His ten-year tenure as National Coal Board chairman hugely influenced his thinking on safety of course. Thanks Tim. A great read Tim and I liked the mention of Bob Dylan in there. "When you've got a disaster like that the last thing you want is to be in the way.

I often wonder about the term “foreseeability”. Daily health and safety news, job alerts and resources. One additional point is that In February 2007 the Welsh Assembly Government donated around £1.5 million to the Aberfan Memorial Charity and £500,000 to the Aberfan Education Charity. All rights reserved. The report of the tribunal of inquiry into the disaster, published in August 1967, savaged the National Coal Board for its lack of a tipping policy and was critical of its chairman, dismissing his evidence as ‘inconsistent’. This remained the National Coal Board’s official view throughout the subsequent 76-day tribunal of inquiry, even though everybody in the neighbourhood knew that the board had been tipping over two springs – a fact confirmed on the Ordnance Survey map. Prime Minster Wilson, while walking around the devastated village (as Robens was accepting honours at the University of Surrey) had looked up at the remaining ominous looking waste tips and promised, ‘Those must go’.

Sommige ouders wisten dat de school weleens als eerste geraakt zou kunnen worden als het mis zou gaan. Any ideas how we’d start a campaign?). He said later that he anticipated a mouthful of abuse or perhaps worse. Good Job, Thanks Dom. Copyright © 2020. Act 1974 were sown. 10 Downing Street, Twee OMT-leden benadrukken dat het effect van de verscherpte coronamaatregelen nog even op zich laat wachten. ‘How close were you to your dead child?’.

Welsh Academic Press. Though blaming Lord Robens for the event itself is unjust, his behaviour and conduct after the event is something that I’d like to remind readers of here. Great to see Tim’s article published again and so timely. Het was zeker geen onvoorspelbare ramp.". In his memoirs he said that when he got to his flat, he phoned Harold Wilson immediately, telling him that the tip had to be removed. En dat al mijn vrienden waren omgekomen. SHP Online is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. De lokale basisschool raakte als eerste bedolven onder een gitzwarte laag modder en puin. Letter to Prime Minister Harold Wilson from a member of the public after the Aberfan disaster, October 1966 (BD 11/3781) Transcript 23rd October 1966 The Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street, S.W. You can only hope lessons are learned. Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. As Always Tim speaks from the heart and head and a very wise head — I do hope that we see his name in the New Years honours list, Tim That’s a very thought provoking and poignant article. In time, Tony Blair’s government repaid the money, but only the original amount of £150,000. As McLean points out, the fund was forced to pay £150,000 to the National Coal Board as a contribution to the cost of removing the tips. Het was een van de grootste tragedies in de Britse geschiedenis. "The horror of that first night stays with me to this day, although the details are now sketchy. He went straight to the station and got the next train. Within days of the tragedy, Harold Wilson’s Labour government had set up an inquiry, chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies. Sarah. judging people through history is not really fair. In terms of fault, health and safety was in an embroyonic state and while it is easy now to identify the causal factors I wonder whether it would have been so obvious back in the period. Best via LinkedIn.

I concur with others’ comments, a very interesting article especially given the timing of the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. Visiting Professor at Plymouth University he is considered a world authority on the subject of behavioural safety, safety leadership and organisational culture. The process was of course utterly traumatic for the bereaved parents and this huge expense and unimaginable upset could have been avoided had Lord Robens presented himself humbly and conceded culpability from the outset. Although he formally offered to resign (many politicians expected him to be dismissed), nobody was prosecuted, dismissed or demoted as a consequence of the disaster. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. S.W. But, as Tim Marsh argues, his conduct at the Aberfan disaster inquiry paints a far less flattering picture.

The CEO of a large client braced himself when, at the funeral of an employee, he was approached by the widow. Great article. In het dorp waren veel zorgen over de veiligheid van de mijnschacht en het zich maar opstapelende mijnafval op de heuvels rond het dorp. Sir, But despite feeling "useless," Snowdon made an impact on the Aberfan community, and on the Prime Minister at the time. Al spreekt ze wel de hoop uit dat deze generatie niet meer hoeft op te groeien met het verdriet en de woede van Aberfan. McLean I and Johnes, M (2000). 1. Maar wel belangrijk. Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the world’s media got there before him and National Coal Board employees dealt with enquiries in his absence. Video Unavailable Excellent article Tim. It would be wrong to retrospectively blame the National Coal Board’s chairman for not presiding over a culture that proactively sought out risk as Hopkins suggests with questions such as “what’s the worst that could happen?”. It’s common consensus that Lord Alfred Robens’ report was excellent and hugely influential. "Maar nu moesten die mijnwerkers hun eigen kinderen uit de modder opgraven.". Which Members of the Royal Family Watch The Crown? it is something that expands day by day as the knowledge data base builds up, but was it truly foreseeable back in those days? They were also well aware that if they followed up reports (that were ignored), the cost of removing the tip might very well mean the pit wasn’t viable and it would most probably be shut down. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence Letter to Prime Minister Harold Wilson from a member of the public after the Aberfan disaster, October 1966 (BD 11/3781) Transcript 23rd October 1966 The Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street, S.W. Watch the trailer for the series below: Princess Margaret's Famous Bathtub Photoshoot, The Crown Season 4: Everything We Know So Far, How 'The Crown' Recreated Princess Anne's Hair, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

Get your hands on this free Barbour download to learn all about statutory inspections in the age of COVID-19, and how the failure to undertake an inspection may result in big problems even when inspectors are hard to get hold of. "When I heard the news of the disaster on the wireless I felt I should be there because I was Welsh and thought the Welsh should stick together," he said. Number 8860726.

All 10 episodes of The Crown's third season are out on Netflix now. It is very difficult to assess the blame of one individual over another, or the body corporate given how things were then (my village, and many others… Read more ». Possibly a poacher come gamekkeper, or someone who was fulfilling his role as a senior civil servant loyal to the great protector of the working class, Labour pm Harold Wilson.

You are a brave man indeed to publically state such a view in todays toadying and politically correct society. v3.0. The whole world are suffering with the victims and relatives and no words can soothe the grief that is felt. Delay and denial So I just got on a train and went straight down," he told WalesOnline in 2006, for a story about the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. Ook werd er op veel plekken om 09.15 uur een minuut stilte gehouden.

But despite feeling "useless," Snowdon made an impact on the Aberfan community, and on the Prime Minister at the time. On arrival at the scene of utter devastation and trauma, he announced that he could say with certainty that this event had nothing to do with the National Coal Board – of that he could assure people. Zo vertelt een vrouw dat ze zich nog herinnert dat ze met een ambulance naar het ziekenhuis werd vervoerd. Deference to authority was crumbling globally and the times were indeed ‘a changing’ to quote the Bob Dylan song released a few years earlier. In 1968, Wilson’s government announced that it needed a contribution from the disaster fund that had been set up, to pay for the removal of the other tips that still hung over Aberfan. Registered in England and Wales. Ga naar het Twitter account van Tim de Wit. Onder hen 116 kinderen. The final promise to remove them was only secured from a shocked and upset Welsh Secretary George Thomas when a raging and incensed delegation tipped slag waste all over the floor of the Welsh Office. I can think of plenty of ways to kick start this.