1961 in Wales
This article is about the significance of the year 1961 to Wales and its people.
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Incumbents
Events
- 16 February – The BP Explorer, a loaded tanker barge bound for Sharpness from Swansea, turns over in the Severn Estuary.
- 17 February – The BP Explorer is seen bouncing upside down through the recently wrecked (October 26, 1960) Severn Railway Bridge. Her crew of five men are killed.[1]
- 1 October – Tabernacle Chapel, Cardiff, hosts the first-ever broadcast of the long-running national BBC Television series Songs of Praise.[2]
- 8 November – In a referendum on Sunday opening of public houses, the counties of Anglesey, Cardiganshire, Caernarfonshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire and Pembrokeshire all vote to stay "dry".[3]
- 9 November – Rosemarie Frankland, originally from Rhosllanerchrugog, wins the Miss World title.[4]
- 19 November – During construction of the Severn Bridge three men fall into the river. A rescue boat crewed by two men sets sail from Chepstow, not knowing that the three men have been picked up safely by a ferry, the Severn Princess. Two empty tanker barges coming down from Sharpness collide with the rescue boat, which has no navigation lights. One member of the rescue boat crew is drowned.
- The Llyn Celyn reservoir is constructed in the valley of the River Tryweryn in North Wales to provide water for Liverpool, destroying the village of Capel Celyn.
- Gwynfor Evans becomes president of the Celtic League.
- Formation in Pontypridd of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼí Faith entirely of native Welsh Baháʼís.[5]
Arts and literature
- Richard Booth opens the first used bookstore in Hay-on-Wye.
- Keith Baxter makes his Broadway debut as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons.
Awards
National Eisteddfod of Wales, held in Rhosllanerchrugog:
- Chairing of the Bard – Emrys Edwards
- Crowning of the Bard – L. Haydn Lewis
- Prose Medal – withheld
- Gold Medal: Fine Art – Ceri Richards
English language
- Dannie Abse – The Eccentric[6]
- Richard Hughes – The Fox in the Attic
- Bertrand Russell – Fact and Fiction
- Emlyn Williams – George
- Raymond Williams – The Long Revolution[7]
Welsh language
- Pennar Davies – Yr Efrydd o Lyn Cynon[8]
- Islwyn Ffowc Elis – Tabyrddau'r Tabongo
- W. J. Gruffydd (Elerydd) – Ffenestri
- Caradog Prichard – Un Nos Ola Leuad[9]
Music
- Alun Hoddinott – Concerto for Piano, Winds and Percussion
Film
- Ronald Lewis stars in Scream of Fear and Stop Me Before I Kill.
- Victor Spinetti makes his screen debut in The Gentle Terror.
- Clifford Evans stars in The Curse of the Werewolf.
- Pirates of Tortuga, American adventure based on the Welsh privateer, Henry Morgan
Broadcasting
Welsh-language television
- Ambell i Gan
- Pwt o'r Papur
- Gair o Gyngor
English-language television
- 7 April – The Independent Television Authority (ITA) invites bids for its west and north Wales licence.[10] On 6 June, the franchise is awarded to the Wales Television Association.
- 20 June – The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, Reginald Bevins, informs the Wales Television Association that approval has been given for an ITA transmitter in the Flint-Denbigh area.
Sport
- Boxing – Howard Winstone wins the British featherweight title.
- BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Bryn Meredith[11]
Births
- 24 January – Tarki Micallef, professional footballer
- 7 May – Phil Campbell, rock guitarist[12]
- 5 July – Gareth Jones ("Gaz Top"), television presenter
- 7 July – Steve Brace, long-distance runner
- 8 August – Simon Weston, war hero[13]
- 18 August – Huw Edwards, newsreader[14]
- 30 August – Delyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, charity worker and Labour peer
- 29 September – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia (in Barry)[15]
- 20 October – Ian Rush, footballer
- 1 November – Nicky Grist, racing driver
- date unknown
- Ifor ap Glyn, Welsh-language poet and television presenter[16]
- Twm Morys, poet
Deaths
- 14 January – William Bowen, Army officer, 62[17]
- 18 January – William Jones, poet, 64[18]
- 2 February – Kate Williams Evans, suffragette, 84[19]
- 10 February – Tom Beynon, Presbyterian minister and historian, 74[20]
- 18 April – John Evans, Labour politician, 85
- 30 April – Charles Williams, academic, 55
- 28 June – Huw Menai, poet, 74[21]
- 3 July – Albert Jenkin, Wales international rugby player, 88
- 14 August – Alec James, cricketer, 72
- 31 October – Augustus John, painter, 83[22]
- 20 November – Edwin Thomas Maynard, Wales international rugby player, 83
- 4 December – John Pugh, Archdeacon of Carmarthen, 76
- date unknown – Llewelyn Davies, footballer, 79/80
References
- A History of Gloucester Harbour Trustees (PDF) (Report). Gloucester Harbour Trustees. p. 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- Asa Briggs (23 March 1995). The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: 1955-1974. Competition. Oxford University Press. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-19-215964-9.
- L. M. Barley; C. D. Field; B. A. Kosmin; J. S. Nielsen (28 June 2014). Religion: Recurrent Christian Sources, Non-Recurrent Christian Data, Judaism, Other Religions. Elsevier. p. 306. ISBN 978-1-4832-9599-2.
- Harris M. Lentz III (24 October 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7864-5205-7.
- Momen, Moojan. "United Kingdom: History of the Bahá'í Faith". Baháʼí Encyclopedia (draft article). Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- A Library of Literary Criticism: Modern British Literature. Ungar. 1975. p. 588.
- Daniel G. Williams (2016). "Williams, Raymond Henry (1921-1988), lecturer, writer and cultural critic". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- D. Densil Morgan (2006). "Davies, William Thomas (Pennar) (1911-1996), novelist, poet, theologian and scholar". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- Menna Baines (2008). "Prichard, Caradog (1904-1980), novelist and poet". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- Johnson, Catherine; Turnock, Rob (1 September 2005). Itv Cultures: Independent Television Over Fifty Years: Independent Television Over Fifty Years. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). p. 96. ISBN 978-0-335-21729-8.
- "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- Joel McIver (1 August 2017). Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead. Omnibus Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-85712-718-1.
- Simon Weston (February 1990). Walking Tall: An Autobiography. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-0499-3.
- "Edwards, Huw". Who's Who (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
- "Julia Gillard". Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- Richard Lea (1 March 2016). "A new poet for St David's Day: Ifor ap Glyn appointed national poet of Wales". Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- "Bowen, William Oswald". unithistories.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- Brynley Francis Roberts. "Jones, William (1896-1961), poet and minister". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- Jones, Rebecca (21 September 2018). "Kate Evans . . . and Kate Evans!". Glasgow Women's Library. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- Gomer Morgan Roberts. "Tom Beynon". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- Meic Stephens (1 October 2007). Poetry 1900-2000. Summersdale Publishers Limited. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-84839-722-4.
- Augustus John; Malcolm Easton; University of Hull (1970). Augustus John: portraits of the artist's family. University of Hull. p. 11. ISBN 9780900480898.
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