1999 in Wales explained

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1999 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• First Secretary – Alun Michael (from 12 May)
• Secretary of State for Wales
  • Alun Michael (until 28 July)
  • Paul Murphy
• Archbishop of Wales
  • Alwyn Rice Jones, Bishop of St Asaph (retired)
  • Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth (elected)
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • Dafydd Rowlands (outgoing)
  • Meirion Evans (incoming)

Events

• January
  • Protesting farmers blockade the north Wales headquarters of supermarket chain Iceland.
  • Opening of the St David's Hotel in Cardiff Bay, Wales's first 5-star hotel.^[1]
• February – Outbreak of meningitis in the Pontypridd area.
• March – West Wales and the Valleys is designated an Objective 1 region within the European Community.
• 6 May – 1999 National Assembly for Wales election, the first to be held.^[2]
• 10 May – The Queen attends a gala concert in Cardiff Bay to celebrate the opening of the Welsh Assembly.^[3]
• 12 May – The National Assembly for Wales meets in Cardiff for its first session.^[4]
• 19 May – 'Robbie', probably the last pit pony to work in the U.K. is retired at Pant y Gasseg drift mine, near Pontypool in the South Wales coalfield.^[5]
• June – Eight children in north Wales are taken ill with E. coli poisoning.
• 27 June – The Clydach murders: four members of the same family are found bludgeoned to death.^[6]
• July – Bryncelyn Brewery begins brewing.
• December – Hyder cuts 1000 jobs after being forced to make cuts in their charges for electricity and water.
• 19 December – Charlotte Church makes her debut as a television actress in Heartbeat.
• Main construction work on Cardiff Bay Barrage completed.

Arts and literature

• Cysgod y Cryman by Islwyn Ffowc Elis (1953) is voted the most significant Welsh language book of the 20th century.
• Sir Harry Secombe suffers a second stroke, which forces him to give up his television career.
• Mary Hopkin joins The Chieftains on their UK tour.
• Dick Francis

A Racing Life, an unauthorised biography, suggests that his books were substantially written by his wife Mary.

• Painter Kyffin Williams is knighted for his services to the arts.
• September – Swansea Grand Theatre becomes the base for the Ballet Russe company.

Awards

• Cardiff Singer of the World – Anja Harteros
• Glyndŵr Award – Gillian Clarke
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Gwenallt Lloyd Ifan
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – Ifor ap Glyn
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – Sonia Edwards
• Wales Book of the Year

• • English language: Emyr Humphreys – The Gift of a Daughter
  • Welsh language

R. M. Jones – Ysbryd y Cwlwm: Delwedd y Genedl yn ein Llenyddiaeth

• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen – Ann Pierce Jones – Fflamio

New books

English language

• Richard Booth – My Kingdom of Books
• John Davies – The Making of Wales^[7]
• Paul Ferris – Infidelity
• Patrick Hannan – The Welsh Illusion
• Craig Thomas – Slipping into Shadow

Welsh language

• Grahame Davies – Sefyll yn y Bwlch^[8]
• Mair Wynn Hughes – Hen Ŵr y Môr

New drama

• Greg Cullen – Paul Robeson Knew My Father (play)^[9]

Music

• Gillian Elisa – Haul ar Nos Hir (album)
• Gorky's Zygotic Mynci – Spanish Dance Troupe (album)
• Karl Jenkins – The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace

Film

• Catherine Zeta-Jones co-stars in Entrapment.

Welsh-language films

• Cymer Dy Siâr
• Porc Pei (Pork Pie)
• Solomon a Gaenor, starring Ioan Gruffudd

Broadcasting

• May – Huw Edwards begins presenting the BBC Six O'Clock News.

Welsh-language television

• Y Palmant Aur (drama)
• Yno o hyd (documentary)
• Tri Tenor – Gala concert with performances by Welsh tenors Gwyn Hughes Jones, Rhys Meirion and Timothy Richards
• Catrin Finch (documentary)
• Ponteifi (sitcom)

English-language television

• Sea of Troubles (documentary)
• House of the Future (documentary by Malcolm Parry)
• Barry Welsh is Coming (winner of the BAFTA Wales Award for Light Entertainment)
• Belonging (BBC Wales)
• The Big Picture (presented by Peter Lord)

Sport

• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Colin Jackson^[10]
• Football
  • UWIC Inter Cardiff are Welsh Cup winners after beating Carmarthen Town on penalties.
  • Barry Town win their fourth successive League of Wales title.
  • Winners of the three divisions in the Welsh Football League are: Ton Pentre (Division 1), Penrhiwceiber Rangers (Division 2) & Caerleon (Division 3).
  • Flexsys Cefn Druids are champions of the Cymru Alliance.
  • AFC Llwydcoed and Garden Village are promoted to the Welsh Football League.
• Rugby
  • The Rugby Union World Cup is hosted by Wales, with the final being held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, on 6 November. The winning team is Australia.
• Snooker
  • Mark Williams wins the Welsh Open tournament in Cardiff.^[11]
  • Mark Williams wins the UK Championship for the first time, defeating Matthew Stevens in an all-Welsh final.^[12]

Births

• 12 January – Tyler Roberts, footballer
• 29 April – Callum Scott Howells, actor and singer
• 23 June – Cai Evans, rugby player
• 15 October – Ben Woodburn, footballer^[13]

Deaths

• 3 February (in London) – Alfred Janes, artist, 87^[14]
• 8 February – Meredith Edwards, actor, 81^[15]
• 16 February – Don Hayward, Wales and British Lions international rugby player, 73
• 17 February – John Lansdown, computer graphics pioneer, 70^[16]
• 4 April – Raymond Davies Hughes, RAF airman and broadcaster, 75
• 11 April – Alan Evans, darts player, 49
• 6 May – Johnny Morris, television presenter, 82^[17]
• 11 May – Robert Thomas, sculptor, 72^[18]
• 12 July – Guy Griffiths, pilot, 84
• 16 July – Barri Jones, classical scholar and archaeologist, 63^[19]
• 5 September – Ivor Roberts, former TWW presenter, 74
• 22 September – Clive Jenkins, trade union leader, 73^[20]
• 24 October – Howard Griffiths, screenwriter, 64
• 15 November – Sir Harry Llewellyn, equestrian champion, 88^[21]
• 27 November – Ernest Zobole, artist, 72^[22]
• 6 December – Gwyn Jones, writer, 92^[23]
• 19 December – Desmond Llewelyn, actor, 85 (car accident)^[24]
• 23 December – Eirene White, politician, 90^[25]

See also

• 1999 in Northern Ireland

Notes and References

1. Book: HotelBusiness. July 2000. ICD Publications. 106.
2. Book: Vacher's Parliamentary Companion. 1999. A.S. Kerswill. 195–6.
3. Web site: 1999 - the year of Cool Cymru. 25 December 1999. BBC News Wales. 4 February 2020.
4. Book: Michael Connolly. Stephen Prosser. Rod Hough. Kathryn Potter. Making it Happen in Public Service: Devolution in Wales as a Case Study. 2 November 2015. Andrews UK Limited. 978-1-84540-478-9. 49.
5. Paul. Jackson. Pantygasseg Colliery. Archive. 99. September 2018. 18–47.
6. Web site: Morris guilty of Clydach murders. 17 August 2006. BBC News. 7 October 2019.
7. Web site: John Davies obituary. 25 February 2015. The Guardian. Russell Davies. 31 July 2023.
8. Web site: Grahame Davies. Writers of Wales. 31 July 2023.
9. Book: Val Hill. Hijinx. 2006. Parthian. 978-1-902638-77-5. 2.
10. News: BBC Wales Sport Personality winners . BBC Sport . 2 August 2021.
11. Web site: Welsh Open 1999. 4 February 2008. snooker.org.
12. Web site: Liverpool Victoria UK Championship 1999. 26 November 2014. snooker.org.
13. Web site: Ben Woodburn: Overview . Premier League . 24 October 2019.
14. Web site: Alfred Janes obituary. 15 February 1999. George Melly. George Melly. The Guardian. 3 March 2019.
15. Web site: Meredith Edwards. BFI. https://web.archive.org/web/20120714094704/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9f93e422. 14 November 2020. 2012-07-14.
16. Web site: John Lansdown obituary. 3 March 1999. Huw Jones. The Guardian. 15 April 2019.
17. Web site: Obituary: Johnny Morris. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-johnny-morris-1092133.html . 2022-05-01 . subscription. 8 May 1999. Tim Bullamore and Desmond Hawkins. The Independent. 3 March 2019.
18. Book: Meic Stephens. Necrologies: A Book of Welsh Obituaries. 2008. Seren. 978-1-85411-476-1. 86.
19. https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,281591,00.html Obituary
20. Web site: Clive Jenkins. 23 September 1999. Keith Harper. The Guardian. 3 March 2019.
21. Web site: Sir Harry Llewellyn. 17 November 1999. Judith Draper. The Guardian. 3 March 2019.
22. Web site: Ernest Zobole. 23 December 1999. Peter Wakelin. The Guardian. 3 March 2019.
23. News: Slay. Desmond. Gwyn Jones. 11 May 2017. The Guardian. 21 December 1999. London.
24. News: Bond actor killed in crash . BBC News . 19 December 1999 . 25 August 2013.
25. Web site: Baroness White of Rhymney. 27 December 1999. Lena Jeger. The Guardian. 15 April 2019.