1942 In Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1942 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

* Archbishop of Wales – Charles Green, Bishop of Bangor
* Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Crwys

Events

*30 January – Scarweather lightvessel in Swansea Bay sinks.
*28 March – St Nazaire Raid: Lt-Commander Stephen Halden Beattie steers HMS ''Campbeltown'' through an enemy attack, winning the Victoria Cross for his courage under fire.
*13 April – The Cardiff East by-election, caused by the appointment of sitting National Conservative MP, Owen Temple-Morris, as a county court judge is uncontested, under an agreement between the Conservative, Labour and Liberal parties, who are participating in a wartime coalition.
*25 April – A Nazi German Luftwaffe Junkers 88 crashes into a hill near Builth Wells. Two crew members are killed, the other two taken prisoner.
*25 May – A breach in the Glamorganshire Canal near Nantgarw is inspected but it is decided not to do any work on it; the canal closes permanently later in the year.
*10 June – The Llandaff and Barry by-election, caused by the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Patrick Munro, is won by the Conservative candidate Cyril Lakin.
*20 July – An RAF Lockheed Hudson crashes near Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, killing thirteen crew.
*30 July – A Heinkel 111 crashes on Pwllheli beach, killing three crew; the survivor is captured.
*11 August
**A USAAF Flying Fortress crashes in the Berwyn range, killing six crew.
**An RAF Wellington bomber crashes into St Brides Bay, killing six Polish crew.
*18 August – The body of a German pilot is washed ashore at Newton on the South Wales coast. He is buried in the village of Nottage.
*September – A USAAF Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft crashes off the coast near Harlech.
*22 October – The Welsh Courts Act is passed, allowing the Welsh language to be used in courts of law.
*31 October – An RAF Wellington collides in mid-air with an RAF Bristol Beaufort near Bangor, killing seven crew.
*16 November – An RAF Lancaster bomber crashes into Dolwen Hill, Llanerfyl, near Welshpool, killing seven crew.
*December – The South Wales Coal Dust Research Committee produces its first report.
*''date unknown''
**A building at M. S. Factory, Valley in Flintshire is adapted for the testing of apparatus for separation of isotopes of uranium as part of the ' Tube Alloys' programme of research into development of nuclear weapons.
**Caverns at the disused Croesor Quarry are requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply for explosives storage.
**Houses for munitions workers at Whitchurch, Cardiff, are designed by Geoffrey Jellicoe.
**During the development of RAF Valley on Anglesey, a hoard of La Tène metalwork is found in Llyn Cerrig Bach.

Arts and literature

Awards

*National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Cardigan)
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - ''withheld''
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Herman Jones
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - ''withheld''

New books

English language

*Roland Mathias - ''Days Enduring''
*Leslie Norris - ''Tongue of Beauty''
*John Cowper Powys - '' Owen Glendower'' (U.K. publication)
*Hilda Vaughan - ''The Fair Woman'' (retelling of "The Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach", later republished as ''Iron and Gold'')

Welsh language

*D. Gwenallt Jones - ''Cnoi Cil''
*John Gwilym Jones - ''Y Dewis''
*Thomas Jones (T. J.) - ''Cerrig Milltir''

Music

*Sir Granville Bantock - ''Two Welsh Melodies and ''Celtic Symphony''

Film

*Neath-born Ray Milland stars in ''Reap the Wild Wind''.

Broadcasting

Welsh-language broadcasting

*The radio series ''Caniadaeth y Cysegr'' is launched by the BBC, and soon proves unexpectedly popular with listeners in other parts of the UK. The hymn-based series celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2017.

Sport

*Football
** 9 May – Wales defeat England 1-0
**24 October – Wales defeat England 2-1

Births

*2 January – Billy Hullin, Wales international rugby union player (died 2012)
*31 January – Euros Lewis, cricketer (died 2014)
*1 February – Terry Jones, writer, comedic actor and director (died 2020)
*15 February – Leslie Griffiths, Methodist minister and politician
*18 February – John Hughes, footballer
*9 March – John Cale, experimental rock musician
*13 March
** John Mantle, dual-code rugby player
**Meic Stevens, singer-songwriter
*21 March – Owain Arwel Hughes, orchestral conductor
*28 March – Neil Kinnock, politician
*1 April – Karl Francis, film-maker
*5 April – Peter Greenaway, film-maker
*1 May – Geoff Evans, rugby union player
*20 May – Lynn Davies, athlete
*21 May – David Hunt, Secretary of State for Wales 1990-93
*25 May – Ron Davies, footballer
*1 June – Bruce George, politician (died 2020)
*8 June – Doug Mountjoy, snooker player
*13 July – Hywel Gwynfryn, television presenter
*17 July – Spencer Davis, musician
*18 July – Roger Cecil, painter (d.2015)
*20 July – Sylvia Heal, politician
*27 July – Colin Lewis, cyclist
*25 August – Michael J. Morgan, academic
*5 September
** Chris Corbett, rugby player
**Betty Morgan, lawn bowler
*16 September
**Barrie Hole, footballer
**Jeff Young, rugby player
*12 September – Delme Thomas, rugby player
*7 October – Allan Lewis, rugby player
*24 November – Craig Thomas, thriller writer (died 2011)
*28 November – Jeffrey Lewis, composer
*2 December – Brian Evans, footballer (died 2003)
*4 December – Anthony G. Evans, mechanical engineer (died 2009)

Deaths

*1 January – John Baldwin Hoystead Meredith, Welsh-Australian soldier and doctor, 77
*7 January – Edward Arthur Lewis, historian
*27 January – Tom Barlow, Welsh rugby player and cricketer, 77
*10 February – Felix Powell, musician, 63
*15 February – Frank Treharne James, lawyer, 80
*22 March – Ebenezer Griffith-Jones, academic, 82
*24 March – Will Osborne, Wales international rugby union player, 66
*22 April
** John John Evans, journalist
**James Morgan Pryse, Welsh-descended American author, publisher, theosophist and founder of the Gnostic Society, 96
*5 May – David Milwyn Duggan, Welsh-born Canadian politician, 62
*14 May – Walter Watkins, footballer
*10 July – Sydney Curnow Vosper, artist, 75
*22 July – Gilbert Joyce, Bishop of Monmouth, 76
*4 August – Arthur Vernon Davies
*6 August – Francis Green (antiquary), Francis Green, antiquary, 97
*12 September – Valentine Baker (pilot), Valentine Baker, pilot, 54 (killed in flying accident)
*24 September – David Walters (Eurof), minister and author
*14 October – Jem Evans, Wales international rugby union player, 75
*26 October – Richard Mathias, politician, 79
*12 November – Hubert Prichard, Glamorgan cricketer, 77
*7 December – Lionel Beaumont Thomas, businessman, British Army officer and politician, 49
*22 December – E. H. Jones (author), Elias Henry Jones, British Army officer, educationist and author, 59

See also

*1942 in Northern Ireland

References

{{Reflist

1942 in Wales,
1942 by country, Wales