‘The children were all the same age as my own’: Alex Jones visits Aberfan

Alex Jones has spoken about the impact of visiting the graves of children killed in the Aberfan disaster while filming a documentary marking its 60th anniversary.

The presenter travelled to the village for the first time to meet survivors, volunteers who joined the rescue effort and young people helping to preserve its history.

In Alex Jones: Un diwrnod yn Aberfan, she visits Aberfan Cemetery, where the inscriptions on the children’s graves bring home the scale of the loss.

“I knew what I was going to see,” she said. “But I think once you start reading the inscriptions on the graves… the children were all the same age as my own. The loss is so terrible…it’s just so sad.”

On October 21, 1966, 116 children and 28 adults were killed when a colliery waste tip collapsed and swept down the hillside, burying Pantglas Junior School and nearby homes.

Among those who share their experiences in the programme is Gaynor Madgwick, who was eight when the disaster struck. She was injured and lost her brother Carl and sister Marilyn.

Ms Madgwick describes living for years with the psychological effects without a diagnosis or support.

“You suffered in silence. You daren’t mention you were struggling with your mental health for fear of being sent to the local mental institution, there was so much stigma around mental health, so nobody talked,” she said.

She now works with healthcare professionals to develop support for children who have experienced trauma.

During the programme, she shows Jones belongings that connect her to her siblings, including Carl’s football and Marilyn’s dress, and explains how they were discovered decades later.

Jones also meets Jeff Edwards, one of only four pupils in his class at Pantglas to survive.

After returning to Aberfan in the 1990s, Mr Edwards helped establish initiatives supporting local young people. His community work has been recognised with an MBE and an OBE.

“It’s doing things that those youngsters who died in the disaster didn’t really have the opportunity to do, so it’s actually making it up for them,” he said.

The documentary also hears from Dewi Meirion Lewis, who was a Swansea University student when he volunteered to help.

Around 300 students offered their services, with Mr Lewis among 30 selected to travel to Aberfan as part of the University of Wales relief team. A rugby player at the time, he was chosen because of the physical demands of the rescue work.

CERN

He later worked at CERN and became a specialist in radiopharmaceuticals, radioactive substances used in medical diagnosis and treatment, but his memories of Aberfan remain vivid almost six decades later.

Alex Jones: Un diwrnod yn Aberfan will be broadcast on S4C at 8pm on Sunday, October 18, following a special edition of Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol – Remembering Aberfan at 7.30pm.

The documentary will also be available on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer, with English subtitles.

On October 21, Jones will present Aberfan: Arwyr ein Cwm, a documentary for children in which pupils from Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd-y-Grug help her explore the stories of people who supported the village.