As well as the catalogued material, the Dowlais archive contains the letters of condolence which were sent to the village in the months following the disaster. The collection, which is made up of at least 50,000 letters, was originally stored in the Aberfan community centre before being given to Merthyr Borough Library. The letters vary from simple one line notes to long accounts of the writer's own grief and most were accompanied by donations ranging from a few pennies to hundreds of pounds. The majority of the collection came from Britain but it also includes messages from across the world.
Even a quick read of a handful of the letters shows the extent to which to which many people were touched to the disaster. Coal mining communities across the country felt particularly close to the tragedy, as did other mothers who had lost children in accidents or illness. People with Welsh relatives, backgrounds or even just holiday memories wrote of the warmth of the nation and its people. Through such varied connections many felt a personal affinity with the bereaved of Aberfan. However, most people, especially parents and children, were simply shocked by the sheer scale of the tragedy and the tender age of so many of the victims. Individually, the historical value of the letters in the archive may be minimal but collectively they are a testament to the grief that the world shared. That so many people were motivated to, not only donate money, but take the time to put pen to paper is evidence of the caring side of humanity that is too often overlooked by history.
The collection is currently stored in eleven large boxes with most of the letters having been classified by origin and then divided into paper bags accordingly. These categories were presumably drawn up by the organisers and volunteers of the Aberfan Disaster Fund upon the letters' arrival. There are also a large number of loose letters in two of the boxes that appear to be grouped approximately by origin and probably represent the contents of lost bags. A resident of Aberfan has begun sorting some of the loose letters. She has created two folders of letters in Welsh or various foreign languages and a series of folders of letters addressed to a local minister.
The collection also contains a number of miscellaneous items relating to the administration of the Disaster Fund. Receipt books for the first 50,000 donations list the names of the donors, each of whom were allocated a number which was written on to the relevant letter. However, the receipts do not identify the bag in which each letter is stored. It is estimated that the majority of these 50,000 letters are still in the boxes. The Disaster Fund estimated that it received nearly 90,000 donations. Any letters that accompanied the other 40,000-odd donations do not appear to have been preserved.
NB Because of the sensitive nature of some of the material in this collection, public access is currently restricted.
Box One
Aberfan Disaster Fund Book, (Receipts 651-700)
ADF letters in new folder
Bags of Letters (donation/sympathy) labelled
- Churches
- Churches, chapels
- Hotels & clubs
Box Two
Bags of Letters (donation/sympathy) labelled
- Masonic lodges, RAOB, Old fellows, Foresters, Rechabites, Rotary
-GPO, Fire service, MPs, political parties & clubs, Civil defence, Electricity boards, Gas, HM prisons
Loose carrier bag of letters of donation/sympathy
Bag of letters labelled 'Grievous loss queries'
Bag of letters labelled 'Enquiries regarding receipts, Misc letters re donations, receipts retained
Miscellaneous ADF minutes from early 1970s
Box Three
Bags of letters labelled
- letters of sympathy acknowledged G
- letters of sympathy acknowledged H
- letters of sympathy acknowledged I
- letters of sympathy acknowledged D
Two modern folders of letters labelled 'Foreign & Welsh language'
Bags of Letters (donation/sympathy) labelled 'Private'
Loose letters
Box Four
Bags of Letters (donation/sympathy) labelled
-Private
-hotels, Public houses, Clubs (of all descriptions), restaurants
Bag of card indexes of children at Pantglas Schools, October 1966.
-Used by ADF to award each child £200 when 21. List drawn up in 1971.
Bag of receipts for donations
Box Five
Bags of Letters (donation/sympathy) labelled
- Anon
- Firms, factories. companies, offices etc.
- Private
Box Six
New folder containing
-Tallies of donations
-Letters of Donations etc.
Bags of letters of donation/sympathy labelled
- Churches, chapels etc.
- Private donations
- Local Authorities: town halls, councils, welfare dept. ambulance depots.
Box Seven
Loose letters of donation/sympathy (mostly from schools and private individuals)
6 folders of letters to Rev. Penberthy
Bag of letters of donation/sympathy labelled 'Private'
Box Eight
Bags of letters of donation/sympathy labelled
- Poems
- Wishes J-Q
- Unions
- Private (containing bag of coal tip material?)
Box Nine
Bags of letters of donation/sympathy labelled
-Private
- Hotels, public houses, clubs (all descriptions), restaurants
- Scouts, Brownies, guides, Cubs, Red Cross, St. John, youth clubs, OAP, Derbyy Joan[sic]. Two bags.
- Choirs, bands
Box Ten
Bags of letters of donation/sympathy labelled
- NCB miners
- Specific CDE, sorted and cat.
- Private
- MNO specifics
- Suggestions
- Anon
Box Eleven
Bag labelled 'Expressions of sympathy'
5 books of lists of donors, Numbered 1 - 50,000