Christians who offered comfort and support following the Aberfan mining disaster have spoken of their experiences on the 60th anniversary of the tragedy.
On 21 October 1966 heavy rainfall caused the collapse of a large colliery spoil above the mining town of Aberfan in Wales. The collapsing spoil engulfed Pantglas Junior School and nearby houses, killing 116 children and 28 adults.
Methodist minister Irving Penberthy, now 96, spoke of his experiences that day. He had actually been on his way to Pontypridd when he was passed by emergency vehicles on the road.
At first he did not take much notice as it was not uncommon for emergency vehicles to go to the colliery.
“But a thought kept occurring - ‘you must turn back’. Looking back on it, I’d say it was the voice of God," he told the Methodist Church.
Arriving at the scene, police permitted Irving to enter the village as a clergyman.
“I realised something was wrong then; I realised the tragedy of it all," he said, describing people "digging away at the ruins of the school".
"At the time, we didn’t know the nature of this slurry, and we had hopes that with all this digging the children would be rescued. But as the day went on, we realised this was a serious disaster and saw the little bodies coming into the chapel," he said.
Despite the passage of over half a century, Irving said the memories of parents searching for their children still brings him to tears.
“It was the fathers who went into the chapel to identify the children, and they were the fathers of our Sunday school children, so I knew many of them," he said.
"I went in with them to identify their children and that was the most traumatic experience of all. When they lifted the blanket and found their little child they burst into tears and I burst into tears with them.
“We couldn’t say anything, it wasn’t the time for words. I called it ‘the ministry of tears’."
Former Salvation Army officer Sheila Davies, now 94, was another witness to the aftermath of that terrible tragedy.
Davies was part of The Salvation Army’s response in the weeks and months following the disaster, offering both practical and pastoral support.
In particular she remembers some of the conversations she had following the disaster.
“One mother answered the door in obvious agony and said, ‘We knew no happiness until she came to live here, and now that's been taken away from us.’ Those words have stayed with me ever since.
“On another visit, a man opened the door and simply asked, 'Where is your God now?' Even with faith, there are moments when tragedy challenges us. I'm grateful that my faith has sustained me to this day.”
The anniversary of the Aberfan disaster is to be marked by a royal visit from the King, Queen and Prince of Wales to the Aberfan Memorial Garden, for a moment of prayer and meetings with survivors.
