1942 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1942 to Wales and its people.

← 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1942 in Wales → 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1942 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales - vacant
• Princess of Wales – vacant
• Archbishop of Wales – Charles Green, Bishop of Bangor[1]
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Crwys

Events

• 30 January – Scarweather lightvessel in Swansea Bay sinks.[2]
• 28 March – St Nazaire Raid: Lt-Commander Stephen Halden Beattie steers HMS Campbeltown through an enemy attack, winning the Victoria Cross for his courage under fire.
• 13 April – The Cardiff East by-election, caused by the appointment of sitting National Conservative MP, Owen Temple-Morris, as a county court judge is uncontested, under an agreement between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties, who are participating in a wartime coalition.[3]
• 25 April – A Nazi German Luftwaffe Junkers 88 crashes into a hill near Builth Wells. Two crew members are killed, the other two taken prisoner.
• 25 May – A breach in the Glamorganshire Canal near Nantgarw is inspected but it is decided not to do any work on it; the canal closes permanently later in the year.[4]
• 10 June – The Llandaff and Barry by-election, caused by the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Patrick Munro, is won by the Conservative candidate Cyril Lakin.
• 20 July – An RAF Lockheed Hudson crashes near Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, killing thirteen crew.
• 30 July – A Heinkel 111 crashes on Pwllheli beach, killing three crew; the survivor is captured.[5]
• 11 August
  • A USAAF Flying Fortress crashes in the Berwyn range, killing six crew.[6]
  • An RAF Wellington bomber crashes into St Brides Bay, killing six Polish crew.
• 18 August – The body of a German pilot is washed ashore at Newton on the South Wales coast. He is buried in the village of Nottage.
• September – A USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft crashes off the coast near Harlech.[7]
• 22 October – The Welsh Courts Act is passed, allowing the Welsh language to be used in courts of law.[8]
• 31 October – An RAF Wellington collides in mid-air with an RAF Bristol Beaufort near Bangor, killing seven crew.
• 16 November – An RAF Lancaster bomber crashes into Dolwen Hill, Llanerfyl, near Welshpool, killing seven crew.[9]
• December – The South Wales Coal Dust Research Committee produces its first report.[10]
• date unknown
  • A building at M. S. Factory, Valley in Flintshire is adapted for the testing of apparatus for separation of isotopes of uranium as part of the 'Tube Alloys' programme of research into development of nuclear weapons.
  • Caverns at the disused Croesor Quarry are requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply for explosives storage.[11]
  • Houses for munitions workers at Whitchurch, Cardiff, are designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe.[12]
  • During the development of RAF Valley on Anglesey, a hoard of La Tène metalwork is found in Llyn Cerrig Bach.[13]

Arts and literature

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Cardigan)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Herman Jones
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld

New books

English language

• Roland Mathias - Days Enduring
• Leslie Norris - Tongue of Beauty
• John Cowper Powys - Owen Glendower (U.K. publication)[14]
• Hilda Vaughan - The Fair Woman (retelling of "The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach", later republished as Iron and Gold)[15]

Welsh language

• D. Gwenallt Jones - Cnoi Cil[16]
• John Gwilym Jones - Y Dewis
• Thomas Jones (T. J.) - Cerrig Milltir

Music

• Sir Granville Bantock - Two Welsh Melodies and Celtic Symphony[17]

Film

• Neath-born Ray Milland stars in Reap the Wild Wind.[18]

Broadcasting

Welsh-language broadcasting

• The radio series Caniadaeth y Cysegr is launched by the BBC, and soon proves unexpectedly popular with listeners in other parts of the UK. The hymn-based series celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2017.[19]

Sport

• Football
  • 9 May – Wales defeat England 1-0
  • 24 October – Wales defeat England 2-1

Births

March:John Cale

July:Sylvia Heal

July:Spencer Davis

• 2 January – Billy Hullin, Wales international rugby union player (died 2012)
• 31 January – Euros Lewis, cricketer (died 2014)
• 1 February – Terry Jones, writer, comedic actor and director (died 2020)[20]
• 15 February – Leslie Griffiths, Methodist minister and politician
• 18 February – John Hughes, footballer
• 9 March – John Cale, experimental rock musician[21]
• 13 March
  • John Mantle, dual-code rugby player
  • Meic Stevens, singer-songwriter
• 21 March – Owain Arwel Hughes, orchestral conductor[22]
• 28 March – Neil Kinnock, politician[23]
• 1 April – Karl Francis, film-maker
• 5 April – Peter Greenaway, film-maker[24]
• 1 May – Geoff Evans, rugby union player
• 20 May – Lynn Davies, athlete[25]
• 21 May – David Hunt, Secretary of State for Wales 1990-93[26]
• 25 May – Ron Davies, footballer
• 1 June – Bruce George, politician (died 2020)
• 8 June – Doug Mountjoy, snooker player
• 13 July – Hywel Gwynfryn, television presenter
• 17 July – Spencer Davis, musician[27]
• 18 July – Roger Cecil, painter (d.2015)
• 20 July – Sylvia Heal, politician
• 27 July – Colin Lewis, cyclist[28]
• 25 August – Michael J. Morgan, academic
• 5 September
  • Chris Corbett, rugby player
  • Betty Morgan, lawn bowler
• 16 September
  • Barrie Hole, footballer
  • Jeff Young, rugby player
• 12 September – Delme Thomas, rugby player[29]
• 7 October – Allan Lewis, rugby player[30]
• 24 November – Craig Thomas, thriller writer (died 2011)
• 28 November – Jeffrey Lewis, composer
• 2 December – Brian Evans, footballer (died 2003)
• 4 December – Anthony G. Evans, mechanical engineer (died 2009)[31]

Deaths

• 1 January – John Baldwin Hoystead Meredith, Welsh-Australian soldier and doctor, 77[32]
• 7 January – Edward Arthur Lewis, historian[33]
• 27 January – Tom Barlow, Welsh rugby player and cricketer, 77
• 10 February – Felix Powell, musician, 63[34]
• 15 February – Frank Treharne James, lawyer, 80[35]
• 22 March – Ebenezer Griffith-Jones, academic, 82[36]
• 24 March – Will Osborne, Wales international rugby union player, 66
• 22 April
  • John John Evans, journalist
  • James Morgan Pryse, Welsh-descended American author, publisher, theosophist and founder of the Gnostic Society, 96[37]
• 5 May – David Milwyn Duggan, Welsh-born Canadian politician, 62[38]
• 14 May – Walter Watkins, footballer
• 10 July – Sydney Curnow Vosper, artist, 75[39]
• 22 July – Gilbert Joyce, Bishop of Monmouth, 76[40]
• 4 August – Arthur Vernon Davies[41]
• 6 August – Francis Green, antiquary, 97[42]
• 12 September – Valentine Baker, pilot, 54 (killed in flying accident)[43]
• 24 September – David Walters (Eurof), minister and author
• 14 October – Jem Evans, Wales international rugby union player, 75
• 26 October – Richard Mathias, politician, 79
• 12 November – Hubert Prichard, Glamorgan cricketer, 77[44]
• 7 December – Lionel Beaumont Thomas, businessman, British Army officer and politician, 49
• 22 December – Elias Henry Jones, British Army officer, educationist and author, 59[45]

See also

• 1942 in Northern Ireland

References

1. C. J. Litzenberger; Eileen Groth Lyon (2006). The Human Tradition in Modern Britain. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7425-3735-4.
2. "Scarweather Ltv [+1942]". Wrecksite. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
3. P Addison, By-Elections of the Second World War in C Cook & J Ramsden (eds.) By-elections in British Politics; UCL Press, 1997 p130
4. Rowson, Stephen; Wright, Ian L. (2004). "13". The Glamorganshire and Aberdare Canals. 2. Lydney: Black Dwarf Publications. ISBN 1-903599-12-1.
5. Michael J. F. Bowyer (1990). Action Stations: Military airfields of Wales and the North-West. Stephens. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-85260-375-5.
6. Roger Anthony Freeman (June 1970). The mighty Eighth: units, men, and machines (a history of the US 8th Army Air Force). Doubleday. p. 11.
7. "'Harlech P-38' – scheduled for its historic importance and future protection". Cadw. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
8. Great Britain (1946). Statutes of the United Kingdom (Law Times statutes) 1927-1946. Law Times Reports. pp. 60–61.
9. David W. Earl (1995). Hell on High Ground: A Guide to Aircraft Hill Crash Sites in the UK and Ireland. Airlife Pub. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-85310-569-2.
10. Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Kelvin House. 1945. p. 32.
11. FRS (1971). "Gwynedd Topics". Ffestiniog Railway Magazine. Ffestiniog Railway Society (54: Autumn).
12. The Twentieth Century Society (2017). "1942". 100 Houses 100 Years. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-1-84994-437-3.
13. Donald Henson (12 March 2015). Archaeology Hotspot Great Britain: Unearthing the Past for Armchair Archaeologists. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-0-7591-2397-7.
14. The Powys family: a check-list of the collection in the Colgate University Library. Colgate University Library. 1972. p. 12.
15. The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction, 3 Volume Set. John Wiley & Sons. 18 January 2011. p. 386. ISBN 978-1-4051-9244-6.
16. Poetry Wales. C. Davies. 1969. p. 52.
17. Max Hinrichsen (1944). Hinrichsen's Musical Year Book. Hinrichsen Edition. p. 84.
18. Andrew Horton (1 October 2003). Henry Bumstead and the World of Hollywood Art Direction. University of Texas Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-292-70519-7.
19. "75 years of Welsh language radio show that became UK hit". BBC News. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
20. Bevan, Nathan (2011-03-05). "The life and times of Monty Python's Terry Jones". Western Mail. Walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
21. Mitchell, Tim Sedition and Alchemy: A Biography of John Cale, 2003, p. 24
22. Owain Arwel Hughes (15 September 2012). Owain Arwel Hughes: My Life in Music. University of Wales Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7083-2630-5.
23. Britannica Educational Publishing (1 June 2013). The United Kingdom: Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Britanncia Educational Publishing. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-62275-056-6.
24. Geoff Andrew (1990). The Film Handbook. G.K. Hall. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-8161-1830-4.
25. Bethan M. Jenkins (15 March 2017). Writing Wales in English: Between Wales and England -: Anglophone Welsh Writing of the Eighteenth Century. University of Wales Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-78683-031-9.
26. Joseph Whitaker (1 November 1990). Whitaker's almanack, 1991. Whitaker. ISBN 978-0-85021-205-1.
27. Norm N. Nite (1980). Rock on: The modern years : 1964 - present. Crowell. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-690-01196-8.
28. "Colin Lewis". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
29. Griffiths, John (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. pp. 12:33. ISBN 0-460-07003-7.
30. Griffiths, John (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. pp. 12:31. ISBN 0-460-07003-7.
31. Peters, Kristen (2009-09-17). "Engineering Professor Dies at 66". Daily Nexus. University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
32. "Brigadier General Dr John Meredith". ADFA. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
33. National Library of Wales (1941). Annual Report.
34. Richard Anthony Baker (31 May 2014). British Music Hall: An Illustrated History. Pen and Sword. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-4738-3718-8.
35. Archibald Henry Lee; William Llewelyn Davies. "James, Frank Treharne (1861-1942), solicitor, art connoisseur". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
36. John Dyfnallt Owen. "Griffith-Jones, Ebenezer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
37. Russell Davies (28 March 2018). Sex, Sects and Society: 'Pain and Pleasure': A Social History of Wales and the Welsh, 1870-1945. University of Wales Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-78683-214-6.
38. "Biographies of Mayors and Councillors". Edmonton Public Library. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
39. "No. 35968". The London Gazette. 1605. p. 6 April 1943.
40. "Dr. G. C. Joyce, formerly Bishop of Monmouth". The Times. London, England. 23 July 1942. p. 7 – via The Times Digital Archive 1785–2008.
41. Michael Stenton; Stephen Lees (1981). Who's who of British members of parliament: a biographical dictionary of the House of Commons, based on annual volumes of Dod's 'parliamentary companion' and other sources. Harvester Press. p. 89.
42. John James Evans. "Green, Francis (1854-1943), antiquary". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
43. Valentine Henry Baker funeral brochure. Martin-Baker Co. 1942.
44. Steven John (3 August 2015). Welsh Yeomanry at War: A History of the 24th (Pembroke and Glamorgan) Battalion The Welsh Regiment. Pen & Sword Military. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-4738-6581-5.
45. "Jones, Elias Henry". National Library of Wales Welsh Biography Online. Retrieved 10 November 2013.