Aberfan - 60 years
As for many children (one hopes) my future education, motivation and aspirations were framed by my parents. Pivotal was my father, and having the opportunity. Growing up in mid-Wales he had been surrounded by mines and quarries. My grandfather had worked in a slate mine, walking there and back to the village and home.
There was a real fear that I'd end up down working down the mine. Value judgements, courage and community aside, my father witnessed some of the realities of pit/quarry life. So for me, and a brother and sister who followed, it was school, school, school (perhaps you can tell?).
There were many reminders: records of Welsh choirs; films such as How Green Was My Valley. In my early teens this theme was there in English classes, as we read and discussed D.H. Lawrence's, Sons and Lovers. Living near Wigan, we in turn were surrounded by mines, many already closed. Golborne colliery was an exception. There was an accident there in 1979 after we had left school.
Perhaps also it was a sign of a future career pathway, as I noticed the impact of the Aberfan disaster now 60 sixty years ago on my father. I was a similar age to the children who lost their lives. In the news this week it is remarkable, salutary and shaming the similarity with more recent major incidents with loss of life, here in the UK. The lack of regard for accountability, and social justice.
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