1986 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1986 to Wales and its people.

← 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1986 in Wales → 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1986 in The United Kingdom England Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – Charles
• Princess of Wales – Diana
• Secretary of State for Wales – Nicholas Edwards[1]
• Archbishop of Wales – Derrick Childs, Bishop of Monmouth (retired)
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Elerydd

Events

• 21 April – Elizabeth II is presented with a kilo of Welsh gold for her 60th birthday, in the knowledge that supplies are becoming scarce.
• May – Cardiff City and Swansea City are both relegated to the Football League Fourth Division in England. Swansea, who were in the First Division between 1981 and 1983, recently came close to going out of existence due to huge debts.[2]
• 30 June – Mardy Colliery, the last pit in the Rhondda, is closed, but underground links to Tower Colliery in the Cynon Valley enable the coal cut there to be raised at Tower.[3]
• Summer – The Wales National Ice Rink opens in Cardiff.
• November – Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech Castles and Caernarfon and Conwy town walls, designated collectively) become the first Welsh sites designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, in the first tranche of U.K. designations.
• December – Bersham Colliery, the last deep mine in the Denbighshire Coalfield, is closed.
• date unknown – A planning application is turned down at Llanrhaeadr, Clwyd, on the grounds that it would be detrimental to the Welsh language. It is the first time such a decision has ever been made.[4]

Arts and literature

• Alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers formed at Oakdale Comprehensive School.
• Ballet Cymru formed as Cwmni Ballet Gwent, a touring classical ballet company based in Newport.
• The first Welsh Proms are held at St David's Hall, Cardiff.
• The Old Devils, Kingsley Amis's novel set in Wales, wins the Booker Prize.
• Publisher Honno is established in Aberystwyth to publish writing by the women of Wales.[5]

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Fishguard)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Gwynn ap Gwilym
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – T James Jones
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – Ray Evans
• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen – Robat Gruffudd, Llosgi

New books

English language

• Duncan Bush – Salt
• Mary Jones – Resistance
• Jenny Nimmo – The Snow Spider
• Christopher Norris – Contest of Faculties
• Oliver Reynolds – Skevington's Daughter
• Alun Richards – Days of Absence
• R. S. Thomas – Experimenting with an Amen
• Gwyn Alf Williams – When Was Wales?
• Raymond Williams – Loyalties

Welsh language

• J. Eirian Davies – Cerddi
• Bobi Jones – Hunllef Arthur
• Dic Jones – Sgubo'r Storws
• Rhiannon Davies Jones – Dyddiadur Mary Gwyn
• Elyn L. Jones – Cyfrinach Hannah
• Angharad Tomos – Yma o Hyd

Music

Classical

• Arwel Hughes – Gloria Patri
• Daniel Jones – Cello Concerto
• Colin Ross – Prelude for Piano

Albums

• Y Cyrff – Dan y Cownter
• Bonnie Tyler – Secrets Dreams And Forbidden Fire (album)
• Chichester Psalms, featuring Aled Jones

Film

Welsh-language films

• Ibiza, Ibiza
• Milwr Bychan
• Rhosyn a Rhith (English: Coming Up Roses)

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Sam Tân (Fireman Sam)

English-language television

• A Child's Christmas in Wales (adaptation of a short story by Dylan Thomas)
• BBC Wales wins awards for Penyberth and Ms Rhymney Valley 1985 (documentary) at the Celtic Film and Television Festival.
• Chris Stuart – Cha Cha Chat Show

Sports

• Athletics: Kirsty Wade becomes the first Welsh woman to win the gold medal in the 800m and 1500m at the Commonwealth Games.
• Boxing:
  • 9 April – Robert Dickie wins the British featherweight title.
• Cricket: Greg Thomas is capped for England. Matthew Maynard becomes the youngest player ever to score 1000 runs for Glamorgan CCC.
• Gymnastics: Andrew Morris becomes British men's champion for the third time.

Births

• 9 January – Craig Davies, footballer
• 20 January – Hannah Daniel, actress
• 11 February – Robin Hawkins, singer and bass player
• 21 February – Charlotte Church, singer[6]
• 28 March – Jay Curtis, broadcaster and actor
• 31 March – Matthew Collins, footballer
• 11 April – Dai Greene, athlete[7]
• 18 April (in Scotland) – Gareth Evans, weightlifter
• 25 May – Geraint Thomas, cyclist[8]
• 6 November (in Gloucester) – Kiri Pritchard-McLean, comedian
• 17 November – Joe Jacobson, footballer

Deaths

• 8 January – Mansel Thomas, conductor and composer, 76[9]
• 9 January – Wilson Jones, footballer, 71
• 15 January – Alfred Bestall, illustrator, 93[10]
• 16 February – John Tripp, poet, 58[11]
• 28 February – Sir Thomas Williams, lawyer and politician, 70
• 1 March – Tommy Farr, boxer, 72[12]
• 5 March – Lewis Valentine, political activist, 92[13]
• 10 March
  • E. Gwyndaf Evans, poet and archdruid, 73[14]
  • Ray Milland, actor, 79
• 14 March – Sir Huw Wheldon, television producer and presenter, 69
• 30 April – George Whitcombe, footballer, 84
• 5 June – John Bevan, Wales rugby union coach, 38
• 29 July – Gordon Mills, music industry manager, 51[15]
• 29 August – Annie Powell, politician and Wales's first Communist mayor, 79[16]
• 1 November – Tom Arthur, Wales national rugby player, 80
• 6 November (at Henley-on-Thames) – Howard Thomas, radio producer, 77
• 13 December – Glyn Daniel, archaeologist, 72[17]
• date unknown
  • Geoffrey D. Lloyd, journalist
  • Fred Warren, footballer, 78

See also

• 1986 in Northern Ireland

References

1. Stephen Bates (19 March 2018). "Lord Crickhowell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
2. "Season 1985-86". Archived from the original on 2010-01-27.
3. "'Little Moscow' remembers strike". BBC News. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
4. "Planning and the Welsh Language: the Way Ahead" (PDF). 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
5. "Honno founder explains how women got a voice". Wales Online. 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
6. "Charlotte Church". BBC Wales Music. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
7. "David Greene Profile". IAAF. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
8. "Geraint Thomas MBE". British Cycling. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
9. Terence Gilmore-James. "THOMAS, MANSEL TREHARNE (1909-1986), composer, conductor, BBC Wales Head of Music". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
10. Something about the Author. Gale Research. 1987. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-8103-2258-5.
11. The Poetry Review. Poetry Society of America. 1990.
12. Gene Pantalone (16 September 2016). Madame Bey’S: Home to Boxing Legends. Archway Publishing. p. 652. ISBN 978-1-4808-3645-7.
13. Dafydd Johnston. "VALENTINE, LEWIS EDWARD (1893-1986), Baptist minister, author and Welsh nationalist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
14. W Elfyn Thomas (April 1986). "Y Parch E. Gwyndaf Evans B.A." (PDF) (in Welsh). Eco's Wyddfa. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
15. Patricia Burgess; Trish Burgess (1 August 1989). Annual Obituary, 1986. St James Press. ISBN 978-1-55862-013-1.
16. "Annie Powell". New York Times. 29 August 1986. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
17. Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society (1987). Transactions - Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. p. 280.