Aberfan Disaster: 60 Years On, Portraits Honor 144 Victims

Following the Aberfan disaster in 1966, an artist from Llandudno embarked on an extraordinary mission to paint portraits of most of the 116 children who lost their lives, using photographs and locks of hair provided by their grieving families. For the first time, relatives share what these remarkable paintings have meant to them over the past six decades. Huw Thomas discovers how they became enduring symbols of remembrance in a village touched by tragedy. This BBC News report commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, focusing on the artist who painted portraits of the 116 children who died, using photographs and locks of hair from grieving families. Relatives share the paintings’ significance over six decades, and we explore how they became enduring symbols of remembrance in a community forever changed by tragedy.