1939 in Wales

← 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1939 in Wales → 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history 1939 in The United Kingdom Scotland Elsewhere

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1939 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

For United Kingdom incumbents, see 1939 in the United Kingdom § Incumbents.

• Archbishop of Wales – Charles Green, Bishop of Bangor[1]
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • J.J. (outgoing)[2]
  • Crwys (incoming)[3]

Events

• March–November - Aneurin Bevan is temporarily expelled from the Labour Party.
• 27 April - Ely Racecourse in Cardiff closes.[4]
• 1 June - The submarine HMS Thetis sinks during trials in Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey. At least 98 men are lost.[5]
• Late August - Most paintings evacuated from the National Gallery in London, many going to Penrhyn Castle at Bangor and the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth; the latter also houses manuscripts, prints and books from the British Museum.[6]
• 3 September - World War II: Declaration of war by the United Kingdom on Nazi Germany following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September.[7]
• September - The Urdd opens Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd, the first-ever Welsh-medium primary school, at Aberystwyth. In its first year the school consists of just seven pupils and one teacher, Norah Isaac.
• October - Construction at M. S. Factory, Valley in Flintshire of tunnels for storage of chemical weapons begins.
• The first war-time civilian evacuees arrive in Wales.
• Vickers-Armstrong opens an aircraft factory at Broughton, Flintshire, later taken over by De Havilland.[8]
• A government report shows that seven of the thirteen Welsh counties have the highest incidence of tuberculosis in the whole of England and Wales.
• George Maitland Lloyd Davies becomes President of the pacifist group Heddychwyr Cymru.
• Talybont Reservoir in the Brecon Beacons is completed to supply Newport.
• Sea Roads is constructed in Penarth in the Modernist style.

Arts and literature

• August - For the first time ever, both chair and crown are withheld at the National Eisteddfod.
• 4 October - Poets Lynette Roberts and Keidrych Rhys marry.[9]
• John Roberts Williams becomes editor of Y Cymro.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Denbigh)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - John Gwilym Jones

New books

English language

• B. L. Coombes - These Poor Hands
• Richard Llewellyn - How Green Was My Valley
• Howard Spring - Heaven Lies About Us

Welsh language

• D. Gwenallt Jones - Ysgubau'r Awen
• David James Jones - Hanes Athroniaeth: Y Cyfnod Groegaidd
• Moelona - Ffynnonlloyw
• Caradog Prichard - Terfysgoedd Daear

Music

• William Ifor Jones makes his debut as conductor of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.
• Ivor Novello - The Dancing Years
• Grace Williams - Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon

Film

• Ray Milland stars in Hotel Imperial and Beau Geste.
• Sheep Dog, featuring the shepherd Tom Jones of Treorchy[10]

Welsh language film

• Efaciwis a Ricriwtio (World War II propaganda film)

Broadcasting

• At the outbreak of war, the BBC was to transmit a unified service, including programs in the Welsh language. One of the few Welsh-language broadcasts to survive is a daily bulletin of world news at 5 pm. It was broadcast before the daily news in English at 6pm.[11]
• The BBC radio comedy series It's That Man Again begins its ten-year run. From 1940 to 1943 it will be broadcast from the BBC Wales studios in Bangor, Caernarvonshire, north Wales, where the BBC's Light Entertainment Department is temporarily based.

Sports

• Rugby union
  • 4 February – Leslie Manfield (one of only four players to represent Wales both before and after World War II) gains his first senior cap in the match between Wales and Scotland.

Births

• 11 January - Phil Williams, politician (died 2003)[12]
• 16 February - David Griffiths, portrait painter
• 8 March - Robert Tear, operatic tenor (died 2011)[13]
• 16 March - Kenny Morgans, footballer (died 2012)
• 29 March - Ronnie Williams, actor and comedian (died 1997)
• 7 April - Keith Bradshaw, Wales international rugby player (died 2014)
• 27 May - Cliff Williams, rugby union player (died 2014)
• 8 June - Norman Davies, historian
• 17 June - Donald Anderson, Baron Anderson of Swansea, politician
• 17 July - Spencer Davis, born Spencer Davies, beat musician, multi-instrumentalist (died 2020 in the United States)[14]
• 21 July - Frank Rankmore, footballer[15]
• 24 September - Steve Gammon, footballer
• 29 September
  • Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales (died 2017)[16]
  • Lynne Thomas, cricketer
• 10 October - Neil Sloane, mathematician
• 8 November - Meg Wynn Owen, actress (died 2022)[17]

Deaths

• 27 January - Lewis Jones, miners' leader and novelist, 41[18]
• 17 March - Owen Badger, Wales international rugby player, 67
• 24 March - Gwyn Nicholls, rugby player, 64[19]
• 23 April - Morgan Jones, sitting MP for Llanelli, 52[20]
• 29 April - Timothy Rees, Bishop of Llandaff, 64[21]
• 14 June - Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, politician, 66[22]
• 29 June - Sir Henry Stuart Jones, academic, 72[23]
• 9 July - Charles Nicholl, Wales international rugby union player, 69
• 18 September - Gwen John, artist, 63[24]
• 21 September - Sir John Lynn-Thomas, surgeon, 78
• 26 September - Leif Jones, politician, 77[25]
• 7 November - Gwenllian Morgan, local politician, 87[26]
• 2 December - Llewelyn Powys, writer, 55[27]

See also

• 1939 in Northern Ireland

References

1. C. J. Litzenberger; Eileen Groth Lyon (2006). The Human Tradition in Modern Britain. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7425-3735-4.
2. Jones, Evan David. "John James Williams". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
3. William Rhys Nicholas (2001). "Williams, William ('Crwys'; 1875-1968), poet, preacher, archdruid". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
4. "Brian Lee: When Ely played host to sport of kings". WalesOnline. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
5. Daniel K. Longman (15 February 2016). Liverpool in the Headlines. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-4456-4887-3.
6. Shenton, Caroline (2021). National Treasures: saving the Nation's art in World War II. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-1-529-38743-8.
7. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
8. "History of Hawarden Airport". Hawarden Aerodrome. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
9. Flashpoint: Lynette Roberts
10. "Daughter's tribute to shepherd Tom". Wales Online. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
11. "Literature Wales: Encyclopedia - Broadcasting. Accessed 5 January 2013". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-01-05.
12. Andrew Roth (13 June 2003). "Professor Phil Williams". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
13. Ponsonby, Robert. "Obituary: Robert Tear", The Guardian, 30 March 2011
14. Farber, Jim (20 October 2020). "Spencer Davis, Whose Band Helped Power the Sound of the '60s, Dies at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
15. Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
16. McKie, Andrew (19 May 2017). "Obituary – Rhodri Morgan, Welsh politician". The Herald. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
17. "Meg Wynn Owen obituary". the Guardian. 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
18. The Anglo-Welsh Review. Dock Leaves Press. 1983. p. 62.
19. Moelwyn Idwal Williams. "Nicholls, Erith Gwyn (1875-1939), Wales and Cardiff Rugby centre three-quarter". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
20. Williams, Chris (2004). "Jones, Morgan (1885–1939)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/66804.
21. Thomas Iorwerth Ellis. "Rees, Timothy (1874-1939), bishop of Llandaff". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
22. Randolph Spencer Churchill; Martin Gilbert (1983). Winston S. Churchill: The prophet of truth, 1922-1939. Houghton Mifflin. p. 1526.
23. The Journal of Roman Studies. Kraus Reprint. 1968. p. 78.
24. Gwen John; Michael Holroyd; Anthony d'Offay (Firm) (1982). Gwen John, 1876-1939. Anthony d'Offay.
25. Llewelyn Gwyn Chambers. "Jones, Leifchild Stratten (1862-1939), Liberal politician and temperance advocate". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
26. Robert Thomas Jenkins. "Morgan, Gwenllian Elizabeth (1852-1939), antiquary". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
27. George Santayana (2001). The Letters of George Santayana. MIT Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-262-19495-2.