The little girl's belongings that tell the story of the Aberfan disaster

The little girl's belongings that tell the story of the Aberfan disaster9 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHuw ThomasBBC Wales correspondentBBC10-year-old Marylyn had been keeping a diary of news events before the disaster on Friday 21 October 1966 in the close-knit Merthyr Tydfil communityThis story contains upsetting details that some may find distressingIn her school exercise book Marylyn Minett had been writing about the big events of the 1960s: a rocket launch, a volcano erupting and a shopping trip to Merthyr Tydfil with her auntie Pam."This is not news," her teacher noted in the margin of her book.Weeks later, 10-year-old Marylyn and her teacher would become victims of a news story that spread around the world - when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, slid down a mountain and engulfed the village's primary school and surrounding houses.Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster that killed 116 children and 28 adults and left a lasting scar in Wales, Marylyn's family have donated her school books to Amgueddfa Cymru, Wales's national museum. They are among a number of other items being preserved to help tell the story of those who died on 21 October 1966."Each of these things shows who they were," Marylyn's sister Gaynor Madgwick said.Along with Marylyn's books, Gaynor's family is donating items belonging to their younger brother Carl - who was seven years old when he was killed alongside his sister.Getty ImagesThe collapse of a colliery tip above Aberfan crushed Pantglas Junior School and nearby houses, killing 116 children and 28 adults"They weren't just names in a list, they were children with personalities, with lives, with things they loved," Gaynor said.Carl's football and the belt he always wore with his jeans will be entrusted to the care of Amgueddfa Cymru.Family photoMarylyn and her little brother Carl were among the school children who died in the Aberfan di...