A Welsh village on Friday marked the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster which killed 116 children and 28 adults when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, engulfing a school.
The 1966 tragedy shook Britain and provoked a huge outpouring of sympathy as a generation of children mostly aged seven to 10 were all but wiped out -- and the few survivors have battled with their memories ever since.
Some 150,000 tonnes of coal waste slid down the hillside before engulfing Pantglas Junior School at 9:15am on October 21, 1966.
Had the landslide happened 20 minutes earlier, the classrooms would have been empty. Had it struck a few hours later, the children would have already left to start their half-term holiday. No survivors were found after 11:00am on the day of the disaster.
Residents in Aberfan, north of Cardiff, took part in a day of commemorative events, attended by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
The heir to the throne read a message from his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who had visited the grief-stricken village with her husband Prince Philip to pay their respects in the days after the disaster.
"You are in my own and my family's thoughts, as well as the thoughts of the nation," the message read.
She remembered the dead and also the "hundreds more who have lived with the shock and grief".
"I well remember my own visit with Prince Philip after the disaster, and the posy I was given by a young girl, which bore the heart-breaking inscription, 'From the remaining children of Aberfan'.
"Since then, we have returned on several occasions and have always been deeply impressed by the remarkable fortitude, dignity and indomitable spirit that characterises the people of this village."
Marilyn Morris, 64, spoke of the stoicism with which the village internalised its grief.
"There were six children from my street that died. We just blanked it from our minds, nobody spoke about it," she said.
"It was such a shock that we couldn't bring ourselves to talk about it but now we are and we are feeling much better for it."
An emotional memorial service was held in the local cemetery.
A minute's silence was observed across Wales.
Survivor Irene Hollett, 58, said: "I really feel for the parents of those who died, because seeing us grow up and even be here today it must be hard for them because we are a reminder of what their son or daughter could have been like."
Diane Fudge, 58, lost her twin sister Daphne in the tragedy.
"This has been the first time I've ever come to an event in connection with the disaster," she said.
"I'm finally facing my demons." AFP
