1971 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1971 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 :...
- TilsliGwilym TilsleyRev. Gwilym Richard Tilsley , commonly known by his bardic name of "Tilsli", was a Welsh poet who served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales between 1969 and 1972....
Events
- May 6 - Singer Dickie ValentineDickie ValentineDickie Valentine was an English pop singer in the 1950s.-Early life:Valentine was born Richard Maxwell , though Valentine was known as Richard Bryce as his mother later married Bryce and gave her young son the same name. He was born in Marylebone, London...
is killed in a car accident on the Glangrwyney bridge near CrickhowellCrickhowellCrickhowell is a small town in Powys, Mid Wales.-Location:The name Crickhowell is taken from that of the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel above the town, the Welsh language name being anglicised by map-makers and local English-speaking people...
. - May 28 - Opening of the Llanberis Lake RailwayLlanberis Lake RailwayThe Llanberis Lake Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs for along the northern shore of Llyn Padarn in north Wales in the Snowdonia National Park. The starting point is the town of Llanberis at the eastern end of the lake , with the western terminus at Pen Llyn in the Padarn...
. - Registration of marriages in the Welsh languageWelsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
becomes legal. - The Welsh Nursery Schools Movement is founded in AberystwythAberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. - Opening of Rio TintoRio Tinto GroupThe Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
zinc smelter at HolyheadHolyheadHolyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
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Arts and literature
- 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....
marries record producer Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
. - Welsh performers participate in the first Festival Interceltique de LorientFestival Interceltique de LorientThe Festival Interceltique de Lorient or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971 by Polig Montjarret...
in Brittany.
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 BangorBangor, WalesBangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
) - National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Emrys RobertsEmrys RobertsEmrys Owen Roberts was a Welsh Liberal politician and businessman.-Education & early career:Emrys Roberts was born at Caernarfon and educated at Caernarfon Grammar School, at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he gained a law degree, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and the...
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Bryan Martin Davies
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Ifor Wyn Williams
New books
- Rhys DaviesRhys DaviesRhys Davies was a Welsh novelist and short story writer, who wrote in the English language....
- Nobody Answered the Bell - 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...
- Y Gromlech yn yr Haidd - 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 ....
- Aros Mae - Tudor Wilson Evans - Ar Gae'r Brêc
- Beti Hughes - Aderyn o Ddyfed
- John L. Hughes - Tom Jones Slept Here
- Alan LlwydAlan LlwydAlan Llwyd , original name Alan Lloyd Roberts, is a Welsh poet, literary critic and editor, one of the most prolific Welsh-language poets in the last quarter of the 20th century....
- Y March Hud - Gwyn ThomasGwyn Thomas (poet)Professor Gwyn Thomas , is a Welsh poet, academic and a former National Poet for Wales.Raised in Tanygrisiau and Blaenau Ffestiniog, Thomas was educated at Ysgol Sir Ffestiniog, University of Wales, Bangor and Jesus College, Oxford; Prof Thomas is presently Emeritus Professor of Welsh at the...
- Y Bardd Cwsg a'i Gefndir
Music
- 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....
& Terry Riley - Church of AnthraxChurch of AnthraxChurch of Anthrax is a collaboration between John Cale and Terry Riley. The record was released in February 1971 by Cale's record company, Columbia Records, nearly a year after the material was recorded.-Track listing:... - ManMan (band)Man are a rock band from South Wales whose style is a mixture of West Coast psychedelia, progressive rock, blues and country-rock. Formed in 1968 as a reincarnation of Welsh rock harmony group ‘’The Bystanders’’, Man are renowned for the extended jams in their live performances, and having had...
- Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In? - Iris WilliamsIris WilliamsIris Williams OBE is a Welsh singer. Williams reached the peak of her popularity during the 1980s.Williams was born in Pontypridd, South Wales. Brought up in a children's home, she won a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama...
- Pererin Wyf (single)
Film
- 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...
is one of the locations used for the filming of 10 Rillington Place. - Ruth MadocRuth MadocRuth Madoc is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Gladys Pugh in the 1980s BBC television comedy Hi-de-Hi!, and as Daffyd Thomas's mother in the second series of Little Britain.-Early life:...
appears in the film version of Fiddler on the RoofFiddler on the RoofFiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
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English-language television
- Comedy duo 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 Ronnie WilliamsRonnie WilliamsRonnie Williams was a Welsh actor and comedian.Williams struggled with his choice of an acting career, making an isolated television appearance in The Wednesday Play in 1966...
transfer their successful Welsh language show to BBC1. - Nerys HughesNerys HughesNerys Hughes , is a Welsh actress, known primarily for her television roles.Nerys Hughes was born in Rhyl, . She studied drama at Rose Bruford College. She is best known for the role of Sandra Hutchinson in the enormously successful BBC TV series The Liver Birds which ran from 1969 to 1978 with a...
gets her big break in The Liver BirdsThe Liver BirdsThe Liver Birds is a British situation comedy, set in Liverpool, Merseyside, North-West of England, which aired on BBC1 from 1969 to 1978, and again in 1996. It was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpool housewives had met at a local writers club and decided to pool their talents...
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Sport
- 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...
- John DawesJohn DawesSydney John Dawes OBE is a former Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the Barbarians and the British Lions... - CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
- May: In a Glamorgan home match at Sophia GardensSophia GardensSophia Gardens , currently known as SWALEC Stadium under a naming rights deal, is a cricket stadium on the west bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, 1.6 kilometres north of Cardiff Arms Park. It was named after Lady Sophia Rawdon-Hastings...
, Roger DavisRoger Davis (cricketer)Roger Clive Davis is a former county cricketer who played for Glamorgan for 13 years as an all-rounder. While having a quiet career from his debut in 1964 until 1970, he then enjoyed five years of greater success, including scoring over 1,000 runs in the 1975 season, before a rapid decline in 1976...
is struck on the temple while fielding at short leg and is almost killed. - GymnasticsGymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
- Pam Hopkins wins the British Women's Championship. - 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...
- 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 their sixth Grand SlamGrand Slam (Rugby Union)In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
. - SailingSailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
- Nicolette Milnes-WalkerNicolette Milnes-WalkerNicolette Daisy Milnes-Walker, MBE was the first woman to sail non-stop single-handed across the Atlantic. She set sail on 12 June 1971 from Milford Haven, UK and arrived in Newport USA forty five days later on 26 July. She made her crossing in a 30 ft yacht, Aziz.-References:...
becomes the first woman to sail non-stop single-handed across the Atlantic.
Births
- 11 January - Tom WardTom WardTom Ward is a British film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Tom Ward was born in Swansea, to the poet and academic John Powell Ward and Sarah Ward OBE, a farmer. His brother Tristan became a partner at Macfarlanes LLP, a firm of solicitors in the City of London.Ward was sent to the Dragon...
, actor - 23 January - Scott GibbsScott GibbsScott Gibbs is a former rugby footballer who represented Wales and the Lions in rugby union and Wales and Great Britain in rugby league...
, rugby player - 19 March (in TauntonTauntonTaunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
) - Kirsty WilliamsKirsty WilliamsVictoria Kirsty Williams is a British politician. She is the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Brecon and Radnorshire.-Early life:...
, politician - 2 April - Chico SlimaniChico SlimaniYousseph "Chico" Slimani is a Welsh born singer of Moroccan descent who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor. In 2006, he had a number 1 hit on the British charts entitled "It's Chico Time"...
, singer - 8 July - Neil JenkinsNeil JenkinsNeil Jenkins MBE is a former rugby union football player and current coach. He played fly-half, centre, or full back for Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors, Wales and the British and Irish Lions. Jenkins is Wales' highest ever points-scorer and is the third highest on the List of leading Rugby...
, rugby player - 18 August (in LimerickLimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
) - Aphex TwinAphex TwinRichard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, musician - 8 September - Martyn MargetsonMartyn MargetsonMartyn Walter Margetson is a Welsh former professional footballer and Wales international, currently working for Football League Championship side West Ham United as a goalkeeping coach....
, footballer - 26 October - Damon SearleDamon SearleDamon Peter Searle is a Welsh professional footballer. He is a left-sided defender and midfielder currently without a club after leaving Welsh Premier League side Haverfordwest County.-Career:...
, footballer - 5 November - Rob Jones, footballer
- date unknown - Jason Walford Davies, poet
Deaths
- 8 March - Harold LloydHarold LloydHarold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
, American comedy actor of Welsh descent, 77 - 18 March - Jack GoreJack GoreJack Gore was a Welsh international rugby flanker who played rugby union for Blaina and rugby league for Salford. His son, Billy Gore, played international rugby for Wales national rugby union team the same as his father....
, Wales international rugby player, 71 - 19 April - Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais)Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais)Thomas Evan Nicholas ,was a Welsh language poet, preacher, radical, and champion of the disadvantaged of society....
, writer and political activist, 91 - 18 May - William MainwaringWilliam MainwaringWilliam Henry Mainwaring was a British coal miner, lecturer and trade unionist, who became a long-serving Labour Party Member of Parliament. Both as a trade unionist and a politician he struggled, largely successfully to counter Communist influence...
MP, miners' leader - 20 May - Waldo WilliamsWaldo WilliamsWaldo Williams was one of the leading Welsh language poets of the twentieth century. He was also a notable pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist.-Life:...
, poet, 66 - 29 May - Howell LewisHowell LewisHowell Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club and was capped for Wales on four occasions...
, Wales international rugby player, 83 - 5 July - Idris JonesIdris Jones (rugby player)Walter Idris Jones CBE was a Welsh international rugby union player. He captained the Wales national rugby union team on one occasion in 1925. Jones played his club rugby for Llanelli RFC.-References:...
, rugby player, 71 - 4 September – C. E. Vulliamy, author
- 9 November - Ceri RichardsCeri Richards-Biography:Richards was born in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Richards . He and his younger brother and sister, Owen and Esther, were brought up in a highly cultured, working-class environment...
, artist - 27 November - Leslie ThomasLeslie Thomas (politician)Sir Leslie Montagu Thomas was a British Conservative politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Canterbury in a 1953 by-election, and served until he stood down in 1966....
, politician, 65 - 1 December - Jack JenkinsJack Jenkins (rugby player)John "Jack" Charles Jenkins was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and London Welsh. He won just a single cap for Wales in 1907 but faced both New Zealand and South Africa at county level with Middlesex and Monmouthshire.-Personal history:Jenkins was born...
, Wales international rugby player, 91 - 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...
, poet and artist - James Conway DaviesJames Conway DaviesJames Conway Davies was a Welsh historian and palaeographer. Born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, he was educated at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth and Cardiff, and Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
, historian and palaeographer - Jack EvansJack Evans (Welsh footballer)John Hugh "Jack" Evans was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international.- Career :Evans was born in Bala. As a youngster he worked as an apprentice printer while playing for local side Bala Wanderers, despite his three older brothers playing for Bala Press...
, Welsh footballer) - Clifford DymentClifford DymentClifford Henry Dyment FRSL was a British poet, literary critic, editor and journalist, best known for his poems on countryside topics...
, poet - Ifan Gruffydd ("Y Gŵr o Baradwys")
- Dewi MorganDewi MorganDewi Morgan was a Welsh bard, scholar and journalist who used the bardic name Dewi Teifi, and who won the Chair at the 1925 National Eisteddfod of Wales in Pwllheli with his important awdl recounting the legend of Cantre'r Gwaelod....
, poet, scholar and journalist
- Brenda Chamberlain