1956 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1956 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Archbishop of Wales – John Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Dyfnallt

Events

• April – One of the last Welsh-built naval vessels afloat, former iron screw frigate , built at Pembroke Dock, arrives in Belgium to be broken up.
• 2 April – Huw Wheldon marries Jacqueline Clarke.
• 24 April – A 250,000 signature petition is presented to the Westminster parliament by the all-party Parliament for Wales Campaign.
• 9 May – The Gower Peninsula becomes the first area in the British Isles to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
• 9 July – Mettoy introduce Corgi Toys model cars, manufactured at Fforestfach in South Wales.
• September – Bangor Normal College and Trinity College, Carmarthen, introduce courses in Welsh-medium teaching.
• 4 September – Opening of the first Welsh-medium secondary school in Wales – Ysgol Glan Clwyd, Rhyl.
• 22 November – In a mining accident at Lewis Merthyr Colliery, seven men are killed.
• exact date unknown – Aberystwyth's town clock is demolished as unsafe.

Arts and literature

• Welsh language periodical Y Faner is bought by Huw T. Edwards and thus saved from going out of business.
• Morecambe and Wise are reunited by chance at the Swansea Empire Theatre.
• 22 November – The New Scientist is launched by Percy Cudlipp, who becomes its first editor.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Aberdare)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Mathonwy Hughes, "Gwraig"
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – W. T. Gruffydd, "Y Pwrpas Mawr"

New books

English language

• Margiad Evans – A Candle Ahead
• Bertrand Russell – Portraits from Memory and Other Essays

Welsh language

• Huw T. Edwards – Tros y Tresi
• Islwyn Ffowc Elis – Yn Ôl i Leifior
• David Rees Griffiths – Caneuon Amanwy
• Kate Roberts – Y Byw sy'n Cysgu
• Waldo Williams – Dail Pren

Music

• February – Release of Shirley Bassey's first single, Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)
• William Mathias – Suite for Trumpet and Piano, Op.4
• Grace Williams – Symphony No. 2

Film

• Richard Burton stars in Alexander the Great; William Squire also appears.
• Glynis Johns stars in The Court Jester.
• Edmund Gwenn makes his last film appearance.
• Moby Dick partly filmed at Lower Fishguard.

Broadcasting

• The BBC Light Programme becomes available on VHF from Wenvoe.

Welsh-language television

• Granada Television begins producing up to an hour a week of current affairs and education programmes in Welsh to serve the overlap audience in north Wales.

English-language television

• June – First televised English-language play produced in Wales, Wind of Heaven.

Sport

• Boxing
• 27 August – Joe Erskine defeats Johnny Williams in Cardiff to win the vacant British heavyweight title.
• Rugby Union
• Wales under the captaincy of Cliff Morgan, win the Five Nations Championship for the fifth time this decade.
• 24 March – Wales beat France 5–3 in a game held at the National Stadium, Cardiff
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Joe Erskine

Births

• 7 January – Johnny Owen, boxer (died 1980)
• 7 April – Christine Chapman AM, politician
• May – Iwan Bala, artist
• 14 June – Keith Pontin, international footballer (died 2020)
• 22 July – Richard Gwyn writer
• 7 September – Byron Stevenson, footballer (died 2007)
• 3 November – Carl Harris, international footballer
• 4 December – Nia Griffith MP, politician, born in Ireland
• 19 December – John Griffiths, politician
• 23 December – Robert Gwilym, actor
• date unknown – David Nott, surgeon

Deaths

• 4 January – Robert Williams Parry, poet, 71
• 10 January – Jack Johns, cricketer, 70
• 14 January – Sam Ramsey, Wales international rugby union player
• 23 January – William Harris, academic and translator, 71
• 1 February – John Lloyd-Jones, academic, 70
• 22 February – Nathaniel Walters, Wales international rugby player, 80
• 27 February – Tudor Rees, lawyer, judge and Liberal politician, 75
• 19 May – Peter Freeman, politician, 67
• 8 June – Walter Rice, 7th Baron Dynevor, soldier, civil servant and politician, 82
• 5 July – Fred Birt, Welsh international rugby union player, 69
• 11 June – Frank Brangwyn, artist, 89
• 17 August – William Havard, Bishop of St. Davids and international rugby player, 66
• 31 August – Winifred Coombe Tennant, politician and philanthropist, 81
• 13 September – David Davies, footballer, 77
• 20 September – , farmer and author, 83
• 1 October – , dramatist, 74
• 11 October
• David James Davies, economist and politician, 63
• Harry Parry, jazz musician, 44
• 16 October – , historian, 84
• 22 November – Rhys Hopkin Morris MP, politician, 68
• 16 December – Nina Hamnett, artist, 66
• 28 December – John Dyfnallt Owen, poet and archdruid, 83

See also

• 1956 in Northern Ireland

References