1972 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1972 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 - Secretary of State for WalesSecretary of State for WalesThe Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
- Peter Thomas - 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...
- Gwilym Owen WilliamsGwilym Owen WilliamsGwilym Owen Williams was Bishop of Bangor from 1957 to 1982 and Anglican Archbishop of Wales from 1971 to 1982.... - 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 :...
- BrinleyBrinley Richards (1904-1981)Brinley Richards was a Welsh language poet and author, who was Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1972 to 1975....
Events
- March - The passing of the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
transforms Wales into eight counties. - May 3 - Leslie HarveyLeslie HarveyLeslie Cameron "Les" Harvey was a guitarist in several Scottish bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, most notably Stone the Crows....
, guitarist of Stone the CrowsStone the CrowsStone the Crows were a blues band formed in Glasgow in late 1969.-History:The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to Les Harvey by his elder brother, Alex Harvey...
, is fatally electrocuted while performing at 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...
's Top Rank Suite. - December 11 - The Duke of Edinburgh opens Rhoose AirportCardiff International AirportCardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
. - Opening of WylfaWylfaThe Wylfa Nuclear Power Station is situated just west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, North Wales. Its location on the coast provides an excellent cooling source for its operation...
nuclear powerNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
station. - Opening of the new Britannia BridgeBritannia BridgeBritannia Bridge is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans for carrying rail traffic...
linking Anglesey with mainland Wales (following the destruction of the previous bridge by a fire). - Sir Morien MorganMorien MorganSir Morien Bedford Morgan CB FRS, was a noted Welsh aeronautical engineer, sometimes known as "the Father Of Concorde"...
becomes Master of Downing College, CambridgeDowning College, CambridgeDowning College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
. - The "Miners' Tramway" at Llechwedd Slate CavernsLlechwedd Slate CavernsLlechwedd Slate Caverns is a visitor attraction in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, Wales. Visitors can travel on the Miners' Tramway or descend into the Deep Mine, via a funicular railway, to explore the former Llechwedd slate quarry and learn how slate was extracted and processed and about the lives...
opens to the public. - The island of Flat HolmFlat HolmFlat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
is designated a Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific InterestA Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI).
Awards
- Rhoose Airport was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh 11 December 1972
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in HaverfordwestHaverfordwestHaverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...
)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Dafydd Owen
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Dafydd Rowlands
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Dafydd Rowlands
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Drama Medal - Urien WiliamUrien WiliamUrien Wiliam , was a Welsh language novelist and dramatist.He was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, the son of Professor Stephen J. Williams, an academic at Swansea University...
New books
- Alexander CordellAlexander CordellAlexander Cordell was the pen-name of George Alexander Graber, a prolific Welsh novelist and author of thirty acclaimed works including Rape of the Fair Country, The Hosts of Rebecca and Song of the Earth....
- The Fire People - 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"...
- Y Tlws yn y Lotws - A. H. DoddA. H. DoddProfessor Arthur Herbert Dodd , was an academic historian who taught and published widely, specialising in the politics of the Tudor and Stuart periods, Welsh history, and the history of the Industrial Revolution....
- Life in Wales - Marion EamesMarion EamesMarion Eames was a Welsh novelist.Marion was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, of Welsh parents, but was brought up at Dolgellau from the age of 4, where she attended Dr Williams's School...
- Y Rhandir Mwyn - 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...
- Eira Mawr - Emyr HumphreysEmyr HumphreysEmyr Humphreys is a leading Welsh novelist, poet and author. He was born at Prestatyn in Flintshire, and attended University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He registered as a conscientious objector at the outbreak of the Second World War...
- National Winner - Bobi JonesBobi JonesEmeritus Professor Robert Maynard Jones , generally known as Bobi Jones, is a Welsh Christian academic, one of the most prolific writers in the history of the Welsh language. A versatile master of poetry, fictional prose and criticism, he is now in his seventies and still producing work of a high...
- Allor Wydn - Richard Jones - The Tower is Everywhere
- David Tecwyn Lloyd - Lady Gwladys a Phobl Eraill
- Roland MathiasRoland MathiasRoland Glyn Mathias , was a Welsh writer, known for his poetry and short stories. He was also a literary critic, and responsible with Raymond Garlick for the success of the literary magazine Dock Leaves , later from 1957 The Anglo-Welsh Review. He edited it from 1961 to 1976...
– Absalom in the Tree - Edith PargeterEdith PargeterEdith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM , also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was a British author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both...
- A Bloody Field By Shrewsbury - Will PaynterWill PaynterWilliam Thomas Paynter was a Welsh miners' leader involved in the hunger marches of the 1930s.Paynter was born in Cardiff, where he had a basic education before going to work at a colliery at the age of fourteen. By the age of eighteen, he was working on the coal-face, and soon joined the...
- My Generation (autobiography) - Goronwy ReesGoronwy ReesGoronwy Rees was a Welsh journalist, academic and writer. He was educated at the University of Oxford.He was during the 1930s a Marxist intellectual, and in contact with the Cambridge Five spy ring through Guy Burgess. Right at the end of his life he admitted spying for the USSR for a short time,...
- A Chapter of Accidents - John Summers - The Rag Parade
Music
- BadfingerBadfingerBadfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
- Straight UpStraight Up (album)Straight Up is the third album by power pop band Badfinger, released on December 13, 1971. It is widely regarded as Badfinger's best album, spawning two Top 20 singles in the U.S. and being commercially successful in its own right. The album was released on the The Beatles' Apple Records label and...
(album) - John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
- The Academy in PerilThe Academy in PerilThe Academy in Peril is a 1972 album by John Cale. Like his previous release, the Terry Riley collaboration Church of Anthrax, it is mostly instrumental...
(album) - Dafydd IwanDafydd IwanDafydd Iwan , is a Welsh folk singer and politician. He was the president of Plaid Cymru .Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynaman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and is the elder brother of politician Alun Ffred Jones. He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of...
- Yma Mae 'Nghân (album) - Mary HopkinMary HopkinMary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
- Live At The Royal Festival Hall (album) - Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
- Close Up (album)
Film
- The film of Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
's Under Milk WoodUnder Milk WoodUnder Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....
appears, with Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Glynis JohnsGlynis JohnsGlynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
, Ryan DaviesRyan DaviesRyan Davies was a popular Welsh entertainer of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in the Carmarthenshire village of Glanamman in the Black Mountain, Wales, and was educated in Bangor and at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first professional appearance was in the National Eisteddfod of...
and many other Welsh stars. - Hywel BennettHywel BennettHywel Thomas Bennett is a Welsh film and television actor. Bennett is best known for his recurring title role as James Shelley in the television sitcom Shelley from 1979 to 1984 and its sequel The Return of Shelley from 1988 to 1992....
stars with Hayley MillsHayley MillsHayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
in Endless Night.
Welsh-language television
- Gwrando ar fy Nghan with singer Heather Jones
- Teliffant with Myfanwy TalogMyfanwy TalogMyfanwy Talog was a Welsh actress, best known to the media as the long-term partner of Sir David Jason.-Personal life:...
English-language television
- Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
's reputation is underlined with a four-part documentary series about the Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, Sons of the Blood. - Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
wins acclaim for his first starring role on television in BBC2's adaptation of War and PeaceWar and Peace (TV series)War and Peace is a television dramatization of the Leo Tolstoy novel of War and Peace. This 20 episode series began on September 28, 1972.The BBC dramatisation of Tolstoy's epic story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars...
. - Glyn HoustonGlyn HoustonGlyn Houston , is an actor best known for his television work. He is the brother of the late film actor Donald Houston.-Early life:...
appears as Bunter opposite Ian CarmichaelIan CarmichaelIan Gillett Carmichael, OBE was an English film, stage, television and radio actor.-Early life:Carmichael was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The son of an optician, he was educated at Scarborough College and Bromsgrove School, before training as an actor at RADA...
as Lord Peter WimseyLord Peter WimseyLord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a bon vivant amateur sleuth in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries; usually, but not always, murders...
, in the first of several TV serials based on the stories of Dorothy L. SayersDorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
.
Sport
- ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
- Wales competes in the World Chess Olympiad at SkopjeSkopjeSkopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Yugoslavia. - Cricket - Tony LewisTony LewisAnthony Robert Lewis CBE is a former Welsh cricketer, who went on to become the face of BBC Television cricket coverage in the 1990s, and become president of the MCC. Lewis attended Christ's College, Cambridge and played for Cambridge University. He also played county cricket for Glamorgan, and...
captains England on his Test debut in DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, India. - Rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
- 25 March - Derek QuinnellDerek QuinnellDerek Leslie Quinnell , won 23 rugby union caps for Wales both as a lock-forward and as a number eight.Educated at Coleshill Secondary Modern School, Llanelli, Derek Quinnell first played for Llanelli RFC in 1967 and made his international debut for Wales against France in 1972...
makes his debut for Wales against France. - 31 October - Llanelli RFCLlanelli RFCLlanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
defeat the New Zealand All BlacksAll BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
9-3 at Stradey ParkStradey ParkStradey Park was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800...
in front of 26,000 supporters.
- 25 March - Derek Quinnell
- 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...
- Richard MeadeRichard MeadeRichard John Hannay Meade, OBE is a British equestrian expert and Olympic gold medal winning rider, tipped at one time to be the future husband of Princess Anne.In 1964, Meade won the Burghley Horse Trials on Barberry...
Births
- 27 January - Nathan BlakeNathan BlakeNathan Alexander Blake is a Welsh former professional footballer, who played in the Premier League for several clubs and also represented his country at international level...
, footballer - 19 March - Julien MacdonaldJulien MacDonaldJulien Macdonald OBE is a Welsh fashion designer.Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Macdonald attended Cyfarthfa High School in Merthyr Tydfil. Macdonald was taught knitting by his mother, and soon became interested in design...
, fashion designer - 23 March - Joe CalzagheJoe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
, boxer - 20 August - Scott QuinnellScott QuinnellScott Quinnell is a former Welsh international rugby league and rugby union player, who was a number 8 for Wales, Llanelli RFC, the Llanelli Scarlets and the Lions. He scored 11 tries for Wales and captained his country on 7 occasions in rugby union.-Biography:Scott is the son of former Welsh...
, rugby player - 24 August - Jason BowenJason Bowen (footballer)Jason Peter Bowen is a Welsh former international footballer. Bowen was capped twice by Wales in a career which started at Swansea City.-Playing career:...
, footballer - 4 September - Guto PryceGuto PryceGuto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
, musician - 23 September - Julian WinnJulian WinnJulian Winn from Abergavenny, Wales is a former Welsh competitive cyclist who now manages the UCI Continental cycling team Endura Racing. He represented Wales in the 1998 Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur and at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester...
, cyclist - 4 November - Tim VincentTim VincentTim Vincent is a Welsh actor and television presenter who was a presenter on the popular children's programme Blue Peter between 1993 and 1997...
, television presenter - 27 December - Colin CharvisColin CharvisColin Charvis is a former captain of the Welsh national rugby union team and also played for the British and Irish lions. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker or as the no...
, rugby player
Deaths
- 25 February - S. O. DaviesS. O. DaviesStephen Owen Davies was a Welsh politician, and a member of the House of Commons from 1934 to his death....
, politician - 7 March - Jack MorleyJack MorleyJohn 'Jack' Cuthbert Morley was a Welsh international rugby wing who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league with Wigan...
, Wales and British Lions rugby player - 28 May - Edward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII of the United KingdomEdward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, former Prince of Wales - 28 September - Tom RobertsTom Roberts (rugby player)Thomas "Tom" Roberts was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Risca and Newport...
, Wales international rugby union player - 19 October - David Hughes, opera singer
- 6 November - Hilary MarquandHilary MarquandHilary Adair Marquand was a British Labour Party politician.He was educated at Cardiff High School and at University College, Cardiff where he studied history and economics...
, economist and MP - 30 November - Frank Evans, dual-code international rugby player, 75