1959 In Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1959 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

* Minister of Welsh Affairs – Henry Brooke
* Archbishop of Wales – Edwin Morris, Bishop of Monmouth
* Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – William Morris

Events

*1 January – The 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards (informally known as the "Welsh Cavalry") is formed.
*February – The Queen makes the red dragon on a green and white background the official flag of Wales.
*4 May – Aneurin Bevan is elected deputy leader of the Labour Party.
*6 August – Huw T. Edwards leaves the Labour Party for Plaid Cymru in protest at the decision to flood the Tryweryn valley.
*8 October – At the UK general election:
**Newly elected MPs include John Morris (Aberavon); Donald Box (Cardiff North); Ifor Davies (Gower) and Geraint Morgan (Denbigh).
**Poet Waldo Williams stands as a Plaid Cymru candidate.
**Hugh Dalton retires from Parliament.
*The Local Government Commission for Wales is set up, chaired by Sir Guildhaume Myrddin-Evans.
*Sir William Jones resigns from the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire in protest at the appointment of Henry Brooke.
*Will Paynter becomes Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain).
* Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, sells his holdings in Kemsley Newspapers to Roy Thomson.
*Gilbern Sports Cars begin production of their kit cars at Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd, Glamorgan.

Arts and literature

*8 January – Sir Lewis Casson and Dame Sybil Thorndike celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary (last December) by appearing together in ''Eighty in the Shade'', a play written especially for them, in London.
*9 January – Shirley Bassey is the first Welsh singer to hit number one in the UK singles chart, with ''"As I Love You"''.
*December – Actress Siân Phillips marries Peter O'Toole in Dublin.
*Literature Wales is established as The Academi.
*Harry Secombe is voted Show Business Personality of the Year.

Awards

*National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Caernarfon)
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – T. Llew Jones
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – Tom Huws
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – William Owen

New books

English language

*Menna Gallie – ''Strike for a Kingdom''
*Edgar Phillips – ''Edmund Jones, "The Old Prophet" ''
*Bertrand Russell – ''My Philosophical Development''

Welsh language

* Albert Evans-Jones – ''Cerddi Cynan, y casgliad cyflawn''
*D. Gwenallt Jones – ''Gwreiddiau''
* Kate Roberts – ''Te yn y Grug''

Music

* Grace Williams – ''All Seasons shall be Sweet''

Film

* Rachel Thomas, Meredith Edwards and Megs Jenkins appear with John Mills and Hayley Mills in ''Tiger Bay''.
*Hugh Griffith wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Ben-Hur''.

Broadcasting

*Statistics show that 50% of households in Wales have television licences.
*The BBC Third Programme becomes available on VHF from Wenvoe.

Welsh-language television

*''Lili Lon'' (children's programme)
*''Trysor o Gân'' (Treasury of Song)

English-language television

*''Ivor the Engine'' (children's programme)

Sports

*Athletics – The Welsh Games are held for the first time.
*Boxing – Former world flyweight champion Jimmy Wilde is elected to the American Boxing Hall of Fame.
*BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Graham Moore

Births

*30 January – Cynthia Carter, journalist, author, and academic
*25 February – Mike Peters, musician
*21 March – Colin Jones, boxer
*24 April – Paula Yates, television presenter (died 2000)
*3 May – Eddie Niedzwiecki, footballer
*8 May – Jillian Evans MEP, politician
*20 May – Annabel Giles, model
*28 May – Steve Strange, born Steven Harrington, pop singer/promoter (died 2015)
*18 June – Jocelyn Davies AM, politician
*5 September – Mike Ruddock, rugby coach
*7 November – Richard Barrett, composer
*26 November – Dai Davies (politician), Dai Davies Member of Parliament, MP, politician
*''date unknown'' – Paul Henry (poet), Paul Henry, poet

Deaths

*1 January – Daniel Jones (rugby player), Dan Jones, Wales international rugby player, 83
*13 January – Henry Weale, Victoria Cross recipient, 61
*3 February – Sir Evan Williams, 1st Baronet, industrialist, 87
*21 February – Kathleen Freeman (classicist), Kathleen Freeman, classical scholar, 61
*24 February – Sid Judd, international rugby player, 30
*3 March – Billy Bancroft, rugby and cricket player, 88
*21 April – David Bell (artist), David Bell, writer and curator, 43
*26 May – Thomas Baker Jones, Wales international rugby player, 96
*18 June – Nantlais Williams, poet and preacher, 84
*2 July – Ivor Davies (rugby player, born 1892), Ivor Davies, rugby player, 67
*7 July – Frank Williams (rugby union, born 1910), Frank Williams, Wales international rugby player, 49
*23 July – George Davies (rugby player), George Davies, international rugby player, 83
*5 August – D. W. Davis, Governor of Idaho, 86
*9 August – John Hart Evans, rugby player, 78
*15 October – Thomas Wynford Rees, army officer, 61
*23 October – Anthony Windham Jones, rugby player, 80
*16 November – Fanny Winifred Edwards, teacher and writer, 83
*17 November – David Owen Morgan, zoologist, 66
*27 November – Grenville Morris, footballer, 81
*10 December – W. R. Davies, US academic of Welsh descent, 66 (heart attack)
*28 December – David Brazell, singer, 84
*30 December – Dick Duckfield, cricketer, 52

See also

*1959 in Northern Ireland

References

{{reflist

1959 in Wales,
1959 by country, Wales
1959 in Europe
1950s in Wales