1950 in Wales

1950 in Wales

Other years

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1950 in: The United Kingdom • Ireland • Scotland

Other events of 1950

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

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 Party contests all Parliamentary seats in Wales. Following the General Election, Wales has 27 Labour MPs, 4 Liberals, 3 Conservatives and one National Liberal/Conservative.
  • University of Wales seat is abolished.
  • 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 role, 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 operates 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.

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

New books

• Ambrose Bebb - Machlud yr Oesoedd Canol
• Aneirin Talfan Davies - Blodeugerdd o englynion
• Sir Leonard Twiston Davies - Welsh furniture: an introduction
• Kathleen Freeman - Greek City States
• Edward Morgan Humphreys - Gwŷr enwog gynt
• Thomas Jones (T. J.) - Welsh Broth
• Richard Llewellyn - A Few Flowers for Shiner
• V. E. Nash-Williams - The Early Christian Monuments of Wales
• Edgar Phillips - Caniadau Trefîn
• Harold Henry Rowley - The Growth of the Old Testament
• Bertrand Russell - Unpopular Essays
• Arthur Wade-Evans - Coll Prydain
• David Pryse Williams - Canmlwyddiant Libanus ... braslun o'r hanes
• Raymond Williams - Reading and Criticism
• 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.
• Ray Milland stars in Copper Canyon and A Woman of Distinction.
• Tessie O'Shea guest stars in The Blue Lamp.

Broadcasting

Sports

• Boxing
  • 13 September - Eddie Thomas beats Cliff Curvis at St Helens to become British welterweight champion.
• Rugby union - Wales win their fourth Grand Slam.

Births

• 7 February - Dai Havard MP, politician
• 16 February (in Nairobi) - Peter Hain MP, politician
• 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
• 26 May - Myron Evans, chemist
• 2 June - Jonathan Evans MEP, politician
• 14 June - Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
• 25 August (in Dublin) - Brian Gibbons AM, politician
• 10 December - John Parsons, footballer
• 20 December (in Birmingham) - Sheenagh Pugh, poet and novelist
• date unknown
  • 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