1961 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the significance of the year 1961 to Wales
and its people
.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and its people
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
.
Incumbents
- Prince of WalesPrince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
- Charles, Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay... - Princess of WalesPrincess of WalesPrincess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
- vacant - Archbishop of WalesArchbishop of WalesThe post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England , and disestablished...
- Edwin MorrisAlfred Edwin MorrisAlfred Edwin Morris was the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of Wales in the middle of the 20th century. After World War I service with the RAMC he went up to St John’s College, Oxford. Ordained in 1924 he became Professor of Hebrew and Theology at St David's College, Lampeter, holding the... - ArchdruidArchdruidThe Archdruid is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd.The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, The Award of the Prose Medal and Chairing of the Bard. From 1932 only former winners of the...
of the National Eisteddfod of WalesNational Eisteddfod of WalesThe National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
- TrefinEdgar PhillipsEdgar Phillips , known by the bardic name "Trefin", was a Welsh poet and served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1960 until his death....
Events
- 16 February - The , a loaded tanker barge bound for SharpnessSharpnessSharpness is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream , is still large .The village of Sharpness is pronounced with the...
from SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, turns over in the Severn EstuarySevern EstuaryThe Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
. - 17 February - The is seen bouncing upside down through the wrecked Severn Railway BridgeSevern Railway BridgeThe Severn Railway Bridge was a crossing across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney, Gloucestershire. It was badly damaged in an accident involving river barges in 1960 and demolished in 1970.-Construction:...
. Her crew of five men were killed. - 8 November - In a referendum on Sunday opening of public houses, the counties of AngleseyAngleseyAnglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, CardiganshireCeredigionCeredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, CaernarfonshireCaernarfonshireCaernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
, CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, DenbighshireDenbighshireDenbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
, MerionethshireMerionethshireMerionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
, MontgomeryshireMontgomeryshireMontgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Montgomeryshire is still used as a vice-county for wildlife recording...
and PembrokeshirePembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
all vote to stay "dry". - 9 November - Rosemarie FranklandRosemarie FranklandRosemarie Frankland was a Welsh beauty pageant contestant who won the 1961 Miss United Kingdom and Miss World titles before becoming an actress.-Biography:...
, originally from RhosllanerchrugogRhosllanerchrugogRhosllannerchrugog is a large village and local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.-History:...
, wins the Miss WorldMiss WorldThe Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
title. - 19 November - During construction of the Severn BridgeSevern BridgeThe Severn Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the River Severn and River Wye estuary. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and...
three men fall into the river. A rescue boat crewed by two men sets sail from ChepstowChepstowChepstow is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the River Wye, close to its confluence with the River Severn, and close to the western end of the Severn Bridge on the M48 motorway...
, not knowing that the three men have been picked up safely by a ferry, the Severn Princess. Two empty tanker barges coming down from SharpnessSharpnessSharpness is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream , is still large .The village of Sharpness is pronounced with the...
collide with the rescue boat, which has no navigation lights. One member of the rescue boat crew is drowned. - Atlantic CollegeAtlantic CollegeThe United World College of the Atlantic, also known as Atlantic College, is an international IB Diploma Programme boarding school in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1962, the school was the first of the United World Colleges and was among the first schools in the world to follow an international...
is established at St Donat'sSt Donat'sSt Donats is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, located just west of the small town of Llantwit Major. The community includes the village of Marcross and the hamlets of Monknash and East and West Monkton. It is named after the 6th century saint, Dunwyd, a friend of...
. - The Llyn CelynLlyn CelynLlyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
reservoir is constructed in the valley of the River Tryweryn in North Wales to provide water for LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, destroying the village of Capel CelynCapel CelynCapel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...
. - Gwynfor EvansGwynfor EvansDr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster ....
becomes president of the Celtic LeagueCeltic League (political organisation)The Celtic League is a non-governmental organisation that promotes self-determination and Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man, known as the Celtic nations. It places particular emphasis on the indigenous Celtic languages...
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Arts and literature
- Portmeirion PotteryPortmeirion PotteryPortmeirion is a British pottery company based in Stoke-on-Trent.-History:Portmeirion Pottery came into being in 1960 when the pottery designer Susan Williams-Ellis and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis took over a small pottery decorating company in Stoke-on-Trent called A. E. Gray Ltd.. Susan...
is founded by Susan Williams-EllisSusan Williams-EllisSusan Williams-Ellis , a pottery designer and the eldest daughter of Clough Williams-Ellis, was best known for co-founding Portmeirion Pottery.-Background:...
. - Keith BaxterKeith Baxter (actor)Keith Baxter is a Welsh theatre, film and television actor.- Early years & RADA :Born in Newport, Wales in 1933. Baxter was educated at Newport High School and Barry Grammar School, Baxter studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, during which period he shared a flat with classmate Alan...
makes his Broadway debut as King Henry VIII in A Man for All SeasonsA Man for All SeasonsA Man for All Seasons is a play by Robert Bolt. An early form of the play had been written for BBC Radio in 1954, and a one-hour live television version starring Bernard Hepton was produced in 1957 by the BBC, but after Bolt's success with The Flowering Cherry, he reworked it for the stage.It was...
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Awards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in RhosllanerchrugogRhosllanerchrugogRhosllannerchrugog is a large village and local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.-History:...
)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Emrys Edwards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - L. Haydn Lewis
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld
New books
- Dannie AbseDannie AbseDaniel Abse, better known as Dannie Abse , is a Welsh poet.-Early years:Abse was born in Cardiff, Wales to a Jewish family. He is the younger brother of politician and reformer Leo Abse and the eminent psychoanalyst, Wilfred Abse...
- The Eccentric - Pennar DaviesPennar DaviesWilliam Thomas Pennar Davies was a Welsh clergyman and author.Born simply William Thomas Davies, in Mountain Ash , the son of a miner, he took the name "Pennar" "as a sign of his identification with the native culture of Wales"...
- Yr Efrydd o Lyn Cynon - Islwyn Ffowc ElisIslwyn Ffowc ElisIslwyn Ffowc Elis was one of Wales's most popular Welsh-language writers.Born Islwyn Ffoulkes Ellis in Wrexham, Elis was educated at the University of Wales colleges of Bangor and Aberystwyth. During World War II he was a conscientious objector and he began writing poetry and prose, winning the...
- Tabyrddau'r Tabongo - W. J. Gruffydd (Elerydd)W. J. Gruffydd (Elerydd)William John Gruffydd , better known by his bardic name of Elerydd, was a Welsh Baptist minister and poet who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales between 1984 and 1987....
- Ffenestri - Richard HughesRichard Hughes (writer)Richard Arthur Warren Hughes OBE was a British writer of poems, short stories, novels and plays.He was born in Weybridge, Surrey. His father was a civil servant Arthur Hughes, and his mother Louisa Grace Warren who had been brought up in Jamaica...
- The Fox in the Attic - Caradog PrichardCaradog PrichardCaradog Prichard was a Welsh poet and novelist writing in Welsh. His daughter, Mari Prichard, was married to the late Humphrey Carpenter....
- Un Nos Ola Leuad - Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
- Fact and Fiction - Dave Waldo - Beat the Drum Slowly
- Emlyn WilliamsEmlyn WilliamsGeorge Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
- George - Raymond WilliamsRaymond WilliamsRaymond Henry Williams was a Welsh academic, novelist and critic. He was an influential figure within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the mass media and literature are a significant contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts...
- The Long Revolution
Film
- Ronald LewisRonald LewisRonald Lewis , was a Welsh actor, best known for his appearances in British films of the 1950s and 1960s.Lewis was born in Port Talbot and made his first screen appearance in 1953. From then on, he averaged one or two films a year until the mid-60s, including classics like The Wind Cannot Read ...
stars in Scream of Fear and Stop Me Before I Kill. - Victor SpinettiVictor SpinettiVictor Spinetti is a Welsh comic actor.-Early life:Spinetti was born in Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales of Welsh and Italian heritage from a grandfather who was said to have walked from Italy to Wales to work as a coal miner...
makes his screen debut in The Gentle Terror. - Clifford EvansClifford EvansClifford Evans was a Welsh actor. As a conscientious objector he served in the Non-Combatant Corps in World War II.During the summer of 1934 he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Open Air Theatre in London....
stars in The Curse of the Werewolf.
Sport
- BoxingBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
- Howard WinstoneHoward WinstoneHoward Winstone, MBE was a Welsh world champion boxer, born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. As an amateur, Winstone won the Amateur Boxing Association bantamweight title in 1958, and a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff-Boxing style:In his early...
wins the British featherweight title. - BBC Wales Sports Personality of the YearBBC Wales Sports Personality of the YearThe BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year is a televised sporting competition, broadcast on BBC Two every year; and the most prestigious annual sport award in Wales. It was first awarded in 1954, and is currently organised by BBC Cymru Wales...
- Bryn MeredithBryn MeredithBrinley "Bryn" Victor Meredith was a rugby union international. Meredith was a mobile hooker, he was selected 34 times for Wales between 1954 and 1962, but missed 2 matches for health and family bereavement reasons....
Births
- 24 January - Tarki MicallefTarki MicallefConstantinous "Tarki" Micallef is a Welsh former professional footballer.-Career:The son of a Greek restaurateur, Micallef was born in the Grangetown area of Cardiff and was a Welsh schoolboy international as a youngster before joining Cardiff City as a trainee, working his way up to the first...
, former professional footballer - 26 March - William HagueWilliam HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, Secretary of State for Wales 1995-97 - 15 April - Kevin Johns, Swansea-born actor, singer and comedian
- 1 July - Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
(d. 1997) - 5 July - Gareth JonesGareth Jones (presenter)Gareth Jones is a Welsh television presenter and celebrity. He began his broadcasting career under the name Gaz Top....
("Gaz Top"), TV presenter - 7 July - Steve BraceSteve BraceSteve Brace is a former long-distance runner from Wales, who represented the United Kingdom in the men's marathon at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. He finished in 27th and in 60th place respectively. Brace triumphed at the Paris Marathon in 1989 and 1990 and at the Berlin Marathon in 1991...
, long-distance runner - 8 August
- The EdgeThe EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
, guitarist (in Barking, London, to Welsh parents) - Simon WestonSimon WestonSimon Weston OBE is a former British Army soldier who became well known throughout the United Kingdom for his recovery and charity work after suffering severe burn injuries during the Falklands War.-Early life:...
, war hero
- The Edge
- 18 August - Huw EdwardsHuw Edwards (journalist)Huw Edwards is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast...
, newsreader - 30 August - Delyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of DrefelinDelyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of DrefelinBaroness Delyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin sits as a Labour Party peer in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. She was raised to the peerage in 2004 and has been appointed as Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Campaign...
, charity worker and Labour peer - 29 September (in Barry) - Julia GillardJulia GillardJulia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, Prime Minister of Australia - 20 October - Ian RushIan RushIan James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
, footballer - 25 November - Nuccia FocileNuccia FocileNuccia Focile , is an Italian soprano.She was born in Sicily, studied in Turin under Elio Battaglia, and made her opera debut as Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at La Scala in 1986. Also in that year, she won the International Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia, following which she made...
, star of Welsh National Opera - date unknown - Twm MorysTwm Morys-Biography:Morys was born in 1961 in Oxford, a son to the author Jan Morris. He was brought up in Llanystumdwy and attended Ysgol y Llan, before attending boarding school in Shrewsbury at the age of seven...
, poet
Deaths
- 18 April - John EvansJohn Evans (Welsh politician)John Evans was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ogmore at a by-election in 1946, but stood down at the 1950 general election.- References :...
, Welsh politician, 85 - 30 April - Charles WilliamsCharles Williams (priest)Charles Stephen Conway Williams was a Welsh Anglican priest and university lecturer.-Life:Williams was educated at Clifton College and Jesus College, Oxford, where he held a Meyricke exhibition open to Welsh students. He obtained a first-class degree in theology and won the Junior Greek Testament...
, academic, 55 - 28 June - Huw MenaiHuw MenaiHuw Owen Williams , who wrote as Huw Menai, was a Welsh poet, a Welsh-language speaker who nevertheless wrote only in the English language. His poems were among the first classic works to be republished as a result of a 2004 incentive on the part of the Welsh Assembly Government.Huw Menai was...
, poet, 74 - 3 July - Albert JenkinAlbert JenkinAlbert Mortimer Jenkin was an English-born rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea, county rugby for Glamorgan and international rugby for Wales.-Personal life:...
, Wales international rugby player, 88 - 1 August - David William ThomasDavid William ThomasDavid William Thomas, Sr. , was a Welsh-American "Renaissance man", journalist, university professor and attorney who served from 1936—1940]] as mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.-Early years and education:A native of Cardiff, Wales,...
, journalist and lawyer, 84 - 13 October - Augustus JohnAugustus JohnAugustus Edwin John OM, RA, was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a short time around 1910, he was an important exponent of Post-Impressionism in the United Kingdom....
, artist, 83 - 20 November - Edwin Thomas MaynardEdwin Thomas MaynardEdwin Thomas Maynard known as Edwin Thomas or "Beddoe" Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Newport RFC...
, Wales international rugby player, 83 - date unknown - Robert Lloyd, author