1912 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1912 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...
- Edward, Prince of WalesEdward 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...
, son of King George V of the United KingdomGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936.... - 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 - 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 :...
- DyfedEvan Rees (Dyfed)Evan Rees , known by the bardic name Dyfed, was a Calvinistic Methodist minister, poet, and Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.-Early life:...
Events
- 1 March - National miners' strike, led in Wales by Vernon HartshornVernon HartshornVernon Hartshorn was a Welsh trades unionist and Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1918 until his death....
and Noah AblettNoah AblettNoah Ablett was a trade unionist and political theorist who is most noted for writing 'The Miners' Next Step' a Syndicalist treaty which Ablett described as 'scientific trade unionism....
among others. - 15 April - Wireless operator Artie MooreArtie MooreArthur Moore , was a Welsh wireless operator who heard a distress signal from before news of the disaster arrived in the UK....
of Gelligroes near Blackwood, hears a distress signal from . - 16 April - Vivian HewittVivian HewittVivian Hewitt was a pioneering Welsh aviator. Born in Grimsby, he moved to Bodfari, Denbighshire, Wales his mother's family home, on the death of his father during his childhood....
of BodfariBodfariBodfari is a village in Denbighshire, Wales.- Location :Bodfari is located at approximate grid reference SJ093701. The village lies on the A541 road at the point where the road passes through a gap in the Clwydian Hills, the gap being part of the valley of the River Wheeler .The Offa's Dyke...
in 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...
becomes the first man to pilot an aeroplane from Wales to Ireland. - 22 April - Denys Corbett WilsonDenys Corbett WilsonDenys Corbett Wilson was a pioneering Irish aviator.He is most notable for his 100-minute flight on 22 April 1912, from Goodwick in Pembrokeshire to Enniscorthy - from the island of Great Britain to the island of Ireland...
leaves Goodwick, 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....
, to make the first manned flight across the Irish SeaIrish SeaThe Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
in a time of 1 hour 40 minutes. - 28 May - A major demonstration in favour of disestablishment takes place in 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...
. - 1 August - Chemist Humphrey Owen JonesHumphrey Owen JonesHumphrey Owen Jones was a Welsh chemist and mountaineer.-Life:Jones was born at Goginan, Cardiganshire, and educated at Lewis School, Pengam, and the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He subsequently studied natural sciences at Clare College, Cambridge, graduating BA in 1899 and MA in...
marries a colleague, Muriel Gwendolen Edwards. A fortnight later the couple, both keen climbers, are killed in a fall while on their honeymoon in the Alps. - 17 September - Welsh immigrant workers play a major part in organizing the coal miners' strike in Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, Canada. - The Welsh Health Service Insurance Commission is established.
- Sir David Brynmor JonesDavid Brynmor JonesSir David Brynmor Jones was a British barrister, historian and Liberal Member of Parliament.David Brynmor Jones was born in 1851 in Swansea, the first of the six children of Revd. Thomas Jones, a Congregationalist minister, and Jane Jones. His younger siblings were Annie, John Viriamu Jones Sir...
becomes a member of the Privy CouncilPrivy councilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. - Alfred ThomasAlfred Thomas, 1st Baron PontypriddAlfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd , was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.-Background and education:Born in Penylan, Cardiff, Wales, Thomas was educated at Weston School, near Bath...
is created Baron Pontypridd. - The foundation stone of the National Museum CardiffNational Museum CardiffNational Museum Cardiff is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales...
is laid. (It does not open to the public until 1927.) - Dan yr OgofDan yr OgofDan yr Ogof is a long cave system in south Wales, five miles north of Ystradgynlais and fifteen miles south west of Brecon within the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex which is claimed to be the largest in Europe and is one of the major tourist...
caves are discovered by brothers Jeff and Tommy Morgan. - King George VGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen MaryMary of TeckMary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
visit Merthyr TydfilMerthyr TydfilMerthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
amid much controversy. - Sir Ellis Ellis-GriffithSir Ellis Ellis-Griffith, 1st BaronetSir Ellis Jones Ellis-Griffith, 1st Baronet PC KC , was a British barrister and Liberal politician.Born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Ellis-Griffith was the son of Thomas Morris Griffith, a builder...
becomes chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary Liberal Party.
Awards
- 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 :...
- held in WrexhamWrexhamWrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
- Chair and Crown - T. H. Parry-WilliamsT. H. Parry-WilliamsSir Thomas Herbert Parry-Williams was a Welsh poet, author and academic.Parry-Williams was born at Rhyd Ddu, Caernarfonshire. He was educated at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Jesus College, Oxford , the University of Freiburg and the Sorbonne...
(the first time both major prizes were won by the same person)
- Chair and Crown - T. H. Parry-Williams
New books
- Stanley Bligh - The Art of Conversation
- Rhoda BroughtonRhoda BroughtonRhoda Broughton was a novelist.-Life:Rhoda Broughton was born in Denbigh in North Wales on 29 November 1840. She was the daughter of the Rev. Delves Broughton youngest son of the Rev. Sir Henry Delves-Broughton, 8th baronet. She developed a taste for literature, especially poetry, as a young girl...
- Between Two Stools - Edward Tegla DaviesEdward Tegla DaviesEdward Tegla Davies was a Methodist minister and a popular Welsh language writer, born at Llandegla-yn-Iâl, Denbighshire, north Wales....
- Hunangofiant Tomi - Alfred George EdwardsAlfred George EdwardsAlfred George Edwards was elected the first Archbishop of the disestablished Church in Wales.The son of a priest of the Church of England, Edwards was born in Llanymawddwy in Gwynedd. He studied at Jesus College, Oxford before being appointed Warden of Llandovery College in 1875...
- Landmarks in the History of the Welsh Church - Miners' Unofficial Reform Committee - The Miners' Next StepThe Miners' Next StepThe Miners' Next Step was an economic and political pamphlet produced in 1912 calling for coal miners through their lodges, to embrace syndicalism and a new 'scientific' trade unionism. The pamphlet was written by the 'Unofficial Reform Committee' a group of syndaclist and socialists involved in...
- T. M. Rees - Welsh Painters
- Thomas Williams (Brynfab) - Pan Oedd Rhondda'n Bur
Music
- Thomas Carrington - Concwest Calfari
- Sir Henry Walford Davies - Song of St Francis (cantata)
- David Vaughan Thomas - A Song for St. Cecilia's Day
Film
- The Belle of Bettws-y-Coed
- The Smuggler's Daughter of Anglesea
- The Witch of the Welsh Mountains
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...
:- January - Freddie WelshFreddie WelshFreddie Welsh was a Welsh lightweight boxing champion. Born in Pontypridd, Wales, and christened Frederick Hall Thomas, he was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a middle-class background to make a name for himself in America...
dislocates his neck in a bout of wrestling, rendering him unable to compete. - 3 June - Jim DriscollJim DriscollJames "Jim" Driscoll commonly known as Peerless Jim was a Welsh boxer who learned his trade in the boxing ring and used it to fight his way out of poverty....
wins the European featherweightFeatherweightFeatherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
title. - 16 December - Freddie WelshFreddie WelshFreddie Welsh was a Welsh lightweight boxing champion. Born in Pontypridd, Wales, and christened Frederick Hall Thomas, he was nicknamed the "Welsh Wizard". Brought up in a tough mining community, Welsh left a middle-class background to make a name for himself in America...
wins the Commonwealth lightweight title.
- January - Freddie Welsh
- FootballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
- Cardiff City F.C.Cardiff City F.C.Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
win the Welsh CupWelsh CupThe Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from Wales.The Football Association of Wales is the organising body of this competition, which has been run every year since its inception in 1877-78...
- the first time a club from south Wales has done so. - Swansea Town play their first match at the Vetch Field.
- Cardiff City F.C.
- Rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
- Ebbw Vale RLFCEbbw Vale RLFCEbbw Vale Rugby League Football Club was a professional rugby league club based in Ebbw Vale, Wales playing in the Welsh League and Northern Union. Based at Bridge End Field, Ebbw Vale were one of the first professional Welsh teams, and the last to disband in 1912 after the failure of the Welsh...
fold after five seasons, ending the first attempt to bring rugby league to Wales. - 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...
- 14 December - The South African touring team defeats Wales 3-0 at Cardiff Arms Park.
- 26 December - Swansea RFCSwansea RFCSwansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
defeat the South African touring team 3-0 at St Helen's, Swansea.
Births
- 27 March - James CallaghanJames CallaghanLeonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
(died 2005) - 29 April - Elvet JonesElvet JonesElfed Lewis "Elvet" Jones MBE was a Welsh rugby union whose international career was curtailed due to the outbreak of the Second World War...
, Wales and British Lions rugby international (died 1989) - 30 May - Hugh GriffithHugh GriffithHugh Emrys Griffith was a Welsh film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Griffith was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, Wales, the son of Mary and William Griffith. He was educated at Llangefni County School and attempted to gain entrance to university, but failed the English examination...
, actor (died 1980) - 8 June - Billy BassettBilly Bassett (Welsh footballer)William Edward George "Billy" Bassett was a Welsh professional footballer.-Career:Bassett began his career at Aberaman Athletic before moving on to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1933. He only spent a single season at Wolves, without making a first team appearance, before returning to Wales and...
, Welsh footballer (died 1977) - 16 June - Enoch PowellEnoch PowellJohn Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
, Welsh-speaking politician (died 1998) - 29 June - Valerie Davies, swimmer (died 2001)
- 1 September - 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 ....
, politician (died 2005) - 20 October - William R. P. George, solicitor and poet (died 2006)
- 15 November - Arthur GranvilleArthur GranvilleArthur David Granville was a Welsh professional footballer.Granville was born in Llwynypia. He joined Cardiff City in 1934 from the amateur side Porth United and, after a slow start, managed to establish himself in the side. He scored six league goals during his time at the club, all of which...
, footballer (died 1987) - 20 November
- Arthur ReesArthur ReesArthur Morgan Rees CBE, QPM, DL was a Welsh international rugby union flanker, the Chief Constable of both Denbighshire and Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, a sports' administrator and World War II fighter pilot.-Personal history:...
- Wales rugby international and police Chief Constable (died 1998) - Wilf Wooller - Wales rugby international and Glamorgan cricket captain. (died 1997)
- Arthur Rees
- 12 December - Daniel JonesDaniel Jones (composer)Daniel Jenkyn Jones OBE was a composer of classical music, who worked in Britain. He used both serial and tonal techniques...
, composer (died 1993) - 13 December - Garfield Hopkin Hughes, academic (died 1969)
- 20 December - Sir Morien MorganMorien MorganSir Morien Bedford Morgan CB FRS, was a noted Welsh aeronautical engineer, sometimes known as "the Father Of Concorde"...
, aeronautics engineer (died 1978) - date unknown - Brenda ChamberlainBrenda Chamberlain (artist)Brenda Chamberlain was a Welsh artist and poet.Born in Bangor, Wales, she studied art at the Royal Academy in London, but simultaneously developed an interest in poetry. Just before the Second World War, she moved in with artist John Petts, and together they set up the Caseg Press at their home...
, artist and poet (died 1971)
Deaths
- 29 January - Dai EvansDai EvansDavid "Dai" Evans was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Penygraig and international rugby for Wales.Evans was born in Maenclochog, Pembrokeshire, but came to the Rhondda Valley to find work...
, Wales international rugby player - 17 February - Edgar EvansEdgar EvansPetty Officer Edgar Evans was a member of the Polar Party on Robert Falcon Scott's companions on his ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1911–1912...
, explorer, 35 - 6 April - Eleazar RobertsEleazar RobertsEleazar Roberts was a Welsh musician, translator, writer and amateur astronomer. Roberts family moved to Liverpool in England while he was an infant, but despite this he retained a strong link to his country of birth and was a fluent Welsh speaker. He wrote for several Welsh journals and travelled...
, writer and musician, 87 - 18 April - Walter Clopton WingfieldWalter Clopton WingfieldMajor Walter Clopton Wingfield was a British army officer who was one of the pioneers of lawn tennis. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997, an example of the original equipment for the sport and a bust of Wingfield himself can be seen at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis...
, lawn tennis inventor - 25 July – Griffith JohnGriffith JohnGriffith John was a British Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society , a writer and a translator of the Holy Bible into the Chinese language.-Biography:Griffith John was born on 14 December...
, missionary, 80 - 12 August - Humphrey Owen JonesHumphrey Owen JonesHumphrey Owen Jones was a Welsh chemist and mountaineer.-Life:Jones was born at Goginan, Cardiganshire, and educated at Lewis School, Pengam, and the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He subsequently studied natural sciences at Clare College, Cambridge, graduating BA in 1899 and MA in...
, chemist, 34 (climbing accident) - 24 September – John Rolls, 1st Baron LlangattockJohn Rolls, 1st Baron LlangattockJohn Allan Rolls, 1st Baron Llangattock, DL owned The Hendre, a Victorian mansion north of Monmouth.- Biography :He was the only son of John Etherington Welch Rolls and his wife Elizabeth Mary Long...
, politician, 75 - 18 November - Edward Thomas (Cochfarf), local politician, 59
- date unknown - James Cholmeley RussellJames Cholmeley RussellJames Cholmeley Russell was a barrister, financier, property developer and Welsh railway entrepreneur. He was a key shareholder and the receiver of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Company from which the Welsh Highland Railway Company ultimately emerged. He was a business associate of the...
, railway entrepreneur