1956 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1956 to Wales and its people.

← 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1956 in Wales → 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1956 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – vacant
• Princess of Wales – vacant
• Archbishop of Wales – John Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff[1]
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Dyfnallt

Events

• April – One of the last Welsh-built naval vessels afloat, former iron screw frigate HMS Inconstant (1868), built at Pembroke Dock, arrives in Belgium to be broken up.[2]
• 2 April – Huw Wheldon marries Jacqueline Clarke.
• 24 April – A 250,000 signature petition is presented to the Westminster parliament by the all-party Parliament for Wales Campaign.
• 9 May – The Gower Peninsula becomes the first area in the British Isles to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[3]
• 9 July – Mettoy introduce Corgi Toys model cars, manufactured at Fforestfach in South Wales.
• September – Bangor Normal College and Trinity College, Carmarthen, introduce courses in Welsh-medium teaching.
• 4 September – Opening of the first Welsh-medium secondary school in Wales – Ysgol Glan Clwyd, Rhyl.[4][5]
• 22 November – In a mining accident at Lewis Merthyr Colliery, seven men are killed.[6]
• exact date unknown – Aberystwyth's town clock is demolished.

Arts and literature

• Welsh language periodical Y Faner is bought by Huw T. Edwards and thus saved from going out of business.[7]
• Morecambe and Wise are reunited by chance at the Swansea Empire Theatre.
• 22 November – The New Scientist is launched[8] by Percy Cudlipp, who becomes its first editor.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Aberdare)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Mathonwy Hughes, "Gwraig"[9]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – withheld[10]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – W. T. Gruffydd, "Y Pwrpas Mawr"[11]

New books

English language

• Margiad Evans – A Candle Ahead
• Bertrand Russell – Portraits from Memory and Other Essays

Welsh language

• Huw T. Edwards – Tros y Tresi
• Islwyn Ffowc Elis – Yn Ôl i Leifior
• David Rees Griffiths – Caneuon Amanwy
• Kate Roberts – Y Byw sy'n Cysgu
• Waldo Williams – Dail Pren

Drama

• John Roberts Evans – Broc Môr

Music

• February – Release of Shirley Bassey's first single, Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)
• William Mathias – Suite for Trumpet and Piano, Op.4
• Grace Williams – Symphony No. 2

Film

• Richard Burton stars in Alexander the Great; William Squire also appears.
• Glynis Johns stars in The Court Jester.
• Edmund Gwenn makes his last film appearance.
• Moby Dick partly filmed at Lower Fishguard.

Broadcasting

• The BBC Light Programme becomes available on VHF from Wenvoe.

Welsh-language television

• Granada Television begins producing produced up to an hour a week of current affairs and education programmes in Welsh, to serve the overlap audience in north Wales.

English-language television

• June – First televised English-language play produced in Wales, Wind of Heaven.

Sport

• Boxing
  • 27 August – Joe Erskine defeats Johnny Williams in Cardiff to win the vacant British heavyweight title.
• Rugby Union
  • Wales under the captaincy of Cliff Morgan, win the Five Nations Championship for the fifth time this decade.
  • 24 March – Wales beat France 5–3 in a game held at the National Stadium, Cardiff
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Joe Erskine

Births

• 7 January – Johnny Owen, boxer (died 1980)
• 14 January – Martyn Davies, weather presenter
• 7 April – Christine Chapman AM, politician
• 14 June – Keith Pontin, international footballer (died 2020)
• 22 July – Richard Gwyn writer
• 7 September – Byron Stevenson, footballer (died 2007)
• 3 November – Carl Harris, international footballer
• 4 December – Nia Griffith MP, politician, born in Ireland
• 19 December – John Griffiths, politician
• 23 December – Robert Gwilym, actor
• date unknown – David Nott, surgeon

Deaths

Frank Brangwyn, died 11 June

Winifred Coombe Tennant, died 31 August

• 4 January – Robert Williams Parry, poet, 71[12]
• 10 January – Jack Johns, cricketer, 70
• 14 January – Sam Ramsey, Wales international rugby union player
• 23 January – William Harris, academic and translator, 71
• 1 February – John Lloyd-Jones, academic, 70
• 22 February – Nathaniel Walters, Wales international rugby player, 80
• 27 February – Tudor Rees, lawyer, judge and Liberal politician, 75
• May – Iwan Bala, artist
• 19 May – Peter Freeman, politician, 67
• 8 June – Walter Rice, 7th Baron Dynevor, soldier, civil servant and politician, 82
• 5 July – Fred Birt, Welsh international rugby union player, 69
• 11 June – Frank Brangwyn, artist, 89[13]
• 17 August – William Havard, Bishop of St. Davids and international rugby player, 66
• 31 August – Winifred Coombe Tennant, politician and philanthropist, 81[14]
• 13 September – David Davies, footballer, 77
• 20 September – Arthur Tysilio Johnson, farmer and author, 83
• 1 October – J. O. Francis, dramatist, 74
• 11 October – David James Davies, economist and politician, 63
• 16 October – Robert Evans (Cybi), historian, 84
• 18 October – Harry Parry, jazz musician, 44[15]
• 22 November – Rhys Hopkin Morris MP, politician, 68[16]
• 16 December – Nina Hamnett, artist, 66[17]
• 28 December – John Dyfnallt Owen, poet and archdruid, 83[18]

See also

• 1956 in Northern Ireland

References

1. Mary Gwendoline Ellis. "Morgan, John (1886-1957), Archbishop of Wales". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
2. Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.
3. Jones, Gareth E. (1987). The Conservation of Ecosystems and Species. Croom Helm. ISBN 978-0-7099-1463-1.
4. "Teaching through Welsh". Western Mail. Cardiff. 1956-09-04. p. 5.
5. Nash, Roy (2011). Schooling in Rural Societies. Routledge. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-0-415-50490-4.
6. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1957). House of Commons Papers. H.M. Stationery Office.
7. "Huw T. Edwards Papers". Archives Wales. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
8. Mick O'Hare (16 November 2016). "Old Scientist: Happily upholding ideals since issue number 1". New Scientist. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
9. "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
10. "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
11. "Winners of the Prose Medal". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
12. Bedwyr Lewis Jones (1 January 1972). Robert Williams Parry. University of Wales Press [for] the Welsh Arts Council. p. 73.
13. Frank Brangwyn (1958). The Water-colours of Sir Frank Brangwyn, R.A., 1867-1956. F. Lewis. p. 27.
14. Deirdre Beddoe. "Tennant, Winifred Margaret Coombe". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70091. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
15. Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Menna, Baines; Lynch, Peredur I., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 651. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
16. Peter Barberis (28 January 2005). Liberal Lion: Jo Grimond, A Political Life. I.B.Tauris. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-85043-627-0.
17. Denise Hooker (October 1986). Nina Hamnett, queen of Bohemia. Constable. p. 258.
18. "Owen, John Dyfnallt ('Dyfnallt'; 1873-1956), minister (Congl.), poet, writer, journalist and Archdruid of Wales". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 13 March 2019.