Case Study
Topic
Inquiries
Incident / Exercise
Incident: The Aberfan Disaster, 21 October 1966
Background and Context
On 26 October 1966, after resolutions by both Houses of Parliament, the
Secretary of State for Wales appointed a Tribunal to inquire into the
causes of, and circumstances relating to, the Aberfan disaster. Sir Herbert
Edmund Davies, a respected south Wales barrister, was appointed chairman.
Davies posed the four broad questions that the Tribunal would look into.
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What exactly happened?
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Why did it happen?
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Need it have happened?
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What lessons are to be learnt from what happened at Aberfan?
136 witnesses were interviewed, 300 exhibits examined and 2,500,000 words
heard. The Tribunal sat for 76 days. It was the longest Inquiry of its type
in British history up to that date.
How the Topic was Handled
Before the tribunal began, the Attorney General imposed restrictions on
speculation in the media about the causes of the disaster. This, together
with the accusations that earlier public inquiries into pit disasters were
often whitewashes, exacerbated the already tense and difficult
circumstances of the Tribunal.
Evidence was given on everything from the history of mining in the area to
the region's geological conditions. Those who took the stand were as
varied as schoolboys and university professors. Lord Robens, the NCB
chairman, appeared dramatically in the final days of the Tribunal to give
evidence and admitted that the coal board had been at fault. Had this
admission been made at the beginning of the inquiry, much of what followed
at the Tribunal would have been unnecessary.
The Tribunal retired on 28 April 1967 to consider its verdict and its
report was published on August 3. It concluded:
“…the Aberfan Disaster is a terrifying tale of bungling ineptitude by many
men charged with tasks for which they were totally unfitted, of failure to
heed clear warnings, and of total lack of direction from above. Not
villains but decent men, led astray by foolishness or by ignorance or by
both in combination, are responsible for what happened at Aberfan”.
Lessons Identified
No evidence exists to state that the inquiry process was handle poorly, but
findings, lessons, recommendations and matters requiring new legislation
were identified and can be found in the Aberfan Inquiry reports.
Contacts for Further Information
www.merthyr.gov.uk
[External website]
