VIDEO: Waterlooville singer-songwriter writes song to mark Aberfan disaster

A singer-songwriter from Waterlooville has penned a song to mark the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster.
Amy Goddard  

Picture by: Malcolm WellsAmy Goddard  

Picture by: Malcolm Wells
Amy Goddard Picture by: Malcolm Wells

‘Remembering Aberfan’, by Amy Goddard, tells the story of the horrific events in the Welsh mining town on October 21 1966.

More than 140 people, including 116 children, lost their lives when a mountain of coal waste slid down into a school and houses.

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Amy, 37, grew up in nearby village Trelewis and used to pass the Aberfan site every day on her way to school.

She was inspired to pen her song after reading about the disaster and how it affected the village.

She said: ‘I always knew what had happened in Aberfan, but it was only when I sat down to do the research that I realised how shocking it was.

‘I knew it was coming up to the 50th anniversary and there was a lot of coverage around it.

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‘Having grown up so close to where it happened I thought I would be in a position to write something that people in the village would accept.’

As part of her research Amy, who works as a music teacher, read the details of the tribunals into the disaster - something she described as ‘harrowing’.

She said: ‘I hadn’t realised how horrific it was. It is a very moving subject.

‘When you’re writing it does play on your mind. I wrote a lot of the lyrics at night and that was when I started putting something together.

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‘It is very important to remember it and remember that there was a large of amount of negligence [leading to the disaster], and a lack of concern for the safety of the working people.’

As well as remembering the victims, Amy’s song has also reached the semi-finals of a national competition.

The music video was chosen for the UK Songwriting Competition, and next month she will find out if she has reached the final.

The video contains images of the village and the disaster scene.

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Amy said: ‘It went in the music video category which I thought was a bit strange, but it’s a really nice achievement and hopefully more people will watch the video.

‘I’ve had quite a good response to the song. People have said it is very moving.’

All proceeds from the track are going to the Aberfan Memorial Charity.

To buy the song go to amygoddardmusic.co.uk, or to Bandcamp or iTunes.

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