The little girl’s belongings that tell the story of the Aberfan disaster

The little girl’s belongings that tell the story of the Aberfan disaster

As the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan tragedy approaches, a collection of personal items, including Marylyn Minett’s school notebooks, is being donated to Amgueddfa Cymru, Wales’s national museum. These objects, preserved from the 1966 disaster, offer a poignant glimpse into the lives of those affected. Marylyn, a 10-year-old, had once written about significant events of the 1960s in her exercise book—such as a rocket launch, a volcanic eruption, and a visit to Merthyr Tydfil with her auntie Pam. Her teacher, in the margin, simply noted, “This is not news.”

Weeks later, the tragic event that Marylyn and her teacher would become part of unfolded. A coal tip collapsed, sending a mountain of debris sliding toward the village, devastating the primary school and surrounding homes. The disaster claimed 116 children and 28 adults, leaving a profound mark on Wales. Now, Marylyn’s family is entrusting her books to the museum, along with other artifacts, to help preserve the memories of those who perished on 21 October 1966.

“They weren’t just names in a list, they were children with personalities, with lives, with things they loved,” said Gaynor Madgwick, Marylyn’s sister. Her family is also donating Carl’s belongings, including his football and a belt he always wore with his jeans. The recently discovered dress, believed to belong to Marylyn, was found in 2025, wrapped in paper and hidden within the kitchen wall of their former home. Gaynor explained that their father, Cliff Minett, had built the bungalow after the disaster, burying the dress as a way to “preserve Marylyn and ensure something enduring.”

The family’s decision to donate the items reflects a shared desire to honor the past. “It’s the same as these [school] books, Carl’s belt, the football. They will be preserved forever,” Gaynor added. The objects will first be housed at the museum’s collection centre in Nantgarw, where they will be cared for and prepared for research or public display. “People want to see, people want to touch. Because when you touch something that belonged to a child, it makes their story real,” Gaynor emphasized.

Another powerful artifact from the scene is a Welsh language Bible, once owned by Cliff and Anne Bunford. The couple, who lived in Cardiff, had rented a home in Moy Road, Aberfan, to a young family. On the day of the disaster, they arrived in the village and witnessed the destruction. Police permitted Cliff to enter the cordon, where he discovered the house had been swept away by slurry. “When he came back to the car, he was in tears,” Anne, now 92, recalled, saying he urged her to see the devastation for herself. “I saw destruction everywhere. The house wasn’t there, it was just bits of bricks and a chimney,” she said.

“The husband’s gone to work and when he comes back there’s nothing,” Anne described Cliff’s words after finding the remains of their rented home. In the days that followed, he returned to the site, navigating the slurry pile to recover items. Among the scattered remnants, one object remained untouched: the Bible, which had belonged to Cliff’s father. The book, with the family names inscribed inside, was intact at the top of the debris, as Anne remembered. “It sounds sentimental, but he said: ‘dad had the last word,’” she shared.

For years, the Bible rested in the family’s music room in Cardiff, seldom spoken of. Anne kept it hidden, aware of how it stirred painful memories for her husband. After Cliff’s passing in 2018, she chose to gift the Bible to the museum, ensuring it would serve as a lasting memory of the tragedy. “It should be somewhere for other people… as a memory of the terrible disaster,” she said.

Amgueddfa Cymru’s curator, Ceri Thompson, oversees the growing Aberfan collection. “Until five to six years ago, there were no three-dimensional objects,” he noted. “We had reports and paperwork, but actual items from the disaster were rare.” The addition of these personal relics now provides a deeper, tangible connection to the event that shaped Welsh history.