1971 in Wales explained

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1971 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Wales – Peter Thomas^[1]
• Archbishop of Wales
  • Glyn Simon, Bishop of Llandaff (retired)^[2]
  • Gwilym Williams, Bishop of Bangor (elected)^[3]
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Tilsli^[4]

Events

• February - Harold Charles becomes Bishop of St Asaph.^[5]
• 6 May - Singer Dickie Valentine is killed in a car accident on the Glangrwyney bridge near Crickhowell.^[6]
• 28 May - Opening of the Llanberis Lake Railway.^[7]
• 1 August - It becomes legal to register marriages in the Welsh language.^[8]
• date unknown
  • The Welsh Nursery Schools Movement is founded in Aberystwyth.^[9]
  • Anglesey Aluminium opens its smelting plant on the outskirts of Holyhead.^[10]
  • Wylfa Nuclear Power Station becomes operational.^[11]

Arts and literature

• Mary Hopkin marries record producer Tony Visconti.
• Welsh performers participate in the first Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany.

Awards

• • National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Bangor)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Emrys Roberts, "Y Chwarelwr"^[12]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Bryan Martin Davies, "Y Golau Caeth"^[13]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Ifor Wyn Williams

New books

English language

• Rhys Davies - Nobody Answered the Bell^[14]
• John L. Hughes - Tom Jones Slept Here^[15]

Welsh language

• Islwyn Ffowc Elis - Y Gromlech yn yr Haidd
• Gwynfor Evans - Aros Mae
• Tudor Wilson Evans - Ar Gae'r Brêc
• Beti Hughes - Aderyn o Ddyfed
• Alan Llwyd - Y March Hud
• Eluned Phillips - Cofiant Dewi Emrys^[16]
• Gwyn Thomas - Y Bardd Cwsg a'i Gefndir

Music

• John Cale & Terry Riley - Church of Anthrax^[17]
• Man - Do You Like It Here Now, Are You Settling In?
• Iris Williams - Pererin Wyf (single)

Film

• Merthyr Tydfil is one of the locations used for the filming of 10 Rillington Place.^[18]
• Ruth Madoc appears in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof.

Welsh-language films

• None

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Max Boyce appears on the Welsh-language music show, Disc a Dawn.^[19]

English-language television

• Comedy duo Ryan Davies and Ronnie Williams transfer their successful Welsh language show to BBC1.
• 22 March - Sesame Streets UK debut is on HTV.
• 14 April - Nerys Hughes gets her big break in The Liver Birds, first aired on this date.

Sport

• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year - John Dawes, Wales national rugby union teen and Welsh Lions^[20]
• Cricket - May: In a Glamorgan home match at Sophia Gardens, Roger Davis is struck on the temple while fielding at short leg and survives largely thanks to the intervention of Dr Colin Lewis (grandfather of Rhydian Roberts).^[21]
• Gymnastics - Pam Hopkins wins the British Women's Championship.
• Rugby union - Wales win their sixth Grand Slam.
• Sailing - Nicolette Milnes-Walker becomes the first woman to sail non-stop single-handed across the Atlantic.

Births

• 11 January - Tom Ward, actor
• 23 January - Scott Gibbs, rugby player
• 19 March (in Taunton) - Kirsty Williams, politician^[22]
• 2 April - Chico Slimani, singer^[23]
• 18 June - Lucy Owen, née Cohen, television news presenter
• 8 July - Neil Jenkins, rugby player^[24]
• 18 August (in Limerick) - Aphex Twin, musician
• 8 September - Martyn Margetson, footballer
• 3 October - Zoe Lyons, comedian
• 26 October - Damon Searle, footballer
• 5 November
  • Chris Addison, Cardiff-born comedian^[25]
  • Rob Jones, footballer
• 18 December - Jason Hughes, actor
• date unknown
  • Jason Walford Davies, poet and academic
  • Eleri Siôn, née Jones, media presenter

Deaths

• 2 January – Harold Jones, convicted murderer, 64^[26]
• 12 January – Gwenan Jones, historian and politician, 81^[27]
• 4 March – Ifan Gruffydd ("Y Gŵr o Baradwys"), author, 75^[28]
• 8 March – Harold Lloyd, American comedy actor of Welsh descent, 77^{[29] [30]}
• 18 March – Jack Gore, Wales international rugby player, 71
• 9 April – Dewi Morgan, poet, scholar and journalist, 93^[31]
• 19 April – Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais), writer and political activist, 91^[32]
• 18 May – William Mainwaring MP, miners' leader^[33]
• 20 May – Waldo Williams, poet, 66^[34]
• 29 May – Howell Lewis, Wales international rugby player, 83
• 5 June – Clifford Dyment, poet, 57^[35]
• 5 July – Idris Jones, chemist and rugby player, 71
• 11 July – Brenda Chamberlain, poet and artist, 59^[36]
• 4 September – C. E. Vulliamy, author, 85^[37]
• 1 October – Bill Davies, cricketer, 65
• 9 November - Ceri Richards, artist, 68^[38]
• 27 November - Leslie Thomas, politician, 65^[39]
• 1 December - Jack Jenkins, Wales international rugby player, 91
• date unknown
  • James Conway Davies, historian and palaeographer, 79^[40]
  • Jack Evans, footballer

See also

• 1971 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Web site: Obituary. The Guardian. 6 February 2008.
2. Book: Who was who. 1971. A. & C. Black. 728. 978-0-312-87746-0 .
3. Book: Norman Doe. A New History of the Church in Wales: Governance and Ministry, Theology and Society. 5 March 2020. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-108-49957-6. 109.
4. Book: Meic Stephens. The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. April 1986. Oxford University Press. 589. 978-0-19-211586-7 .
5. [The Times]
6. Book: Neil Sean. Live from the London Palladium: The World's Most Famous Theatre in the Words of the Stars Who Have Played There. 15 November 2014. Amberley Publishing Limited. 978-1-4456-4329-8. 35.
7. Book: Andrew Wilson. Narrow Gauge Railways of North Wales. Tempus. 2003. 9780752427881. 89.
8. Book: Statutory instruments. 1971.
9. Book: Gearóid Mac Eoin. Anders Ahlqvist. Donncha Ó hAodha. Third International Conference on Minority Languages: Celtic Papers. 1987. Multilingual Matters. 978-0-905028-64-4. 58.
10. Book: James R. King. The Aluminium Industry. 23 February 2001. Elsevier. 978-1-85573-876-8. 1.
11. Web site: Nuclear Power Plants in the UK - Scotland and Wales. http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090719124719/http%3A//www.industcards.com/nuclear%2Duk%2Dsc%2Dwl.htm. dead. 19 July 2009.
12. Web site: Enillwyr y Gadair. cy. Eisteddfod. 13 June 2024.
13. Web site: Crown Winners. Eisteddfod. 13 June 2024.
14. Book: Osborne, Huw Edwin. Rhys Davies. University of Wales Press. 2009. 9780708322420. 136.
15. Book: The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales. Oxford University Press. 1986. 9780192115867. 269.
16. Book: Meic Stephens. The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. April 1986. Oxford University Press. 476.
17. Book: Dr Keith Potter. Dr Pwyll ap Siôn. Professor Kyle Gann. The Ashgate Research Companion to Minimalist and Postminimalist Music. 28 December 2013. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. 978-1-4724-0278-3. 495.
18. Book: Rhianwen Long. Merthyr Tydfil Through Time. 15 April 2014. Amberley Publishing Limited. 978-1-4456-1833-3. 67.
19. Book: Gareth Price. Broadcasters of BBC Wales. 12 January 2018. Y Lolfa. 978-1-78461-535-2. 64.
20. News: BBC Wales Sport Personality winners . BBC Sport . 10 December 2012 . 29 July 2021.
21. Web site: Glamorgan cricketer Roger Davis on how he nearly suffered same fate as Phil Hughes - but was saved by Rhydian Roberts' grandfather. 24 November 2014. James Rothwell. WalesOnline. 30 September 2019.
22. Web site: UK: Wales: AMs. BBC News. 30 September 2019.
23. Web site: Mr Yousseph Chico Slimani . Company Check . 7 December 2019.
24. Web site: Wales profile . 2022-05-26 . 2008-07-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080720110823/http://www.wru.co.uk/2634_9535.php . bot: unknown .
25. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/chris-addison-the-thinking-mans-comic-adjusts-to-fame-6261619.html "Chris Addison: The thinking man's comic adjusts to fame"
26. News: Murdered Abertillery Girl's Niece Learnt About Tragedy in Book. 11 September 2018. BBC.co.uk. 4 August 2018.
27. s10-JONE-GWE-1889. Jones, Gwenan (1889-1971), educationalist and author. Nerys Ann Jones. 30 September 2019.
28. s6-GRUF-IFA-1896. Gruffydd, Ifan (1896-1971), author. Bedwyr Lewis Jones. yes. 2 July 2019.
29. News: Died . https://web.archive.org/web/20081221204137/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904932,00.html . dead . December 21, 2008 . March 22, 1971 . June 8, 2008 .
30. News: Harold Lloyd, Bespectacled Film Comic, Dies of Cancer at 77 . Comedian Harold Lloyd, 77, who bumbled through more than 300 films as a bespectacled victim of life's difficulties, died of cancer Monday at his Beverly Hills home. . . March 9, 1971 . June 8, 2008 .
31. s7-MORG-DEW-1877. Morgan, Dewi 'Dewi Teifi'; (1877-1971), poet and journalist. Nerys Ann Jones. yes. 25 December 2019.
32. s8-NICH-EVA-1879. Nicholas, Thomas Evan ('Niclas y Glais'), (1879-1971), poet, minister of religion and advocate for the Communist Party. D. Ben Rees. yes. 25 December 2019.
33. s8-NICH-EVA-1879. Mainwaring, William Henry (1884-1971), Labour politician. John Graham Jones. yes. 25 December 2019.
34. Book: James Nicholas. Waldo Williams. 1975. University of Wales Press for the Welsh Arts Council. 85. 978-0-7083-0585-0 .
35. Book: Ernest Kay. The International authors and writers who's who. 1976. 978-0-900332-34-0. 167. International Biographical Centre .
36. Book: Kate Holman. Brenda Chamberlain. 7 November 1997. University of Wales Press. 11. 978-0-7083-1048-9 .
37. Book: Meic Stephens. The new companion to the literature of Wales. 23 September 1998. University of Wales Press. 978-0-7083-1383-1. 761.
38. Book: Oxford University Press. Benezit Dictionary of British Graphic Artists and Illustrators. 21 June 2012. OUP USA. 978-0-19-992305-2. 265.
39. Web site: Mr Leslie Thomas. UK Parliament. 13 June 2024.
40. Book: Edward Weldon,The Society of American Archivists. The American Archivist Volume 36.Number 4.October 1973. 1972. 408.