Neha Patil (Editor)

1950 in Wales

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Centuries:
  
18th 19th 20th 21st

Decades:
  
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1950 to Wales and its people.

Contents

Incumbents

  • Prince of Wales - vacant
  • Princess of Wales – vacant
  • Archbishop of Wales – John Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff
  • Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • Wil Ifan (outgoing)
  • Cynan (incoming)

    • Events

  • February - Dylan Thomas makes his first visit to America.
  • 23 February - For the first time ever, the Labour contests all Parliamentary seats in Wales. Following the General Election, Wales has 27 Labour MPs, 4 Liberals, 3 Conservatives and one National Liberal/Conservative.
  • The University of Wales seat is abolished at the dissolution, W. J. Gruffydd having been the last holder.
  • Roderic Bowen is re-elected for Cardiganshire, with the largest Liberal majority in the country.
  • David Ormsby-Gore, the future Lord Harlech, becomes MP for Oswestry.
  • Abertillery's Labour MP, George Daggar, dies later in the year, to be replaced by Llywelyn Williams.
  • Lynn Ungoed-Thomas, following the abolition of his Llandaff and Barry constituency, is elected MP for Leicester North East.
  • Roy Jenkins, whose Southwark seat has been abolished, is elected for Birmingham Stechford.
  • Elwyn Jones becomes MP for West Ham South.
  • Following the election, Ness Edwards becomes Postmaster-General. During his time in the office, he introduces the greetings telegram.
  • 12 March - 80 of the 83 people on board an Avro Tudor V aircraft are killed when it crashes at Llandow in Glamorgan, making it the world's worst air disaster for the time.
  • 27 August - Six people are killed in a rail collision at Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd.
  • 2 October - The Welsh Air Service, the world's first scheduled helicopter service, begins operating between Cardiff, Wrexham and Liverpool.
  • In Swansea, three houses collapse, killing seven people.
  • Glanllyn is acquired as a permanent site for meetings of Urdd Gobaith Cymru.
  • In the Honours lists
  • Physicist Ezer Griffiths is awarded the O.B.E.
  • Agriculturist Thomas James Jenkin is awarded the C.B.E.
  • Industrialist Herbert Henry Merrett is knighted.
  • William Havard becomes Bishop of St David's.
  • Margaret Haig Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda, becomes President of University College, Cardiff.
  • The Welsh Ladies Indoor Bowling Association is founded.

    • Arts and literature

  • The first Welsh Drama Festival is held.
  • American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith visits the UK to take photographs of working-class; three of those published are of the South Wales valleys.

    • Awards

  • National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Caerphilly) (first "all-Welsh" Eisteddfod)
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Gwilym Tilsley
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Euros Bowen
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld

    • English language

  • Sir Leonard Twiston Davies - Welsh furniture: an introduction
  • Kathleen Freeman - Greek City States
  • Llywelyn Wyn Griffith - The Welsh
  • Thomas Jones (T. J.) - Welsh Broth
  • Richard Llewellyn - A Few Flowers for Shiner
  • V. E. Nash-Williams - The Early Christian Monuments of Wales
  • Harold Henry Rowley - The Growth of the Old Testament
  • Bertrand Russell - Unpopular Essays
  • Raymond Williams - Reading and Criticism

    • Welsh language

  • Ambrose Bebb - Machlud yr Oesoedd Canol
  • Aneirin Talfan Davies - Blodeugerdd o englynion
  • Edward Morgan Humphreys - Gwŷr enwog gynt
  • Edgar Phillips - Caniadau Trefîn
  • Arthur Wade-Evans - Coll Prydain
  • David Pryse Williams - Canmlwyddiant Libanus ... braslun o'r hanes
  • William Crwys Williams - Pedair Pennod

    • Music

  • Harry Parr Davies - Dear Miss Phoebe (musical)
  • Arwel Hughes - Dewi Sant (Saint David) (oratorio)
  • Grace Williams - Three Traditional Ballads
  • W. S. Gwynn Williams - Breuddwyd Glyndwr

    • Film

  • Glyn Houston makes his film debut in The Blue Lamp, which also stars Meredith Edwards and guest stars Tessie O'Shea.
  • Ray Milland stars in Copper Canyon and A Woman of Distinction.

    • Sports

  • Boxing
  • 13 September - Eddie Thomas beats Cliff Curvis at St Helens to become British welterweight champion.
  • Football
  • 16 October - Wales international Trevor Ford becomes the most expensive footballer in British history after joining Sunderland for £30,000
  • Rugby union - Wales win their fourth Grand Slam.

    • Births

  • 23 January - John Greaves, Welsh bass player and songwriter
  • 7 February - Dai Havard MP, politician
  • 16 February (in Nairobi) - Peter Hain MP, politician
  • 11 March - Terry Cooper, footballer
  • 18 March - Lorraine Barrett AM, politician
  • 27 March - Terry Yorath, footballer and football manager
  • 3 May - Mary Hopkin, singer
  • 5 May - Pat Thomas, boxer, born in Saint Kitts
  • 24 May - Geoff Ellis, cricketer
  • 26 May - Myron Wyn Evans, chemist
  • 2 June - Jonathan Evans MEP, politician
  • 14 June - Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 25 August (in Dublin) - Brian Gibbons AM, politician
  • 8 September - Martyn Woodroffe, swimmer
  • 16 November - Chris O'Brien, rugby league player
  • 8 December - Stephen Richards, judge
  • 10 December - John Parsons, footballer
  • 20 December (in Birmingham) - Sheenagh Pugh, poet and novelist
  • date unknown
  • Meg Elis, politician
  • Robert Pugh, actor

    • Deaths

  • 23 January - Jack Rhapps, dual-code international rugby player, 73
  • 13 February - Rees Howells, missionary and founder of the Bible College at Swansea, 70
  • 28 February - David Lewis Prosser, Archbishop of Wales, 81
  • 9 March - Timothy Evans, wrongly executed for murder, 35
  • 15 March - Sir Wilfrid Hubert Poyer Lewis, judge
  • 12 April - Joe Rees, rugby union player, 56
  • 29 April - Wallace Watts, Wales international rugby union player, 80
  • 23 June - Joseph Harry, minister and poet
  • 2 July - Henry Haydn Jones MP, politician, 84
  • 30 August - Ralph Hancock, landscape gardener, 57
  • 14 October - George Daggar MP, politician, 71
  • 28 October - Alis Mallt Williams, novelist
  • 21 November - Hugh Emyr Davies, poet

    • References

    1950 in Wales Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA