1961 in Wales

← 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1961 in Wales → 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history 1961 in The United Kingdom Scotland Elsewhere

This article is about the significance of the year 1961 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

For United Kingdom incumbents, see 1961 in the United Kingdom § Incumbents.

• Archbishop of Wales – Edwin Morris, Bishop of Monmouth
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Trefin

Events

• 16 February – The BP Explorer, a loaded tanker barge bound for Sharpness from Swansea, turns over in the Severn Estuary.
• 17 February – The BP Explorer is seen bouncing upside down through the recently wrecked (October 26, 1960) Severn Railway Bridge. Her crew of five men are killed.[1]
• 1 October – Tabernacle Chapel, Cardiff, hosts the first-ever broadcast of the long-running national BBC Television series Songs of Praise.[2]
• 8 November – In a referendum on Sunday opening of public houses, the counties of Anglesey, Cardiganshire, Caernarfonshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire and Pembrokeshire all vote to stay "dry".[3]
• 9 November – Rosemarie Frankland, originally from Rhosllanerchrugog, wins the Miss World title.[4]
• 19 November – During construction of the Severn Bridge three men fall into the river. A rescue boat crewed by two men sets sail from Chepstow, not knowing that the three men have been picked up safely by a ferry, the Severn Princess. Two empty tanker barges coming down from Sharpness collide with the rescue boat, which has no navigation lights. One member of the rescue boat crew is drowned.
• The Llyn Celyn reservoir is constructed in the valley of the River Tryweryn in North Wales to provide water for Liverpool, destroying the village of Capel Celyn.
• Gwynfor Evans becomes president of the Celtic League.
• Formation in Pontypridd of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼí Faith entirely of native Welsh Baháʼís.[5]

Arts and literature

• Keith Baxter makes his Broadway debut as King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons.

Awards

National Eisteddfod of Wales, held in Rhosllanerchrugog:

• Chairing of the Bard – Emrys Edwards
• Crowning of the Bard – L. Haydn Lewis
• Prose Medal – withheld
• Gold Medal: Fine Art – Ceri Richards

New books

English language

• Dannie Abse – The Eccentric[6]
• Richard Hughes – The Fox in the Attic
• Bertrand Russell – Fact and Fiction
• Emlyn Williams – George
• Raymond Williams – The Long Revolution[7]

Welsh language

• Pennar Davies – Yr Efrydd o Lyn Cynon[8]
• Islwyn Ffowc Elis – Tabyrddau'r Tabongo
• W. J. Gruffydd (Elerydd) – Ffenestri
• Caradog Prichard – Un Nos Ola Leuad[9]

Music

• Alun Hoddinott – Concerto for Piano, Winds and Percussion

Film

• Ronald Lewis stars in Scream of Fear and Stop Me Before I Kill.
• Victor Spinetti makes his screen debut in The Gentle Terror.
• Clifford Evans stars in The Curse of the Werewolf.
• Pirates of Tortuga, American adventure based on the Welsh privateer, Henry Morgan

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Ambell i Gan
• Pwt o'r Papur
• Gair o Gyngor

English-language television

• 7 April – The Independent Television Authority (ITA) invites bids for its west and north Wales licence.[10] On 6 June, the franchise is awarded to the Wales Television Association.
• 20 June – The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, Reginald Bevins, informs the Wales Television Association that approval has been given for an ITA transmitter in the Flint-Denbigh area.

Sport

• Boxing – Howard Winstone wins the British featherweight title.
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Bryn Meredith[11]

Births

• 24 January – Tarki Micallef, professional footballer
• 7 May – Phil Campbell, rock guitarist[12]
• 5 July – Gareth Jones ("Gaz Top"), television presenter
• 7 July – Steve Brace, long-distance runner
• 8 August – Simon Weston, war hero[13]
• 18 August – Huw Edwards, newsreader[14]
• 30 August
  • Denise Gyngell, pop singer and actress
  • Delyth Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, charity worker and Labour peer
• 29 September – Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia (in Barry)[15]
• 20 October – Ian Rush, footballer
• 1 November – Nicky Grist, racing driver
• date unknown
  • Ifor ap Glyn, Welsh-language poet and television presenter[16]
  • Twm Morys, poet

Deaths

• 14 January – William Bowen, Army officer, 62[17]
• 18 January – William Jones, poet, 64[18]
• 2 February – Kate Williams Evans, suffragette, 84[19]
• 10 February
  • Tom Beynon, Presbyterian minister and historian, 74[20]
  • Llewelyn Davies, footballer, 80[21]
• 18 April – John Evans, Labour politician, 85[22]
• 8 May – Wyndham Edwards, gymnast, 68
• 28 June – Huw Menai, poet, 74[23]
• 3 July – Albert Jenkin, Wales international rugby player, 88
• 14 August – Alec James, cricketer, 72
• 31 October – Augustus John, painter, 83[24]
• 20 November – Edwin Thomas Maynard, Wales international rugby player, 83
• 4 December – John Pugh, Archdeacon of Carmarthen, 76[25]

See also

• 1961 in Northern Ireland
• 1961 in Scotland
• 1961 in the United Kingdom

References

1. A History of Gloucester Harbour Trustees (PDF) (Report). Gloucester Harbour Trustees. p. 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
2. Asa Briggs (23 March 1995). The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: 1955-1974. Competition. Oxford University Press. p. 335. ISBN 978-0-19-215964-9.
3. L. M. Barley; C. D. Field; B. A. Kosmin; J. S. Nielsen (28 June 2014). Religion: Recurrent Christian Sources, Non-Recurrent Christian Data, Judaism, Other Religions. Elsevier. p. 306. ISBN 978-1-4832-9599-2.
4. Harris M. Lentz III (24 October 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-7864-5205-7.
5. Momen, Moojan. "United Kingdom: History of the Bahá'í Faith". Baháʼí Encyclopedia (draft article). Retrieved 2020-10-16.
6. A Library of Literary Criticism: Modern British Literature. Ungar. 1975. p. 588.
7. Daniel G. Williams (2016). "Williams, Raymond Henry (1921-1988), lecturer, writer and cultural critic". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
8. D. Densil Morgan (2006). "Davies, William Thomas (Pennar) (1911-1996), novelist, poet, theologian and scholar". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
9. Menna Baines (2008). "Prichard, Caradog (1904-1980), novelist and poet". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
10. Johnson, Catherine; Turnock, Rob (1 September 2005). Itv Cultures: Independent Television Over Fifty Years: Independent Television Over Fifty Years. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). p. 96. ISBN 978-0-335-21729-8.
11. "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
12. Joel McIver (1 August 2017). Overkill: The Untold Story of Motörhead. Omnibus Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-85712-718-1.
13. Simon Weston (February 1990). Walking Tall: An Autobiography. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-0499-3.
14. "Edwards, Huw". Who's Who (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
15. "Julia Gillard". Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
16. Richard Lea (1 March 2016). "A new poet for St David's Day: Ifor ap Glyn appointed national poet of Wales". Retrieved 12 March 2019.
17. "Bowen, William Oswald". unithistories.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
18. Brynley Francis Roberts. "Jones, William (1896-1961), poet and minister". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
19. Jones, Rebecca (21 September 2018). "Kate Evans . . . and Kate Evans!". Glasgow Women's Library. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
20. Gomer Morgan Roberts. "Tom Beynon". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
21. "Llew Davies". Wrexham AFC Archive. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
22. Colliery Guardian. Fuel & Metallurgical Journals. 1961. p. 504.
23. Meic Stephens (1 October 2007). Poetry 1900-2000. Summersdale Publishers Limited. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-84839-722-4.
24. Augustus John; Malcolm Easton; University of Hull (1970). Augustus John: portraits of the artist's family. University of Hull. p. 11. ISBN 9780900480898.
25. Obituary The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Dec 05, 1961; pg. 17; Issue 55256