I took one of the most famous photos of the Aberfan disaster - it still haunts me

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. I took one of the most famous photos of the Aberfan disaster - it still haunts me11 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleHuw Thomas , Wales CorrespondentandTony Brown , WalesGetty ImagesSusan Maybank is carried by PC Victor Jones, in a photo taken by Mel Parry after the Aberfan disasterThis story contains upsetting details that some may find distressingIt's one of the most famous photographs capturing the aftermath of the Aberfan disaster, but its success has come to haunt the man who took it. Mel Parry was an 18-year-old apprentice photographer with the Merthyr Express newspaper when he found himself in the south Wales village on his way to work. He began documenting one of the darkest days in Welsh history when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, slid down a mountain and engulfed the village's primary school and surrounding houses, killing 116 children and 28 adults and leaving a lasting scar in Wales.

In the photo, PC Victor Jones can be seen carrying eight-year-old Susan Maybank to safety. The woman to the right is Susan's aunt. Parry snapped the image but "wished he'd never taken it", later abandoning his career as a photographer.

The Details

In December 1966, the picture won the British News Photographer of the Year award, but Parry said he put the success of the image down to chance. He had been on a bus travelling through Aberfan when someone shouted that the school had fallen down. "I happened to be the person on the spot, unfortunately.

"Last surviving teacher of Aberfan disaster still remembers faces of the children who diedThe little girl's belongings that tell the story of the Aberfan disasterWith only one roll of film in his camera, he borrowed more from the chemist and began taking photos almost immediately. One frame would come to define the tragedy on newspaper front pages around the world, though Parry did not realise it at the time. "I never, ever remember taking it.

"The camera was above my head and upside down. I couldn't see what I was taking," he said. The PC in the image was Aberfan's local officer.

What Experts Say

Susan Maybank is in his arms. Her body is limp and she is barefoot. Around them a crowd of relatives and rescuers look on.

The film was rushed away by a young Western Mail reporter, Alun Michael, who would later become Wales' first first minister - he'd raced to the scene from Cardiff. Parry spotted his colleague from the sister paper. "He threw the film across the line of miners.

"He didn't even know he'd taken it," Michael recalls. Despite his photo of Susan Maybank's rescue appearing on front pages and winning awards, Mel Parry says he wished he'd never taken itWithin hours, the photograph was printed on the front page of the South Wales Echo, and soon after appeared in newspapers around the world. The picture brought recognition for Parry, making him the youngest ever recipient of the British News Photographer of the Year award.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.