Last surviving teacher of Aberfan disaster still remembers faces of the children who died

Last surviving teacher of Aberfan disaster still remembers faces of the children who died 8 hours ago Share Save Huw Thomas BBC Wales correspondent Share Save This story contains upsetting details that some may find distressing Even after 60 years, Mair Morgan can still remember the face of the little girl with "beautiful black curly hair" whose body she had to identify. In the wake of the Aberfan disaster - when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, slid down a mountain and engulfed the village's primary school and surrounding houses - teachers were asked to confirm the names of the dead children before they were cleaned up and their parents told. Now, ahead of the 60th anniversary of a disaster that killed 116 children and 28 adults and left a lasting scar in Wales, the last surviving teacher has spoken about how the tragedy remains etched into her memory. "I don't like the month of October at all, because that's what brings it back," said Mair. Now 84, Mair is one of the few surviving adults who witnessed the horrors of 21 October 1966. She had worked at Pantglas Junior School for a year when the disaster happened. That day it was her job to ring the bell to bring children into class. "Ever since I remember, I always wanted to be a teacher, I think it was because my aunt was a teacher." Her childhood ambition took her to her first teaching job in England before returning to the area where she was raised to teach in Aberfan. Mair, who was 25 at the time, remembers the joys of that first year teaching back in south Wales: "I loved it. It was a happy school." The morning of the disaster, unbeknown to those at the foot of the mountain, the large tip had been made unsteady by a build-up of water. Then, at 09:15, the 150,000-tonne pile of slurry came roaring down the slope, crashing into the primary school and engulfing the building. "I heard this terrible noise," said Mair. Her classroom was in a separate building from the main school and, through the windows, she saw a pla...