dcf.cymru stimulus sheet · History · Year 11

Six claims about the Aberfan disaster

Treat this sheet with the seriousness it deserves. 144 people died at Aberfan on 21 October 1966. The claims below are the kind of thing that circulates online. Some are accurate, some are wrong, and some are half right. Check each one.

A note on tone

This is a real disaster within living memory for families in Merthyr Tydfil. Pupils check claims against archive sources; they do not debate whether the deaths mattered.

Claim 1 — seen in a forum post

“144 people died at Aberfan and 116 of them were children.”

Claim 2 — seen in a video caption

“Aberfan happened because of an earthquake under the valley.”

Claim 3 — seen in a comment thread

“Nobody was ever prosecuted, sacked or demoted over Aberfan.”

Claim 4 — seen in a quiz app

“The public inquiry into Aberfan lasted three days.”

Claim 5 — seen on a revision site with no author

“Aberfan led directly to a new UK law about colliery tips.”

Claim 6 — seen in a social media post

“The head of the Coal Board always denied his organisation was to blame.”

Approved sources — use these, in this order

  1. The UK government’s inquiry summary, “The Aberfan Disaster, 21 October 1966” — who set up the tribunal, how long it sat, and what it concluded, including the sentence beginning “a terrifying tale of bungling ineptitude…”: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
  2. British Geological Survey landslide case study — what physically happened to Tip 7, and the casualty figures: bgs.ac.uk
  3. legislation.gov.uk — the text of the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969: legislation.gov.uk
  4. BBC News Wales — for anniversary reporting and interviews: bbc.co.uk/news/wales
  5. Full Fact, “How we fact check” — the method, if you are unsure how to record a verdict: fullfact.org

The four verdicts you may use