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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
Alarm clock (Smith, c.1950s) recovered from the debris of the Aberfan disaster on 21st October 1966. At 9.13 that Friday morning thousands of tonnes of black coal waste from an unstable tip slid down the mountain. It instantly engulfed Pantglas Junior School and parts of the village killing 116 children and 28 adults. This ordinary alarm clock recovered from the black debris has since become one of the most poignant objects connected with the disaster. The clock hands tell the time it stopped ticking on that fateful day.
The clock was found by Mike Flynn (senior) from Cardiff, who was one of the many volunteers who helped with the rescue operation in the days follwoing the disaster. It is believed that the clock was recovered from one of the gardens of the demolished houses on Moy Road, Aberfan and was used as evidence to establish the time of the disaster in the inquest that followed.
