Aberfan disaster survivor Jeff Edwards 'honoured' to receive OBE from King Charles

This story contains upsetting details that some may find distressing

Aberfan disaster survivor Jeff Edwards said it was "a great honour and a privilege" to be presented with his OBE by King Charles.

The then eight-year-old was one of 240 pupils at Pantglas Junior School when a coal waste tip came crashing down a hillside, engulfing the school and surrounding homes, nearly 60 years ago. On that day - Friday 21 October 1966 - 116 children and 28 adults died in the close-knit Merthyr Tydfil community.

Edwards was given his OBE for his services to fellow survivors of disasters, to charity and to the community in Aberfan in a ceremony held at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

Edwards, who is the Deputy Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan, was the last child to be brought out alive from the wreckage of the school.

He told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that it was "absolutely wonderful" to receive the honour from the King, who he had hosted on his last visit to Aberfan when he was Prince of Wales. "He said 'nice to see you again Mr Edwards', because I've met him several times before, and he enquired as to how the wives' group were doing because he has got a favourite spot for them," he said.

Edwards said he had also met the Queen on several occasions and "she always used to call me 'the boy with the white hair'".

"I said to the King, little did I know an eight-year-old buried in the disaster in Aberfan would be standing before the King and receiving this medal, it's totally unreal really," he said.

Recalling what happened on 21 October 1966, he said: "I remember a thunder sound before the disaster happened and the teacher reassuring us that it was only thunder and the next thing waking up with a dead girl on my shoulder." He said he could see light coming in above him and he heard screams and shouts around him.

Edwards was dug out by fireman Roy Thomas, who he was reunited with many years later when he was Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil, adding that he was glad to have been able to personally thank him "for saving my life all those years ago".

Edwards said it was important that his experience of being involved in the disaster could inform the development of services for other people. The former High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan said: "I think it's important really that survivors of any disaster or any tragedy have the proper support for them to get through the trauma of being involved in such an accident."

He said he had been involved in the Hillsborough Charter for the bereaved and survivors. This included "working with people from Hillsborough, from the Manchester bombing and from Grenfell in getting together a charter that all public services in Wales have now adopted as an important way forward".

The Hillsborough Charter is an effort to learn lessons from past mistakes where victims were unsupported, ignored or blamed by those that should have been there to support them. It compels bodies such as the police to tell the truth and avoid "defending the indefensible". Each signatory will be expected to be open, honest and transparent with victims, and when they face public inquiries.

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:00

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:00 will be cancelled.

This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58 will be cancelled.

This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

"It looks like it always did, where did all the money go?"

Minor change to 23:08 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads service

Due to engineering work, the 23:08 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads service will change direction of travel between Lawrence Hill and Bristol Temple Meads, and arrive at Bristol Temple Meads approximately 7 minutes later than normal.

Storm Dave set to batter UK with gales and blizzards over Easter weekend

Storm Dave has been named by the Met Office and threatens to bring severe gales and blizzards in the north of the UK over the Easter weekend.

Yellow warnings for wind and snow have been issued for Saturday night and Sunday with a deep area of low pressure expected to pass across the north-west of the country.

Damage, power cuts and travel disruption are likely.

It is just one part of a very mixed Easter forecast which will bring heavy downpours alongside spells of warm sunshine.

Huge temperature contrasts across the USA and Canada have helped to supercharge the jet stream - the flow of strong winds high in the atmosphere that spins up weather systems and guides them around the globe. And confidence is growing that this will propel a deep area of low pressure towards the UK on Saturday.


The centre of Storm Dave is expected to pass across the north of Scotland

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for wind covering all of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as large swathes of northern England and north Wales.

The warnings are valid at various times on Saturday afternoon, overnight and into Sunday. Widespread gusts of 50-60mph (80-97km/h) are expected with the chance of 70mph (113km/h) gusts in exposed areas, especially around coasts.

Central and northern parts of Scotland could see winds peaking at 80-90mph (129-144km/h) with large waves bringing dangerous conditions along the coasts.

Winds as strong as these bring the threat of damage, power cuts and significant travel disruption. Some roads and bridges could close, which could have major impacts on what is predicted to be the busiest Easter in four years for drivers.

Disruption to train and ferry services is also possible.

(BBC article continues)

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59
13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57

13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56

20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Leaves a southbound timetable gap from 06:29 to 11:31.  On a frequency like ours, every train matters.

I think in this case the good reason was the train involved may well already have been on the Avon Valley line when it was stopped.   Realtimetrains shows the delay was at the junction, but following trains towards Chippenham were not disrupted so the line must have been clear.  It could have been put into the goods loop but I am not sure that is cleared for passenger use.

<soapbox>Co-incidentally, I was just in the process of (locally) writing up our summer Melksham timetables for this summer as your email landed, and chatting with Lisa as to how we simply tell people about the best way from our town into Bristol which is such a major regional destination.   Google came up with six options for an immediate departure, all different routes, over the next two hours … and then we got on to talking about how the information is combined and available, pos and cons, and the fares.

The journey from Melksham to Bristol is such that you can more or less walk up to any one of eight different routes as far as Bath.  Returning home, it’s a bit of a nightmare as the routes diverge from each other in Bath and you have to know / research which one there happens to be a service on next or indeed if it’s running outside core hours and how long the wait is for the next service.   The icing on that unholy cake is also being aware of fares and fare implications, and whether services are running to time or you are going to be dumped at [change place] with a wait of 2 hours plus …

Joining up better is so much overdue.  I was talking that through with a community friend the other day and it’s a given that in London this works already.


And I would hope more that just “cities and towns”.  How about all public transport irrespective of whether passengers are travelling through brown or green?
</soapbox>

Better Connected: tap-and-go travel across trains, trams and buses announced in government's new transport strategy

Strategy sets the direction for a more joined-up transport network that works better for passengers, drivers and communities across England.

Tap-and-go travel across buses, trains, and trams will benefit more cities and towns across England after the government announced more local powers for contactless travel today (2 April 2026). 

Local leaders are being given the tools to replicate joined-up systems already in place in areas like Liverpool, London and Nottingham, where passengers travel seamlessly across the city on different transport while tapping their bank card as payment – without juggling multiple tickets or apps. 

Limpley Stoke bridge again.  Stopped the stock from Bristol reaching Westbury.

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34 has been cancelled.

This is due to a road vehicle colliding with a bridge earlier today.

08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26

08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26 will be cancelled.

This is due to a road vehicle colliding with a bridge earlier today.

Was it all just one big April Fool's Joke?

What other really close stations are there?  Culrain to Invershin?

date?