The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees.
The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle Network Route 8 that continues to Holyhead, and is substantially off-road.
The River Taff is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the River Severn estuary is in Cardiff.
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Gerald Jones of the Welsh Labour Party. It was established for the 1983 general election.
Bedlinog is a small village located in The Taff Bargoed valley, 10 km (6 mi) north of Pontypridd, 10 km (6 mi) north west of Caerphilly and 10 km (6 mi) south east of Merthyr Tydfil in south-east Wales. It is currently in the south of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, but until 1974 was part of Gelligaer Urban District Council in the county of Glamorgan.
Cwmfelinfach is a small village located in the Sirhowy valley of south-east Wales. It is part of the district of Caerphilly within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is located north of Wattsville, about 5 miles north of the nearest town Risca, and south of Blackwood. To the east the valley is bordered by the hills of Pen-y-Trwyn. To the west is Mynydd y Grug.
Stephen Owen Davies was a Welsh miner, trade union official and Labour Party politician, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Merthyr Tydfil, previously Merthyr for nearly 38 years, from 1934 to 1972. In 1970, well past 80, he was deselected as parliamentary candidate by his local party association because of his age. He fought the election in the 1970 general election as an independent candidate and won comfortably, a rare example in British politics of an independent candidate defeating a major party's organisation. In a BBC TV interview the day after that election, he claimed to be 83 years old.
Vaynor is a village and community in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales, United Kingdom. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 3,551.
Merthyr Vale is a linear village and community in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff.
Gelligaer is a community in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales, in the Rhymney River valley. As well as the village of Gelligaer, the community also includes the small towns of Hengoed and Ystrad Mynach. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 18,408.
Aberfan railway station served the village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. Opened by the Quakers Yard & Merthyr Railway, a joint Great Western Railway / Rhymney Railway Joint operation, it became part of the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923. Passing on to the Western Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948, it was closed in 1951.
Aberfan is a former coal mining village in the Taff Valley 4 mi (6 km) south of the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
Mynydd Merthyr is a broad ridge of high ground between Taff Vale and the Cwm Cynon in the Valleys region of South Wales. It forms the boundary between the unitary authorities of Rhondda Cynon Taff to the west and Merthyr Tydfil to the east.
Cefn-coed-y-cymmer is a small community on the northwestern edge of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales. It is situated in the neck of land between the rivers Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan at their confluence. The village lies within the community of Vaynor. Immediately to the north of the village is the hill of Cefn Cil Sanws on the southern slopes of which is Merthyr Tydfil Golf Club. The village is bounded both to the north and the west by the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. In mid 2018, it had an estimated population of 60,183. It is located in the historic county of Glamorgan and takes its name from the town with the same name. The county borough consists of the northern part of the Taff Valley and the smaller neighbouring Taff Bargoed Valley. It borders the counties of Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west, Caerphilly County Borough to the east, and Powys to the north.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is located in the historic county of Glamorgan in Wales and takes its name from its largest town. The county borough covers an area of 111 km2 (43 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 60,400 in 2020.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is located in the historic county of Glamorgan in Wales and takes its name from its largest town. The county borough covers an area of 111 km2 (43 sq mi) and had a population of approximately 60,400 in 2020. There are ten structures on the list of twelve Grade II* listed buildings in Merthyr Tydfil. Two viaducts constructed as part of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway both straddle the borders of neighbouring communities so have separate designations for each of these locations.
The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan Disaster, chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies, was established in 1966 to inquire into the causes of and circumstances of the Aberfan disaster. The report of the tribunal placed the blame for the disaster on the National Coal Board (NCB), naming nine of its staff as having some degree of responsibility.
