1970 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1970 to Wales and its peoples.

← 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1970 in Wales → 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1970 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Charles
• Princess of Wales – vacant
• Secretary of State for Wales – George Thomas (until 20 June); Peter Thomas[1]
• Archbishop of Wales – Glyn Simon, Bishop of Llandaff[2]
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Tilsli[3]

Events

• 11 January – The last trolleybuses run on the Cardiff trolleybus system, the last such system in Wales.[4]
• 23 May – The 120-year-old Britannia Bridge built by Robert Stephenson across the Menai Strait is destroyed by fire.[5]
• 2 June – During the construction of the Cleddau Bridge, a cantilever collapses, resulting in the deaths of four workers. It is the last major bridge disaster in the UK.[6]
• 18 June – In the UK General Election:
  • S. O. Davies, having resigned from the Labour Party, retains his Parliamentary seat of Merthyr Tydfil, standing as an Independent Labour candidate.[7]
  • Gwynfor Evans loses his seat at Carmarthen.[8]
  • Jim Griffiths retires as MP for Llanelli, to be replaced by Denzil Davies.[9]
  • Nigel Birch retires from the House of Commons, to be created Baron Rhyl.
• 25 October – Pope Paul VI canonizes the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, who include the priests Philip Evans and John Lloyd, John Jones, David Lewis, John Roberts, and the teacher Richard Gwyn.[10]
• Dr Phil Williams becomes the first Chairman of Plaid Cymru.[11]

Arts and literature

• Robert Plant and Jimmy Page retreat to Bron-Yr-Aur to write songs for Led Zeppelin III.[12]

Awards

• Bernice Rubens wins the Booker Prize for The Elected Member.
• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Ammanford)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Tomi Evans, "Y Twrch Trwyth"[13]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – Bryan Martin Davies, "Darluniau ar Gynfas"[14]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – withheld[15]

New books

English language

• Ron Berry – So Long, Hector Bebb[16]
• Tom Earley – The Sad Mountain[17]
• Menna Gallie – You're Welcome to Ulster![18]
• Sally Roberts Jones – Turning Away
• John Ormond – Requiem and Celebration
• Harri Webb – The Green Desert

Welsh language

• Marion Eames – Y Stafell Ddirgel[19]
• J. Gwyn Griffiths – Cerddi Cairo[20]
• John Robert Jones – Ac Onide
• R. Williams Parry – Yr Haf a Cherddi Eraill
• Gwynne Williams – Rhwng Gewyn ac Asgwrn[21]
• T. Wilson Evans – Iwan Tudur

Music

• Badfinger – No Dice (featuring the original recording of "Without You")
• John Cale – Vintage Violence[22]
• Meic Stevens – Outlander
• Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets – A Legend

Film

• Stanley Baker stars in The Games.
• Hugh Griffith appears in Start the Revolution Without Me.

Welsh-language films

• None

Broadcasting

• 6 April – HTV starts broadcasting in colour from the Wenvoe transmitting station and from this day becomes known on air as HTV rather than Harlech Television.
• Coverage of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod is the first colour programme to be made by BBC Wales.

Welsh-language television

• Fo a Fe makes a star of Ryan Davies, who goes on to make three series of Ryan a Ronnie in Welsh with his partner Ronnie Williams.[23]

English-language television

Sport

• Boxing – Eddie Avoth wins the Commonwealth lightweight title.
• Show Jumping – David Broome wins the individual Show Jumping World Championship.
• Snooker – Ray Reardon wins the World Professional Snooker Championship for the first time.[24]
• David Broome wins BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.

Births

• 1 January – Brian Law, footballer
• 7 March – Cameron Toshack, footballer
• 19 March – Tracey Hinton, athlete
• 2 April – Jason Perry, footballer
• 15 April – Rebecca John, television presenter
• 19 May – Stuart Cable, rock musician and television presenter (died 2010)[25]
• 25 May – Robert Croft, cricketer[26]
• 18 June – Lucy Owen, television presenter
• 22 June – Paul Davies, snooker player
• 18 July – Gruff Rhys, musician[27]
• 27 July (in England) – David Davies, politician
• 30 July – Alun Cairns, politician[28]
• 9 August – Lee Jones, football goalkeeper
• 19 August – Me One (Eric Martin), singer-songwriter and rapper
• 26 September – Kevin Lloyd, footballer
• October – Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners
• 11 October (in England) – Andy Marriott, goalkeeper
• 14 November – Derwyn Jones, rugby union player
• 27 November – Stephen Evans, actor and comedy writer
• 29 December – Aled Jones, singer and radio presenter[29]
• 31 December – Louise Rickard, rugby union player

Deaths

• 3 January – Trefor Morgan, financier, 55
• 4 January – David John Williams (D. J. Williams), author and Plaid Cymru politician, 84[30]
• 23 January – Ifan ab Owen Edwards, founder of the Urdd, 74[31]
• 26 January – Albert Evans-Jones (Cynan), poet, 74[32]
• 2 February – Bertrand Russell, philosopher, 97
• 16 February – Bil Perry, Wales international rugby player, 83
• 22 February – Roddy Hughes, actor, 78
• 20 April – Thomas Iorwerth Ellis, academic, 70[33]
• 29 April – Bryn Evans, Welsh rugby international, 68
• 7 May
  • Annie Davies, radio and TV producer, 59[34]
  • Jack Jones, novelist, 75
• 30 May – John Edward Jones, Plaid Cymru leader, 64[35]
• 3 June – John Robert Jones, philosophy professor, 58[36]
• 4 June – Daniel John Davies, Independent minister and poet, 84[37]
• 9 June – Billy Spiller, cricketer and rugby player, 83
• 10 July – Isaac Griffiths, politician in Canada, 78
• 3 August – Sir Lincoln Evans, trade unionist, 80[38]
• 26 August – Thomas Mardy Jones, miner and politician, 91[39]
• 10 October – Owen Picton Davies, journalist, 88[40]
• 8 November – Huw T. Edwards, trade union leader and politician, 77[41]
• 17 November – Naunton Wayne, actor, 69[42]
• 9 November – Huw T. Edwards, trade union leader and politician, 77[43]

See also

• 1970 in Northern Ireland

References

1. E. B. Pryde; D. E. Greenway; S. Porter; I. Roy (23 February 1996). Handbook of British Chronology. Cambridge University Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-521-56350-5.
2. Who was who. A. & C. Black. 1971. p. 728.
3. Meic Stephens (April 1986). The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. Oxford University Press. p. 589.
4. Jim Blake (30 April 2017). Trolleybus Twilight: Britain's Last Trolleybus Systems. Pen and Sword. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4738-6149-7.
5. Stanley C. Jenkins; Martin Loader (15 March 2015). The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Volume One Chester to Holyhead. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4456-4416-5.
6. Dennis Kelsall; Jan Kelsall (21 March 2016). The Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Cicerone Press Limited. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-78362-326-6.
7. Robert Waller; Byron Criddle (1999). The Almanac of British Politics. Psychology Press. p. 475. ISBN 978-0-415-18541-7.
8. Kenneth O. Morgan (1981). Rebirth of a Nation: Wales, 1880-1980. Oxford University Press. pp. 393. ISBN 978-0-19-821736-7.
9. Denis Balsom; Martin Burch (1980). Political and Electoral Handbook for Wales: 1959-1979. Gower Press. ISBN 978-0-566-00236-6.
10. National Calendar for Wales, Liturgy Office for England and Wales, accessed 31 July 2011
11. House of Commons: With Full Results of the Polling and Biographies of Members and Unsuccessful Candidates and a Complete Analysis, Statistical Tables, and a Map of the General Election. Times Office. October 1974. ISBN 978-0-7230-0124-9.
12. The Golden Age of the Singer-Songwriter, 1970-1973. ABC-CLIO. 2012. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-313-37906-2.
13. "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.
14. "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.
15. "Winners of the Prose Medal". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
16. Daniel G. Williams (15 April 2015). Wales Unchained: Literature, Politics and Identity in the American Century. University of Wales Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-78316-213-0.
17. NA NA (5 March 2016). Writers Directory. Springer. p. 348. ISBN 978-1-349-03650-9.
18. Kersti Tarien Powell (8 October 2004). Irish Fiction: An Introduction. A&C Black. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-8264-1596-7.
19. National Library of Wales; Meic Stephens (1 January 1973). A reader's guide to Wales: a selected bibliography. National Book League. p. 97.
20. Meic Stephens (April 1986). The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. Oxford University Press. p. 227.
21. Stephen J. Calvert (1980). Literary and Library Prizes. R. R. Bowker Company. p. 515. ISBN 978-0-8352-1249-6.
22. Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 131. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
23. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1971). Sessional Papers. H.M. Stationery Office.
24. "Profile: Ray Reardon". Eurosport. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
25. Dave Simpson (7 June 2010). "Stuart Cable obituary". The Guardian.
26. "Robert Croft to end record-breaking Glamorgan career". BBC Sport. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
27. Andy Gregory (2002). The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002. Psychology Press. p. 428. ISBN 978-1-85743-161-2.
28. "Cairns, Rt Hon. Alun (Hugh)". UK Who's Who. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
29. Aled Jones (17 October 2013). Aled Jones - My Story. John Blake. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-78219-821-5.
30. Hywel Teifi Edwards. "Williams, David John (1885-1970), writer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
31. Mary Euronwy James. "Edwards, Sir Ifan ab Owen (1895-1970), lecturer, founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
32. Thomas Parry. "Jones, Sir Cynan (Albert) Evans ('Cynan'; 1895-1970), poet, dramatist and eisteddfodwr". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
33. Mary Gwendoline Ellis. "Ellis, Thomas Iorwerth (1899-1970), educationalist and author". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
34. Edwards, Owen. "Annie Davies". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
35. Gwynfor Evans. "Jones, John Edward (1905-1970), secretary and organiser of Plaid Cymru, 1930-62". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
36. Mary Beynon Davies. "Jones, John Robert (1911-1970), philosopher and patriot". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
37. Jones, Iorwerth. "Daniel John Davies". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
38. "Sir Lincoln Evans: trade union leader", The Times, 5 August 1970
39. John Graham Jones. "Mardy-Jones, Thomas Isaac (1879-1970), economist and politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
40. Williams, Griffith John. "Owen Picton Davies". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
41. Ward, Paul (2011). Huw T Edwards: British Labour and Welsh Socialism. University of Wales Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780708323298. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
42. "Obituary: Naunton Wayne - The Times (18 November 1970)". The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
43. John Graham Jones. "Edwards, Huw Thomas (1892-1970), trade union leader and politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 9 July 2019.