1961 in Wales explained

This article is about the significance of the year 1961 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Archbishop of Wales – Edwin Morris, Bishop of Monmouth
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Trefin

Events

• 16 February – The, 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

• 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

New books

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

See also

• 1961 in Northern Ireland
• 1961 in Scotland
• 1961 in the United Kingdom

Notes and References

1. A History of Gloucester Harbour Trustees . 69 . Gloucester Harbour Trustees . 18 May 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090424011727/http://www.gloucesterharbourtrustees.org.uk/stoneshistory.pdf . 24 April 2009.
2. Book: Asa Briggs. The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: 1955-1974. Competition. 23 March 1995. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-215964-9. 335.
3. Book: L. M. Barley. C. D. Field. B. A. Kosmin. J. S. Nielsen. Religion: Recurrent Christian Sources, Non-Recurrent Christian Data, Judaism, Other Religions. 28 June 2014. Elsevier. 978-1-4832-9599-2. 306.
4. Book: Harris M. Lentz III. Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. 24 October 2008. McFarland. 978-0-7864-5205-7. 83.
5. Encyclopedia: United Kingdom: History of the Bahá'í Faith . Moojan . Momen . Moojan Momen . Baháʼí Encyclopedia (draft article) . 2020-10-16.
6. Book: A Library of Literary Criticism: Modern British Literature. Ungar. 1975. 588.
7. s12-WILL-HEN-1921. Williams, Raymond Henry (1921-1988), lecturer, writer and cultural critic. Daniel G. Williams. 2016. 29 October 2022.
8. s8-DAVI-PEN-1911. Davies, William Thomas (Pennar) (1911-1996), novelist, poet, theologian and scholar. D. Densil Morgan. 2006. 29 October 2022.
9. s10-PRIC-CAR-1904. Prichard, Caradog (1904-1980), novelist and poet. Menna Baines. 2008. 29 October 2022.
10. Book: Johnson, Catherine. Turnock, Rob. Itv Cultures: Independent Television Over Fifty Years: Independent Television Over Fifty Years. 1 September 2005. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). 978-0-335-21729-8. 96.
11. Web site: BBC Wales Sport Personality winners . BBC Sport . 29 July 2021.
12. Book: Joel McIver. Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead. 1 August 2017. Omnibus Press. 978-0-85712-718-1. 143.
13. Book: Simon Weston. Walking Tall: An Autobiography. February 1990. Bloomsbury. 978-0-7475-0499-3.
14. Web site: Edwards, Huw. Who's Who. 2016. online. Oxford University Press. 2016-01-24.
15. Web site: Julia Gillard . Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers . 29 July 2021 . en . 26 February 2019.
16. Web site: A new poet for St David's Day: Ifor ap Glyn appointed national poet of Wales. 1 March 2016. Richard Lea. 12 March 2019.
17. Web site: Bowen, William Oswald. unithistories.com. 18 September 2020.
18. Web site: Jones, William (1896-1961), poet and minister. Brynley Francis Roberts. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. 12 March 2019.
19. Web site: Kate Evans . . . and Kate Evans! . Rebecca . Jones . 21 September 2018 . Glasgow Women's Library . 8 October 2019.
20. Web site: Tom Beynon . Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales . Gomer Morgan Roberts. 3 May 2016.
21. Book: Meic Stephens. Poetry 1900-2000. 1 October 2007. Summersdale Publishers Limited. 978-1-84839-722-4. 11.
22. Book: Augustus John. Malcolm Easton. University of Hull. Augustus John: portraits of the artist's family. 1970. University of Hull. 11. 9780900480898.