Volume One - Into the Victorian Age - Rhondda coal = Cardiff gold . . .

One other problem associated with coal mining is what to do with the spoil dug out from the mine. One of the most upsetting events of my life was the disaster at Aberfan in 1966.

"At Aberfan, the Merthyr Vale colliery began to produce coal in 1875. Spoil from the mine workings was piled close to the village which had grown nearby. Tipping went on until the 1960's. The industry was by now nationalised but even the National Coal Board failed to appreciate the true nature of the monster they helped to create. In October of 1966 heavy rain made the giant tip unstable. The recent dumping of small particles of coal and ash known as tailings seems to have been partly responsible. A thirty foot high black wave tore across the Glamorgan canal and swept away houses on its path towards the village school. One hundred and fourteen children and twenty eight adults were killed." [245]

It touched my life as a former playing member of the championship section Treochy Youth Brass Band, which grew up and merged with the Parc and Dare Band. I was asked to perform at the Treorchy Hall with the band together with the wonderful Treorchy Male Choir on the Saturday evening following the tragic events a few miles away at Aberfan. It will remain with me all my days as the most glorious noise I have ever been involved with. To say it was an emotional outpouring would do the people of Treorchy, the Valleys and the Welsh people a gross injustice.