Aberfan, Wales 1966 - David Williams

Aberfan, Wales 1966 - David Williams / 36 pages, 5.5 x 8 inches, staple-bound, published by Cafe Royal Books

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The photographer says:

On October 21st, 1966, at 9:15 a.m., Colliery Spoil Tip No. 7, located just south of Merthyr Tydfil in the Taff Valley above the mining village of Aberfan, slipped downhill, engulfing Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. It killed 116 children and 28 adults.

Local residents and miners from Aberfan Colliery arrived within 20 minutes to start the rescue, followed by emergency services and volunteers.

I was an assistant at an industrial and commercial photographer's studio on my way to photograph a road construction site near Merthyr Tydfil. Driving up the valley, I saw people out on their doorsteps. Around noon, I turned on the car radio to hear the news. Realising I was only a few miles away, I drove as near as I could to Aberfan and then continued on foot. Over a few hours I used 1.5 rolls of 120 and one of 35mm.