1961 in Wales

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

← 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1961 in Wales → 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1961 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Charles
• Princess of Wales – vacant
• Archbishop of Wales – Edwin Morris, Bishop of Monmouth
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Trefin

Events

• 16 February – The BP Explorer, 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 wrecked 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 Bahá'í Faith entirely of native Welsh Bahá'í.[5]

Arts and literature

• Richard Booth opens the first used bookstore in Hay-on-Wye.
• Keith Baxter makes his Broadway debut as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Rhosllanerchrugog)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Emrys Edwards
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – L. Haydn Lewis
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – withheld

New books

• Dannie Abse – The Eccentric
• Pennar Davies – Yr Efrydd o Lyn Cynon
• Islwyn Ffowc Elis – Tabyrddau'r Tabongo
• W. J. Gruffydd (Elerydd) – Ffenestri
• Richard Hughes – The Fox in the Attic
• Caradog Prichard – Un Nos Ola Leuad
• Bertrand Russell – Fact and Fiction
• Dave Waldo – Beat the Drum Slowly
• Emlyn Williams – George
• Raymond Williams – The Long Revolution

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 invites bids for its west and north Wales licence.[6] 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

Births

• 24 January – Tarki Micallef, professional footballer
• 26 March – William Hague, Secretary of State for Wales 1995–97 (in South Yorkshire)[7]
• 7 May – Phil Campbell, rock guitarist[8]
• 1 July – Diana, Princess of Wales (in England) (d. 1997)[9]
• 5 July – Gareth Jones ("Gaz Top"), television presenter
• 7 July – Steve Brace, long-distance runner
• 8 August
  • The Edge (David Howell Evans), rock guitarist (in Barking, London, to Welsh parents)
  • Simon Weston, war hero[10]
• 18 August – Huw Edwards, newsreader[11]
• 30 August – Delyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, charity worker and Labour peer
• 29 September – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia (in Barry)
• 20 October – Ian Rush, footballer
• 1 November – Nicky Grist, racing driver
• 25 November – Nuccia Focile, star of Welsh National Opera (in Sicily)
• 12 December – Philip Parkin, golfer (in South Yorkshire)
• date unknown
  • Ifor ap Glyn, Welsh-language poet and television presenter[12]
  • Twm Morys, poet

Deaths

• 18 January – William Jones, poet, 64[13]
• 18 April – John Evans, Labour politician, 85
• 30 April – Charles Williams, academic, 55
• 28 June – Huw Menai, poet, 74[14]
• 3 July – Albert Jenkin, Wales international rugby player, 88
• 13 October – Augustus John, painter, 83[15]
• 20 November – Edwin Thomas Maynard, Wales international rugby player, 83

See also

• 1961 in Northern Ireland

References

1. "A History of Gloucester Harbour Trustees" (PDF). Gloucester Harbour Trustees. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
2. Asa Briggs. The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: 1955-1974. Competition. Oxford University Press. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-19-215964-9.
3. L. M. Barley; C. D. Field; B. A. Kosmin; J. S. Nielsen (28 June 2014). Religion: Recurrent Christian Sources, Non-Recurrent Christian Data, Judaism, Other Religions. Elsevier. p. 306. ISBN 978-1-4832-9599-2.
4. Harris M. Lentz III (24 October 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7864-5205-7.
5. "UK Bahá'í History". UK Bahá'í. Archived from the original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
6. Johnson, Catherine; Turnock, Rob (1 September 2005). Itv Cultures: Independent Television Over Fifty Years: Independent Television Over Fifty Years. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). p. 96. ISBN 978-0-335-21729-8.
7. "Hague, Rt Hon. William (Jefferson)". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required) (subscription required)
8. Joel McIver (1 August 2017). Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead. Omnibus Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-85712-718-1.
9. Morton, Andrew (1997) [1992]. Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 70. ISBN 0-684-85080-X.
10. Simon Weston (February 1990). Walking Tall: An Autobiography. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-0499-3.
11. "Edwards, Huw". Who's Who (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
12. Richard Lea (1 March 2016). "A new poet for St David's Day: Ifor ap Glyn appointed national poet of Wales". Retrieved 12 March 2019.
13. Brynley Francis Roberts. "Jones, William (1896-1961), poet and minister". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
14. Meic Stephens (1 October 2007). Poetry 1900-2000. Summersdale Publishers Limited. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-84839-722-4.
15. Augustus John; Malcolm Easton; University of Hull (1970). Augustus John: portraits of the artist's family. University of Hull. p. 11.