1966 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1966 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...
- Cledwyn HughesCledwyn HughesCledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, CH, PC, , was a Welsh Labour politician.Born in Holyhead and educated at the Holyhead Grammar School and at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, he served in the RAFVR in the Second World War. He became a solicitor and a town clerk of Holyhead... - 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...
Events
- April - Future Welsh Secretary Peter HainPeter HainPeter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
arrives in the UK from South Africa with his family. - 14 July - In the Carmarthen by-electionCarmarthen by-election, 1966The Carmarthen by-election, was held in Carmarthen, Wales on 14 July 1966. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament...
, caused by the death of Megan Lloyd GeorgeMegan Lloyd GeorgeLady Megan Arfon Lloyd George CH was a British politician, the first female Member of Parliament for a Welsh constituency, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. She later became a Labour MP....
, 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 ....
wins Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
's first Parliamentary seat. - 22 July
- Fifteen people are drowned at PenmaenpoolPenmaenpoolPenmaenpool is a village on the south side of River Mawddach in Wales, near Dolgellau.- Points of interest :*Penmaenpool toll bridge - wooden tollbridge built in 1879, Cadw registered building...
in the Mawddach estuary. - The M4 motorwayM4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
Port TalbotPort TalbotPort Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
by-pass is opened.
- Fifteen people are drowned at Penmaenpool
- 8 September - 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...
is opened. - 21 October - At AberfanAberfanThe Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip that occurred in the Welsh village of Aberfan on Friday 21 October 1966, killing 116 children and 28 adults.-Mining debris:...
, following heavy rain, a colliery waste tip collapses onto the village's primary school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. - 26 October - The Welsh Office appoints a tribunal, chaired by Edmund Davies, Baron Edmund-DaviesEdmund Davies, Baron Edmund-DaviesHerbert Edmund Edmund-Davies, Baron Edmund-Davies, PC was a British judge.Born Herbert Edmund Davies at Mountain Ash in Mid Glamorgan, he was the third son of Morgan John Davies and Elizabeth Maud Edmunds...
, to investigate the causes of the Aberfan disaster.
Awards
- British Press AwardsBritish Press AwardsThe British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. Established in the 1970s, honours are voted on by a panel of journalists and newspaper executives...
- Special Award for Journalism - David Rhys Davies, Merthyr Express
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in AberavonAberavonAberavon is a settlement in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town...
)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Dic JonesDic JonesDic Jones , was a Welsh language poet and the Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.He was born Richard Lewis Jones at Tre'r-ddôl in Ceredigion. The son of a farmer, Jones himself farmed on at Fferm yr Hendre at Blaenannerch in Aberporth...
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Dafydd JonesDafydd JonesDafydd Jones is a retired Welsh rugby union footballer, who played in the back row for the Llanelli Scarlets in the Magners League. He has also played for Wales...
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld
New books
- Peter BartrumPeter BartrumPeter Clement Bartrum , was a researcher and genealogist who, from the 1930s onwards, specialised in the genealogy of the Welsh nobility of the Middle Ages....
- Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts - 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"...
- Caregl Nwyf - Charles Jones - The Challenger
- Thomas John Morgan - Amryw Flawd
- 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...
- Modern Tragedy
Music
- Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
- Concerto no. 3, op. 44 - Severn Bridge Variations (composite work composed by Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm ArnoldSir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
, Alun Hoddinott, Nicholas MawNicholas MawJohn Nicholas Maw was a British composer.-Biography:Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 14...
, 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...
, Grace WilliamsGrace Williams-Biography:Williams was born in Barry, near Cardiff, Wales.She was educated at Barry County School, and won a scholarship to Cardiff University . She then went to the Royal College of Music, London, where she was taught by Ralph Vaughan Williams...
and Michael TippettMichael TippettSir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
)
Film
- 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...
stars in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider...
alongside his wife Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. The performance wins him a BAFTABritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Best Actor award.
English-language television
- 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....
makes an impact in his first major TV role in Where the Buffalo Roam, a Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
.
Sport
- AthleticsAthletics (track and field)Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
- Lynn DaviesLynn DaviesLynn Davies CBE was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club and captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1964....
becomes the first person to hold the European, Commonwealth and Olympic long jumpLong jumpThe long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
titles simultaneously. - 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...
- Ivor AllchurchIvor AllchurchIvor John Allchurch MBE was a Welsh international footballer. His brother was Len Allchurch.Known as 'The Golden Boy' of Welsh football, Allchurch played for Swansea Town, Newcastle United and Cardiff City, where he amassed 691 games scoring 249 goals. His record of 68 caps for Wales stood until...
plays his final game for Wales, against ChileChile national football teamThe Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in eight World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in...
. - 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...
- Phil BennettPhil BennettPhillip Bennett was a Welsh international rugby union fly half from 1969 to 1978. His flair and range of tricks, including his famous sidestep and swerve, meant he was a firm favourite with crowds.-Rugby career:...
makes his first appearance for 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...
. - WalesWales national rugby union teamThe Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
win the Five Nations Championship for the third successive year.
- Phil Bennett
- TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Future rugby star J.P.R. Williams wins the junior championship at Wimbledon. - 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...
- Lynn Davies
Births
- 21 March - Matthew MaynardMatthew MaynardMatthew Maynard is an English former cricketer. He played in four Tests and fourteen ODIs for England....
, cricketer - 24 March - Mark WilliamsMark Williams (politician)Mark Fraser Williams is a British Welsh Liberal Democrat politician and the Member of Parliament for the Ceredigion constituency, a seat he gained from Plaid Cymru in 2005...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, politician - 14 April - Lloyd OwenLloyd OwenLloyd Owen is a British actor of Welsh descent. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he is probably best known for his portrayal of Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones, Sr...
, actor - 29 April - Carl DaleCarl DaleCarl Dale is a Welsh former professional footballer. He remains a cult favourite among the fans of his former teams.-Club career:...
, footballer - 3 May - Darren MorganDarren MorganDarren Morgan is a Welsh snooker player, who won the World Amateur Championship in 1987, and played on the main World Snooker tour from 1988 through 2007. He earned just under £1 million in prize money, reached a high ranking of 8, and was ranked within the top 16 for many years despite never...
, snooker player - 5 May - Nicky PiperNicky PiperNicky Piper MBE is a retired Welsh super middleweight and light heavyweight boxer from Ely, Cardiff. His career was at its peak in the 1990s becoming the Commonwealth Light-heavyweight champion in 1995. He was trained by Charlie Pearson and self managed...
, light-heavyweight boxer - 8 July - Guto Harri, broadcaster
- 28 July - Andy LeggAndy LeggAndrew "Andy" Legg is a Welsh footballer and Wales international who is currently player-manager of Welsh Premier League side Llanelli. He has previously played for Swansea City, Notts County, Birmingham City, Ipswich Town, Reading, Peterborough United, Cardiff City and Newport County...
, footballer - 16 August - Helen ThomasHelen ThomasHelen Thomas is an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and opinion columnist. She worked for the United Press and post-1958 successor United Press International for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau manager...
, Greenham Common campaigner - 1 September - Elin JonesElin JonesElin Jones AM , is a Welsh politician, born in Lampeter, Wales, who has represented Ceredigion for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 1999.-Background:...
AM, politician - 21 October - Phillip PricePhillip PriceJohn Phillip Price is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.-Professional golfer:Price turned professional in 1989 and qualified for membership of the European Tour for the 1991 season via the 1990 Qualifying School. His best year on the tour came in 2000, when he finished...
, golfer - 10 November - Simon RichardsonSimon RichardsonSimon Richardson MBE is a Welsh paralympic cyclist.-Biography:Richardson was born in 1966 in Porthcawl, Wales, and is the son of John and Diana Richardson. He is married to Amanda and has two sons Ashley and Benjamin. In 2001 he was involved in a car accident which left him with serious leg and...
, cyclist - date unknown
- Niall GriffithsNiall GriffithsNiall Griffiths is an author, who has published six books to date. He has also written travel pieces, restaurant and book reviews, and radio plays...
, novelist
- Niall Griffiths
Deaths
- 20 January - Gordon MacdonaldGordon Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald of GwaenysgorGordon Macdonald, PC, 1st Baron Macdonald of Gwaenysgor, was a British Labour Party politician and Newfoundland's final British governor as well as the last chairman of the Commission of Government serving from 1946 until the colony joined Confederation in 1949 and became a province of Canada...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, politician, 81 - 27 January - Ronald Armstrong-JonesRonald Armstrong-JonesMajor Ronald Owen Lloyd Armstrong-Jones, MBE, QC was a British soldier and the father of Antony Armstrong-Jones, the 1st Earl of Snowdon....
, barrister, 66 - 18 February - Thomas Williams, 1st Baron WilliamsThomas Williams, 1st Baron WilliamsThomas Edward Williams, 1st Baron Williams , was a peer of the United Kingdom.He was ennobled on 24 June 1948 as Baron Williams, of Ynyshir in the County of Glamorgan. The peerage became extinct on his death in 1966....
, 73 - March - Wilfred Mitford DaviesWilfred Mitford DaviesWilfred Mitford Davies was a Welsh artist and publisher, best known for his work with the Cymru'r Plant imprint to produce children's reading matter in the Welsh language....
, artist and publisher, 71 - April - Charlie Jones, footballer, 66
- 25 April - Iorrie IsaacsIorrie IsaacsIorwerth 'Iorrie' Isaacs was a Welsh dual-code international rugby flanker who played international rugby for Wales. At club level he played rugby union for Pontypridd, Cardiff and later rugby league for Wales, and Leeds....
, Wales international rugby player, 54 - 26 April - Bill EversonBill EversonWilliam Aaron "Bill" Everson was a Welsh international rugby union fullback who played club rugby for Newport and was capped for Wales in 1926...
, Wales international rugby player, 60 - 14 May - Megan Lloyd GeorgeMegan Lloyd GeorgeLady Megan Arfon Lloyd George CH was a British politician, the first female Member of Parliament for a Welsh constituency, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. She later became a Labour MP....
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, politician, 64 - 9 June - Elizabeth Watkin-JonesElizabeth Watkin-JonesElizabeth Watkin-Jones was a Welsh children's book author, who wrote in the Welsh language.-Life history:Watkin-Jones was born in Nefyn, Caernarfonshire as Elizabeth Parry, the only daughter of Jane and Henry Parry. Henry Parry was a sea captain who drowned in Iquique harbour in Chile without...
, children's author - 17 July - Albert FreethyAlbert FreethyAlbert Freethy was a Welsh rugby union referee and first-class cricketer. He was born in Swansea and died in Cimla....
, rugby referee and cricketer, 81 - 21 September - Thomas Williams PhillipsThomas Williams PhillipsSir Thomas Williams Phillips GBE KCB was a senior official in the British Civil Service.Phillips, a Welshman, was educated at Machynlleth County School and Jesus College, Oxford, where he obtained a first-class Bachelor of Arts degree in Literae Humaniores. He joined the Civil Service in 1906,...
, civil servant, 83 - 26 September - Phil HopkinsPhil HopkinsPhil Hopkins was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club...
, Wales international rugby player, 86 - 3 December - Iorwerth ThomasIorwerth ThomasIorwerth Rhys Thomas was a Welsh Labour Party politician.Thomas was born on 22 January 1895, the son of David William Thomas, Cwmparc, Rhondda. He was educated at a local elementary school, and in 1908, at 13 years of age, he began working at the Dare colliery, Cwmdare, Aberdare...
, politician, 71 - date unknown
- Simon Bartholomew Jones, minister and poet