1944_in_Wales
1944 in Wales
List of events
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1944 to Wales and its people.
- Archbishop of Wales
- Charles Green, Bishop of Bangor (died 7 May)
- David Prosser, Bishop of St David's (elected)
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Crwys
- 22 January - Wynford Vaughan-Thomas reports for the BBC from the Battle of Anzio.[1]
- 23 January - An RAF Halifax bomber crashes in the Elan Valley, killing nine crew.
- 28 March - Cardiff Blitz: Nine people are killed in an air raid on Cardiff.
- 11 April - An RAF Lancaster bomber crashes near Llanwrtyd Wells, killing eight crew.
- 16 August - Lt. Tasker Watkins leads a bayonet charge at Barfour in Normandy, winning the Victoria Cross for his courage.[2]
- 17 October - The first "Welsh Day" debate takes place in the House of Commons (UK).
- 11 November - A US Dakota C-47 with four crew crashes into cliffs above Llyn Dulyn.[3]
- 10 December - American Liberty ship Dan Beard is torpedoed off Strumble Head, resulting in the deaths of 29 crew.[4]
- 20 December - An American B-24 Liberator plane crashes into the sea off Anglesey, killing eight crew.
- Plaid Cymru transfers its head office from Caernarfon to Cardiff.
- Morgan Phillips becomes Secretary of the Labour Party (UK), a position he will hold until 1961.[5]
- Sir Thomas Williams Phillips becomes permanent secretary of the new government ministry created to implement the national insurance system.
- Sir David Brunt is awarded the royal medal of the Royal Society for his work in meteorology.
- Politician Goronwy Owen and naval architect Llewellyn Soulsby are knighted.[6]
- 2 October - Dylan Thomas is best man at the wedding of his friend and fellow poet Vernon Watkins in London - but fails to turn up.
- BBC commentator Alun Williams marries Perrie Hopkin Morris, daughter of Sir Rhys Hopkin Morris.
Awards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Llandybie)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - D. Lloyd Jenkins
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - J. M. Edwards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld
New books
English language
- Rhys Davies – Black Venus
- Fred Hando - The Pleasant Land of Gwent[7]
- Jack Jones - The Man David
- Alun Lewis - The Last Inspection
- Sir Percy Emerson Watkins - A Welshman Remembers
- Sir Ifor Williams - Lectures on early Welsh Poetry
Welsh language
- Thomas Rowland Hughes - William Jones
- Edward Morgan Humphreys - Ceulan y Llyn Du[8]
- T. H. Parry-Williams - O'r Pedwar Gwynt[9]
New drama
- James Kitchener Davies - Meini Gwagedd[10]
- Emlyn Williams - The Druid's Rest
Music
- Harry Parr Davies - Jenny Jones (musical)
- Grace Williams - Sea Sketches
Film
- The Halfway House, starring Mervyn Johns, Glynis Johns and Rachel Thomas, is set in Wales.
Broadcasting
- August - Wynford Vaughan-Thomas reports on the liberation of Paris for BBC radio.
- Launch of the Noson Lawen series on BBC radio.
Visual arts
- Polish-born expressionist painter Josef Herman begins 11 years living and working in Ystradgynlais.
- Boxing - Syd Worgan beats Tommy Davies for the vacant Welsh featherweight title.[11]
- Football - The first post-war match between Wales and England ends in a 1 - 0 victory for Wales.
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- 21 January - Peter Rodrigues, footballer
- 17 February - Karl Jenkins, composer[12]
- 1 March – Dai Morgan Evans, English-born archaeologist (died 2017)[13]
- 6 March – Billy Raybould, Wales international rugby player
- 12 March – Tammy Jones, singer
- 24 March
- Mary Balogh, novelist
- Steve Jones, biologist[14]
- 31 March – Myfanwy Talog, actress (died 1995)[15]
- 4 April – Ronnie Rees, footballer
- 8 April – Hywel Bennett, actor (died 2017)[16]
- 15 April – Dave Edmunds, musician[17]
- 16 April – Llew Smith, politician (died 2021)[18]
- 5 May
- Roger Rees, actor (died 2015 in the United States)[19]
- John Rhys-Davies, actor[20]
- 20 May – Kathrin Thomas, magistrate[21]
- 3 June – Dilwyn John, footballer
- 11 June – Alan Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, politician[22]
- 16 June – Brian Protheroe, English-born singer and actor of Welsh parentage
- 7 July – Glenys Kinnock, English-born politician (died 2023)[23]
- 7 July – Angharad Rees, actress (died 2012)[24]
- 31 July
- Endaf Emlyn, TV presenter, musician and director
- Betty Williams, politician
- 9 October - Desmond Barrit, actor
- 21 October - Mandy Rice-Davies, socialite (died 2014)[25]
- 6 November - Gerallt Lloyd Owen, poet (died 2014)[26]
- 14 November - Eurfyl ap Gwilym, economist and politician
- 29 November - Gareth Wardell, politician[27]
- 18 December - (Roger) Deke Leonard, rock musician (died 2017)[28]
- 24 December– Meirion Pennar, translator and son of Pennar Davies (died 2010)[29]
- 8 January - John Newell Evans, Welsh-born farmer and politician in Canada, 97[30]
- 11 January - Richard Powell, Wales international rugby player, 79
- 5 March - Alun Lewis, poet, 28 (accidentally shot)
- 20 March - William Retlaw Williams, lawyer and historian, 80 or 81
- 31 March - Talfryn Evans, cricketer, 29
- 7 May - Charles Green, Bishop of Monmouth, Bishop of Bangor and Archbishop of Wales, 79
- 17 May - John Lloyd Morgan, lawyer and MP, 83[31]
- 24 May - Sir Herbert Williams-Wynn, 7th Baronet, politician, 83
- 27 May - Griffith Hartwell Jones, academic, 85[32]
- June - Dai Davies, footballer, 63/64
- 16 June - David Davies, 1st Baron Davies, philanthropist and MP, 64[33]
- 25 June - James Atkin, Baron Atkin, judge, 76
- 5 August - Maurice Turnbull, cricketer, 38 (killed in action)[34]
- 5 August - Ethel Lina White, crime novelist, 68
- 20 September - Oliver Morris, rugby player and footballer, 27 (killed in action)[35]
- 21 September - Bob Jones, rugby union player, 69
- 25 September - David Davies, 2nd Baron Davies, 29 (killed in battle)[36]
- 30 September- David Harris Davies, Wales international rugby union player, 66[37]
- 5 October - Laura Evans-Williams, singer, 61[38]
- 27 October - Clem Lewis, rugby player, 54
- 19 November - Watkin Williams, Bishop of Bangor, 99[39]
- 8 December - Sir William Jenkins, MP for Neath, 73
- Robert Niemi (2006). History in the Media: Film and Television. ABC-CLIO. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-57607-952-2.
- John Griffith Williams. "Watkins, Sir Tasker (1918-2007), barrister and judge". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- "Dry spell reveals ghostly reminder of Snowdonia lake's war-time tragedies". Daily Post. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- Reference Wales. University of Wales Press. 1994. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-7083-1234-6.
- Mary Auronwy James. "Phillips, Morgan Walter (1902-1963), general secretary of the Labour Party". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- Mary Auronwy James. "Soulsby, Sir Llewellyn Thomas". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- Antiquarian Book Monthly Review. ABMR Publications. 1985. p. 273.
- Meic Stephens (April 1986). The Oxford companion to the literature of Wales. Oxford University Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-19-211586-7.
- John Buchanan-Brown (1953). Cassell's Encyclopaedia of World Literature: Biographies L-Z. Morrow. p. 292. ISBN 9780688002282.
- Poetry Wales. C. Davies. 1981. p. 40.
- Coal; the NCB Magazine. 1952.
- John Chilton (1 May 2004). Who's Who of British Jazz: 2nd Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-8264-2389-4.
- Howard Williams (17 April 2017). "Dai Morgan Evans obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- Anon (2011). "Jones, Prof. (John) Stephen". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- "Myfanwy Talog". British Film Institute. 2020. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- Anthony Hayward (4 August 2017). "Hywel Bennett obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- Patricia Romanowski Bashe; Holly George-Warren; Jon Pareles (1995). The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Fireside. p. 1975. ISBN 978-0-684-81044-7.
- Julia Langdon (22 June 2021). "Llew Smith obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- Contemporary; Contemporary Books (1993). Chase's Annual Events: The Day-By-Day Directory to 1994. Contemporary books. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-8092-3732-6.
- Brad Linaweaver (1998). Sliders: The Episode Guide : the Classic Episodes. TV Books. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-57500-053-4.
- "Birthdays today". The Telegraph. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
Mrs Kathrin Thomas, Lord–Lieutenant for Mid Glamorgan, 69
- "Alan Howarth". BBC News. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Politician Glenys Kinnock of Holyhead". North Wales Daily Post. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- "BBC News - Poldark actress Angharad Rees dies from cancer". Bbc.co.uk. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- Harris M. Lentz III (30 April 2015). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014. McFarland. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-7864-7666-4.
- "Gerallt Lloyd Owen wedi marw". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). 15 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- Guide to the House of Commons. Times Books. 1983. ISBN 9780723002574.
- Michael Heatley (26 March 2017). "Deke Leonard obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- Steve Dube (18 December 2010). "Academic and poet Meirion Pennar dies at 65". Western Mail. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- "Vital Event Death Registration". BC Archives. Retrieved 2011-08-27.[permanent dead link]
- Thomas Mardy Rees. "Morgan, John Lloyd (1861-1944), county court judge". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 1049–1050. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- John Stern; Marcus Williams (7 January 2014). The Essential Wisden: An Anthology of 150 Years of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. A&C Black. p. 942. ISBN 978-1-4081-7896-6.
- "True Heroes Remembered". therhinos.co.uk. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1973.
- David Davies player profile Scrum.com
- Thomas Iorwerth Ellis. "EVANS-WILLIAMS, LAURA (1883-1944), singer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- Who was who. A. & C. Black. 1967. p. 1242.