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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Royal couple meet survivors on their fourth visit to Aberfan, where in 1966 a mining waste heap collapsed and engulfed a school, killing 144 in total The Queen has opened a new primary school in a Welsh village devastated by a horrific mining disaster - marking a poignant return to the site still haunted by the tragedy after 46 years.A total of 144 people, including 116 children, lost their lives when a coal waste tip slid down a mountain, engulfing a school and surrounding houses in Aberfan in 1966.Today, in a show of her continuing support for the former mining community, Her Majesty unveiled a plaque at Ynysowen Community Primary School during the second and final day of her Diamond Jubilee visit to Wales. Continuing support: Left, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Aberfan a few days after the disaster in which 144 were killed. Right, Her Majesty returns to the South Wales village today to open a new primary school Buried: Swarms of villagers and rescue workers surround Pantglas Junior School in Aberfan after a slag heap collapse engulfed it on October 21, 1966 Since the disaster, which all but wiped out an entire generation of the community’s schoolchildren, the Queen has visited the village three times.During today's visit, a survivor of the disaster led the Queen on a tour of the new school.Jeff Edwards was aged eight when he became the last person to be pulled still alive from the rubble of his school.Almost half a century later he is the leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.He proudly showed the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh around Ynsyowen Community Primary School, which is said to symbolise a fresh generation of hope for the valley villagers.'I asked the Queen to come here and open the new school because it represents a new generation of young people in the community,' Mr Edwards said today. 'The Queen has been very, very supportive of Aberfan and has been to the village four times.'This school is a symbol of the regeneration of the community but today is also a time for us to look to the past.'He added: 'It is very emotional for all of us here today. We will be looking back on the friends we lost.'It is also a day of celebration in that we are looking at the regeneration of the community.'He also described how surviving the devastation of the collapse as a child had shaped his outlook on life.'It has given me that motivation and drive to come into public service and to make something for the people who were not so fortunate as myself,' he said.The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were greeted by hundreds of children waving Union flags as they arrived at the eco-friendly school. Survivor: The Queen meets council leader Jeff Edwards, who, aged eight, was the last child to be rescued from the 1966 Aberfan disaster Royal tribute: The Queen, pictured in 1966, lays a wreath to commemorate the victims
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