Pentre Aberfan.
. 
.Aberfan Cemetery.
.
.
Memorial Garden.
.
.
Much to my shame this was my first visit to Aberfan Cemetery to pay my respect to memory of those who died so tragically in the 'Aberfan Disaster', it is perhaps a shame made worse by fact that I am of a Southern Coal mining Family background and my Grandfather was born and bred in Abercannaid so near to Aberfan. I have spent most of my adult life remembering long dead Welsh Princes and heroes and only this 21 October 2009 at last went out of my way to visit Aberfan cemetery and remember those who died there that terrible Autumn Day in 1966.
.
Upon arriving in Aberfan we were having difficulty finding the cemetery and asked a young man directions, he told us he was going to the cemetery himself to pay his respects to members of his family who had been killed. It was but a short journey to the cemetery, the young man we were giving a lift to told us of three members of his greater family that had died in the disaster. If that was impact enough to make one realise the scale of disaster upon this small community then believe me there was and even greater impact to come. As I walked along side the memorial graves and read the names of all those who had died I was overwhelmed with the sadness of it all and it made me feel quite disturbed trying to deal with the scale of what had occured. How the parents and wider families had coped is quite difficult to comprehend but one can but hope somehow solace became possible with the passing of the years.
.
. 
. 
.
.
I passed down the aisles of graves and read the names of the children, and became more and more overwhelmed, not least by the graves of Brothers and Sisters who all died together on that day. It is not difficult especially if ones has children of ones own for ones imagination to dwell on the awfulness of it all and the great grief it brought to the parents, more and more of whom are now dieing with the passing of time with their names added to the inscriptions on the memorials graves. One cannot fail to consider the years in passing of those parents whose children had died, lives not fully lived and no weddings to enjoy or grandchildren to bring joy to age. Yes! a place of great sadness, not an easy place to visit but I now realise it is a place more than any other in Wales people need to visit, with their children at least once in your lives I suggest this to one and all.
.
.
.
On day we made our visit, all graves had fresh wreaths and flowers placed upon them by the Aberfan Memorial Trust, families and also the South Wales Police had placed a wreath by the large steel cross. We placed our flowers beneath the memorial sculpture which appeared to be the place for such brought by those who are not family connected. One may also place flowers in the memorial garden and take opportunity to sit there in peace and quiet to reflect on this momentous event in our nation's history. Yes! indeed what price coal.
.
.
.
.
.
. View from the Vale of Grief.
.
.
COFIWN
.
