ran. Gordon Anglesea ran the centre, and | :16:23. | :16:27. | |
sexually assaulted his victim in the showers. Complains were investigated | :16:28. | :16:34. | |
in 2002. The pressure were standards committee is looking at the handling | :16:35. | :16:47. | |
of the case. Gordon Anglesey abuse a position of trust as a former North | :16:48. | :16:50. | |
Wales police officer, all those years ago. That is sickening. The | :16:51. | :16:57. | |
Crown Prosecution Service said he abused his power to prey on his | :16:58. | :16:59. | |
victims and thank them for their bravery in coming forward. Gordon | :17:00. | :17:04. | |
Anglesea left cold by a rear exit, avoiding the media. The judge told | :17:05. | :17:09. | |
him the fight he was an granted bail was not an indication of a soft | :17:10. | :17:12. | |
sentence. You said that the only one, that of imprisonment. His | :17:13. | :17:18. | |
defence barrister acknowledged he would likely spend rest of his life | :17:19. | :17:23. | |
behind bars. Gordon Anglesea sued several | :17:24. | :17:30. | |
publications for the allegations in the 1990s. Ian Hislop says he takes | :17:31. | :17:36. | |
a grim satisfaction in it. Private eye will not be be claiming the | :17:37. | :17:39. | |
damages, saying others paid a far higher price. | :17:40. | :17:42. | |
Securing a good deal for Wales after Brexit was part of the fight, route | :17:43. | :17:56. | |
party conference today. Here is a little editor. | :17:57. | :17:59. | |
In autumnal colours, there are few places as pretty as Klang Lough -- | :18:00. | :18:14. | |
as this. Plaid Cymru say that Brexit will not be pretty unless they | :18:15. | :18:21. | |
secure a deal. They had this message for Theresa | :18:22. | :18:25. | |
May. A voice saying, deliver and exit that works for Wales as well as | :18:26. | :18:31. | |
it possibly can. Yes, Wales voted to leave, but I don't think Wales wants | :18:32. | :18:36. | |
to dig a leave of its senses when it comes to our economic future. | :18:37. | :18:42. | |
APPLAUSE The leader, Leanne Wood, has struck | :18:43. | :18:47. | |
the party's biggest budget deal with chemical labour at the Assembly. On | :18:48. | :18:53. | |
a question and answer session, the question whether it could lead to a | :18:54. | :18:57. | |
future coalition came up. Given the criticism of the Labour government's | :18:58. | :19:01. | |
record in Wales, it is incredible that they could -- is it credible | :19:02. | :19:08. | |
that they could work together? Both parties work in the best interests | :19:09. | :19:11. | |
of Wales. I will not rule out going into coalition with Labour. What is | :19:12. | :19:17. | |
the feeling among delegates? Moving things forward for a better Wales. | :19:18. | :19:27. | |
We did it before. Minority parties, or from coalitions, come off | :19:28. | :19:30. | |
incredibly badly. So why make more problems? In the leader's words, the | :19:31. | :19:35. | |
party is torn about whether to go into government with two labour. But | :19:36. | :19:41. | |
Brexit is much easier. With agreement or out that member ship of | :19:42. | :19:46. | |
the single market cannot be touched. A lot of talk about securing a deal | :19:47. | :19:52. | |
for Wales Gretchen Mike Batt is right. | :19:53. | :19:57. | |
The key point of the single market is it makes it more difficult to | :19:58. | :20:00. | |
control immigration if that is the case. That puts bite, rape against | :20:01. | :20:06. | |
Theresa May and carbon Jones, who says that the referendum result, if | :20:07. | :20:11. | |
it is about anything, is sending a message that something needs to be | :20:12. | :20:14. | |
done about immigration. Plaid Cymru are trying to change that narrative, | :20:15. | :20:18. | |
saying it is not just about immigration, it was about austerity, | :20:19. | :20:22. | |
it was about allsorts of things. The problem I have got is that so many | :20:23. | :20:26. | |
people wanted to leave in Wales and they did so knowing that it would | :20:27. | :20:30. | |
entail leaving the single market as well. Plaid Cymru are insisting they | :20:31. | :20:36. | |
are not in denial about that result in Wales, but there is an accusation | :20:37. | :20:37. | |
that will come their way. Thank you. Sometimes it can be wet and stormy | :20:38. | :20:50. | |
at this time of year, but there is more dry and settled weather to come | :20:51. | :20:54. | |
over the weekend. Some sunshine, but also low cloud, mist and fog | :20:55. | :20:58. | |
patches, with a chilly wind on Sunday. Dryden night, some breaks in | :20:59. | :21:02. | |
the cloud, that will allow some mist and fog patches to form. | :21:03. | :21:05. | |
Temperatures in rural spots dipping close to freezing and with a touch | :21:06. | :21:09. | |
of frost. A chilly, cold so tomorrow morning. Grey and misty in places as | :21:10. | :21:14. | |
well. Some fog patches, the odd spot of drizzle. Otherwise dry. During | :21:15. | :21:23. | |
the morning, the mist and fog will left and clear gradually. Most | :21:24. | :21:28. | |
places are then dry with sunny spells in the afternoon. The shower | :21:29. | :21:33. | |
perhaps later in the far north-east. Top temperatures between nine and 13 | :21:34. | :21:35. | |
Celsius, with a light or moderate breeze. Tomorrow night, dry for with | :21:36. | :21:41. | |
some show was about. Kelly spells, low cloud and best of fog patches. | :21:42. | :21:50. | |
Parts of the West are staying clear with frost batches. One or two | :21:51. | :21:53. | |
showers are possible in mid-North Wales and the marches. Sunniest in | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
the south-west. It will be breezy and gusty easterly winds make it | :21:59. | :22:03. | |
feel cold. The little rain on Monday, but the outlook is mostly | :22:04. | :22:04. | |
dry. Let's return now | :22:05. | :22:07. | |
to Jamie in Aberfan. They are still laying flowers here | :22:08. | :22:16. | |
tonight in the garden behind me. the name Aberfan will always | :22:17. | :22:20. | |
be synonymous with tragedy. But what effect does that have | :22:21. | :22:23. | |
on those born and brought up here? Marjorie Collins | :22:24. | :22:27. | |
lost one of her boys that day, and her grandson, Iwan England, | :22:28. | :22:30. | |
has made a documentary I suppose the most remarkable thing, | :22:31. | :22:33. | |
looking back, is that the disaster didn't affect my childhood | :22:34. | :22:53. | |
in any way whatsoever. I was aware of it, | :22:54. | :22:56. | |
I was aware of the history and of the effect | :22:57. | :22:59. | |
that it had on individuals. But it's a testament to them | :23:00. | :23:05. | |
and to the wider community that it had so little material | :23:06. | :23:08. | |
effect or impact. Whilst I was aware of what had | :23:09. | :23:14. | |
happened, it was perfectly normal for me as a small child | :23:15. | :23:17. | |
to play in the memorial garden, for instance, | :23:18. | :23:20. | |
in the playground next door. The community had made | :23:21. | :23:23. | |
a gargantuan effort to move on, to heal the wounds, and therefore it | :23:24. | :23:29. | |
wasn't front and centre You know, the fact that our family | :23:30. | :23:34. | |
were bereaved wasn't remarkable for a village like Aberfan, | :23:35. | :23:43. | |
because so many others were. And that was just a normal part | :23:44. | :23:46. | |
of the background As I was growing up, | :23:47. | :23:49. | |
I slowly became aware of how this | :23:50. | :23:57. | |
had affected so many other people. you go into their front rooms, | :23:58. | :24:02. | |
and there is a painting of a child You notice surnames in the graveyard | :24:03. | :24:05. | |
of people you know, and didn't realise | :24:06. | :24:11. | |
they'd lost children. As bereaved parents, | :24:12. | :24:14. | |
we had to be strong. that I only had the one child | :24:15. | :24:17. | |
left then, Iwan's father. I only wish that he had | :24:18. | :24:31. | |
a brother or a sister now. I think the one thing that people | :24:32. | :24:37. | |
from outside don't appreciate is the immense work that was done | :24:38. | :24:47. | |
by community leaders and by people who moved to the village | :24:48. | :24:52. | |
to help out the community, especially in the late '60s | :24:53. | :24:55. | |
and early '70s. I really hope that those people | :24:56. | :24:59. | |
who rolled up their sleeves when, most probably, | :25:00. | :25:02. | |
they were suffering greatly, that they vary realise | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
that the generations who came after, benefited immensely | :25:07. | :25:11. | |
from their efforts. They all did whatever they could | :25:12. | :25:16. | |
to bring us back to normal. There's still lots of things that | :25:17. | :25:21. | |
have got to be done. The site where the pit | :25:22. | :25:26. | |
was is still waiting to be developed I think Aberfan will be | :25:27. | :25:29. | |
a very nice place to live. but in some ways | :25:30. | :25:36. | |
they do want to move on. Amidst the immense grief, | :25:37. | :25:48. | |
they've found a strength and a sense of community | :25:49. | :25:51. | |
that has seem them through - that has allowed them | :25:52. | :25:54. | |
to look to the future. It's been a day of public grief, | :25:55. | :25:58. | |
of national grief, but nobody apart | :25:59. | :26:02. | |
from the people of Aberfan can ever truly understand the pain | :26:03. | :26:05. | |
and the magnitude We leave you tonight with an extract | :26:06. | :26:08. | |
from the poet Gwyn Thomas - A nation's heart can never be | :26:09. | :26:25. | |
totally broken. There are always some through distance or | :26:26. | :26:34. | |
indifference whose hearts will never be wounded. The nation's heart is | :26:35. | :26:42. | |
Aberfan. Everyone must have responded to the anguish of that | :26:43. | :26:49. | |
village. It is not possible for us to measure precisely and our own | :26:50. | :26:53. | |
selves and our own flesh the impact of this outrageous misfortune. The | :26:54. | :26:56. | |
Brive do not weep into a night of their own. The fact the faces, the | :26:57. | :27:02. | |
silence of those perished children will be present in the minds of | :27:03. | :27:06. | |
people in all the towns and villages of Britain as they bow their heads | :27:07. | :27:10. | |
in shared sorrow on the chosen day of compassion. | :27:11. | :27:33. | |
No one should have borne the losses you suffered. But no one would have | :27:34. | :27:55. | |
borne them with such strength. We shall be laying at least the | :27:56. | :28:00. | |
beginning of a flower on a stricken minds and bodies of Aberfan. | :28:01. | :28:07. |