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I enjoyed the St David's Noson lawn event yesterday.Good being among my welsh friends.
Mari Morgan, the ever perfect MC, David Enlow, Piano Accompanist and Incredible organist, David Morgan, President of the SocietyJames Thomas ,and Catrin Brace,head of Marketing and PR for USA .All sharing this happy and popular event.
Willie Mae, A fellow cabaret artiste did a wonderful rendition of "Lover Man" Colleen Kennedy did an amazing performance of an aria in welsh. The amazing Betty "Hedrick sang Would't it Be Lovely"(look out Julie)E.Jean Ward Greenaway's, introduction to the "The Rhondda Suite".and Tegwen Epstien's hilarious reading of her recovering from the National Welsh Festival in Toronto, Among others. All contributing their talents to this popular event.
I myself offered up Pererin Wyf. Request from David Morgan.
A perfect finish to the event was a beautiful rendition of we'll keep a welcome by Mary Lynn Bird.Who also did a special rendition of "One Kiss" And What a beautiful song bird she is.
Thank you all for a lovely afternoon .Worth the hour spent trying to park my car.
On 9th September 1953, Welsh poet and playwright Dylan Thomas handed the barely completed script for the play for voices Under Milk Wood to the BBC before embarking on a reading tour of the United States. His intention was to revise the script before its first broadcast. However, Dylan died during the American tour and was never able to edit the play.
An omniscient narrator invites the audience to listen to the dreams and innermost thoughts of the inhabitants of a fictional small Welsh fishing village Llareggub ("bugger all" backwards). These include the nagging Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard; Captain Cat, remembering his life at sea; Organ Morgan ; the two Mrs Dai Breads and Polly Garter. When the town awakes, we see them go about their business and how their hidden emotions affect their daily lives.
There is no doubt that Dylan based many of these characters on the inhabitants of Laugharne, a small seaside town in Carmarthenshire where Dylan had lived for several years. It is the author of this post's small claim to fame that the character of Captain Cat was based on Great Uncle Johnny, a retired sea Captain who was almost blind, and who spent many hours conversing with Dylan Thomas in Laugharne.
On September 9th 2009, Carnedd Uchaf, a peak in the Ogwen valley in Snowdonia, was renamed Carnedd Gwenllian in honour of Princess Gwenllian, the daughter of Llywelyn, the last native Prince of Wales. The peak has been renamed following a campaign by the Gwenllian Society. Other summits in the Carneddau range have also been named as Carnedd Llywelyn and Yr Elen after Gwenllian's parents Llywelyn and Eleanor. The new name will also be used in the latest editions of Ordnance Survey maps for the area.
John Penry (9th September 1559 – 29 May 1593) is Wales's most famous Protestant martyr. He was born at a farm near Llangammarch, Powys and is known studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1580.
Originally a Catholic, Penry soon became a Protestant, with strong Puritan views. Following an act of parliament in 1562, which had laid the groundwork for translating the Bible into Welsh and the issuing of the translation of the New Testament in 1567, Penry was critical of the failure of there being enough copies for each parish church in Wales.
In 1590, Archbishop Whitgift, angry at the criticism, had Penry's house at Northampton searched and imprisoned him for a month, but Penry managed to escape to Scotland, where he continued to publish his works. Penry returned to England in 1592, becoming a regular preacher for separatist congregation in London (a group who had lost hope in reforming the church from within) and was arrested and imprisoned once more in 1593 on a charge of sedition, based on the draft of a petition to Queen Elizabeth I that contained harsh and offensive language.
He was hanged on 29 May 1593 without being allowed to see his wife, Eleanor, or his daughters, Comfort, Deliverance, Sure-Hope and Safety.
Born on 9th September 1914, Alexander Cordell was the pen name of George Alexander Graber, an adoptive Welshman who was one of Wales' most prolific writers.
Cordell was born in Columbo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in September 1914. As his father had done so before him, Cordell entered the army and served with the Royal Engineers during World War Two. It was while convalescing from a wartime injury that he was sent to north Wales and it was from here that his love for Wales grew. A Thought of Honour, published in 1954 was his first novel, followed by perhaps his most famous work, Rape of the Fair Country (1959), set in Blaenafon. The second novel in what was to be a trilogy, Hosts of Rebecca, followed a year later. Cordell produced the third novel of the trilogy, Song of the Earth, in 1969. After his death in 1997, Torfaen Council bought his desk and typewriter and put them on display in the Blaenafon Community Heritage & Cordell Museum.
Selected bibliography:
Rape of the Fair Country (1959)
Hosts of Rebecca (1960)
Song of the Earth (1969)
This Sweet & Bitter Earth (1977)
Land of My Fathers (1983)
Born on this day 1932 in Liverpool
Alice Thomas Ellis - critically acclaimed novelist and columnist of the popular Home Life series in the Spectator
Born in Liverpool as Anna Lindholm, she moved in Penmaenmawr to her mother's family during the second world war and her childhood in northwest Wales was to have a big impression on her throughout her life, with several of her novels having a Welsh background. She was educated at Bangor Grammar School and Liverpool School of Art and at 19 she converted to Catholicism, becoming a prospective nun, before embarking on a bohemian lifestyle in 1950s.
Much of Thomas Ellis's life was absorbed by motherhood. She had seven children, her second son Joshua died at the age of 19 after he fell off a roof at Euston station while trainspotting. It was his death that made her go on writing, comparing the pain of his death to a form of amputation.
Her complex personality was demonstrated by the diversity of the subjects about which she wrote. For example, she was stongly anti-feminist but wrote about independent, strong women, she was averse to housework, but was an accomplished cook and she took a relaxed view of her friends' tangled love lives, yet she was fiercely opposed to the liberal movement of the Catholic church and the idea of women priests. After the death of her husband she moved to an isolated farmhouse in Powys, to concentrate on her writing. She was elected in 1999 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
On 9th September 1680, Henry Marten (regicide of King Charles I of England) died a prisoner in Chepstow Castle. choking whilst eating his supper.
Henry Marten, an ardent republican was a lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1653.
Having escaped the death penalty for his involvement in the regicide Marten was sent into exile in the north of England and then Windsor Castle until Charles II ordered him to be moved to Chepstow in 1688, away from such close proximity to himself. Marten remained there for twelve years, imprisoned in what is now known as Marten's Tower, until his death. He is buried in the Anglican church in Chepstow.
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The House In Wales is Richard Rhys Jones second book; his first The Division of the Damned was a novel about Nazi Vampires in World War Two. Recently released in paperback we learn that the book was written partly in response to the box office success of recent blockbuster ''haunted house'' movies , ''American Horror Story'' and ''The Woman In Black''.
The plot revolves around an evacuee who has been relocated to a lonely vicarage in the hills above Colwyn Bay after his mother is killed in a wartime bombing raid on Liverpool. Daniel Kelly soon realises that all is not well at his new home and that the ''Vicar'', his sinister housekeeper Miss Trimble and the even more sinister Irish Wolfhound Astaroth have plans for him. In the course of avoiding a grisly fate at their hands Daniel is visited by a succession of ghosts, including his dead mother as he feverishly strives to piece together the true nature of the house''s dark secret.
The writing is taut and well paced and the atmosphere is sinister and threatening throughout. The depraved and manipulative relationship between the ''Reverend'' and Miss Trimble is particularly well described. Neither is a sympathetic character and it becomes apparent that they deserve both each other and their ultimate common fate.
This is a book that will recommend itself to all dedicated horror fans. With lashings of delicious depravity and gratuitous gore it is not for the squeamish but if you are looking for a new take on the haunted house/satanic rituals meme then this book is definitely for you. Personally I hope there is a sequel and I am looking forward to whatever comes next from the pen of Richard Rhys Jones. If this was Amazon I''d give it 5 stars.
I should add that we are delighted to announce that Richard Rhys Jones has contributed an original short story to our bi-annual anthology of Welsh fiction - eto . The story, The Left Eye will appear in eto issue two later this month.
I have heard some beautiful Welsh choral music on BBCCymru today, which I listen to on my Squeezebox on-line radio. Charles
Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn) - 8th September 1936.
When the government decided to on establish an RAF bombing school at the historic and cultural site of Penyberth on the Llŷn peninsula, despite approximately half a million protests, there was intense anger throughout all of Wales.
Three Plaid Cymru members, Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine and DJ Williams, decided that the only course of action remaining was to set fire to the bombing school. this they duly did on 8th September 1936, giving themselves up immediately at Pwllheli police station,
At the trial at the Old Bailey in London, the three men were sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs, but on their release they were treated to a heroes welcome at a pavilion in Caernarfon, by 15,000 people and the incident has attained iconic status among Welsh nationalists.
Born on this day 1922 in Swansea.
Harry Secombe , one of Britain's best-loved comic entertainers. Remembered for his high-pitched laugh and blowing raspberries, Harry also possessed a wonderful tenor singing voice.
Secombe began singing as a child in local church choirs, later performing in troop concerts, whilst serving in the army in North Africa and Italy during World War Two. He also met Spike Milligan during his army service, with the two teaming up after the war with Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine in the highly successful radio programme "The Goon Show", which helped launch their respective careers.
Secombe went on to have his own popular TV shows and to appear in many films, such as Oliver, The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins and Starstruck. He was Knighted in 1981 and in 1983 became the host of the TV religious programme, Highway, which ran for nearly ten years.
In his final years, Harry battled with cancer and a severe stroke. He died on 11th April 2001.
Born on this day 1969 in Mancot, near Chester.
Gary Speed, MBE - former Welsh soccer captain and manager.
In his playing career, Speed played for Leeds United, with whom he won the English Football League First Division Championship in 1992, Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield United, making in total 840 domestic appearances. He appeared for Wales 85 times and was captain on 44 occasions. Speed was appointed the manager of Sheffield United in 2010 but left the club after a few months to manage the Wales national team.
Speed was a versatile player but played mainly as a left-side attacking midfielder. He was captain of most the sides for which he played, described by team mates as an 'inspirational figure' who led by example and demanded the best from those around him. He was well known as a 'consummate professional' both on and off the field, hardworking, honest and self-critical. He had a reputation as an extremely fit footballer which allowed him to avoid injury and to continue playing until the age of 39.
Outside of football, he also had a reputation as a friendly and supportive person, who cared for and took an interest in the lives of the people around him, which made him a popular and well-respected figure. Speed committed suicide on 27 November 2011, aged 42.
For volunteering to go to the battle front, to rescue a wounded officer at Sebastopol on 9th September 1855 during The Crimean War, Cardiff born corporal Robert Shields of the 23rd Regiment of Foot (later the Royal Welch Fusiliers) was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) was a conflict over the territories of the declining Ottoman Empire, between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French, British and Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The conflict mainly took place on the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine located on the northern coast of the Black Sea.
The Crimean War is known for logistical and tactical errors, the lessons learned from which changed the future course of warfare. It is also famous for the pioneering work of nurses, Betsi Cadwaladr and Florence Nightingale.
The Crimean War was one of the first wars to be documented extensively in written reports and photographs. News from war correspondents kept the public better informed of the day-to-day events of the war than had been the case in any other war to that date, as with the advent of the telegraph it meant that by the end of the war, news from the war zone reached London in only a few hours. Consequently, public opinion played a larger role in this war than in any other war in history.
The outcome of the Crimean War marked the ascendancy of France to the position of pre-eminent power on the Continent and the beginning of a decline for Tsarist Russia.
The Severn Bridge spanning the River Severn and River Wye, between Chepstow and Aust, was opened on 8th September 1966.
1824 Thomas Telford, who had been asked to advise on how to improve mail coach services between London and Wales. proposed a bridge across the Severn, approximately in the same location as the one eventually constructed.
1879 As the railways became the dominant mode of long-distance travel, the Severn Railway Bridge at Sharpness was opened, followed by the main line Severn Tunnel in 1886.
1926 The growth of road traffic on the A48 passing through Chester led to a ferry carrying cars and passengers being set up.
1935 Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire County Councils jointly promoted a Parliamentary Bill to build a bridge over the estuary. However, the Bill was rejected by Parliament after opposition from the Great Western Railway Company.
After World War II, plans began to be made for a nationally funded network of trunk roads, including a Severn Bridge, However Government funding was prioritised for the Forth Road Bridge.
1961 Construction of the Severn Bridge commenced.
1966 The Severn Bridge was completed.
The Severn Bridge had been intended to carry 5 to 10 million crossings per annum, but in 1996 the figure was 18 million, causing up to 6 mile long queues at the. tolls. These delays along with others due to high winds and maintenance work showed the need for a second bridge, which resulted in the opening of The Second Severn Crossing in 1996.
On 8th September 2012, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Monty the oldest of The Queen's Pemrokeshire corgis. All of the Queen's corgi's are descended from Susan, the corgi given to her on her 18th birthday.
It is said that the Vikings brought the corgi to Pembrokeshire and that by the 10th century, Corgis were used as herding dogs for sheep, geese, ducks, horses and cattle.
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The rugby union based film "Old Scores" featuring many former Welsh and New Zealand international rugby players, was first screened on 8th September 1991.
The film tells of a fictional match between Wales and New Zealand, which is won controversially by Wales. One of the touch judges confesses on his death bed 25 years later, to not penalising an infringement in the build-up to the winning try, which leads to calls for a rematch. The WRU agree to replay the match with the same players, to set the record straight.
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Born on this day 1920 in Swansea
Harri Webb - Poet, Welsh nationalist, journalist and librarian.
Few poets in recent times have achieved the popularity of Harri Webb. Shortly after the opening of the Severn Bridge in 1966, Webb's "ode" to the new edifice was to be heard quoted widely throughout South Wales: Two lands at last connected Across the waters wide, And all the tolls collected On the English side.
Born into a working-class family, Webb was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, studying medieval and modern languages. He joined the Navy in 1941, where he served as an interpreter for the Free French in the Mediterranean. After the war, he became politically active and was a vivid platform speaker, he joined The Republicans, a small group who enlivened the Welsh political scene of the 1950s by the burning of Union Flags in the towns of South Wales. He later joined the Labour Party, but became disillusioned with its attitude towards self-government for Wales and joined Plaid Cymru, becoming editor of the party’s newspaper. Webb's poetry came to prominence during the 1960s, with the theme of the social condition of the industrial valleys of South Wales.
Laura Mountney Ashley (7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She started making furnishing materials in the 1950s and expanded into the manufacture and design of clothing in the 1960s.
Her Welsh parents were living in London, but her mother returned to her own home at, 31 Station Terrace, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil to allow Laura to be born Welsh. She remained in Merthyr until 1932, when she was sent to the Elmwood School, Croydon, but she was evacuated back to Wales during World War II, aged 13 and attended the Aberdare Girls School.
She left school at 16, to serve in the Women's Royal Naval Service and met her husband, engineer Bernard Ashley in Wallington at a youth club. After the war, she worked for the Women's Institutes in London. She then began designing napkins, table mats headscarves and tea-towels which Bernard manufactured.
Laura's breakthrough came when she looked for patches of Victorian design to make patchworks and failing to find any at a display of traditional handicrafts by the Women's Institute at the Victoria & Albert Museum, she decided to make her own, which she used for Victorian style headscarves. The scarves soon became popular with stores and high street chains such as John Lewis, which encouraged the couple to move back to Wales in 1961 and go into full-time production, with the opening of the first Laura Ashley shop in Machynlleth (35 Maengwyn Street)
Monument to Blanche Parry, kneeling alongside Elizbabeth I (born on 7th September 1533), in St. Faith's, Bacton, Hereford.
Blanche was lady in waiting and confidante to Queen Elizabeth 1st for most of her life. A theory suggests that Blanche, who was Welsh and Welsh speaking taught Queen Elizabeth I to speak Welsh. Blanche died in 1590.
Some other of Elizabeth I's connections with Wales;
* Her chief adviser Cecil Lord Burghley was descended from the Welsh Cecils or Sitsyllts ( the Welsh spelling of the anglicised Cecil) of Monmouthshire, twice being Secretary of State as well as Lord Treasurer and founder of a dynasty which produced many politicians including two Prime Ministers.
* In 1549 Edward VI passed the Act of Uniformity, which required all acts of public worship to be conducted in English instead of Latin, the act seemed to signal the end for the Welsh language, but, in 1563 Elizabeth I introduced legislation which required all churches in Wales by 1567 to have Welsh translations of the Book of Common Prayer and the Bible alongside the English versions. Welsh therefore became the first non-state language of Europe to be used to convey the word of God after the Reformation. This was seen as a move to get the Welsh on side at a time of increasing Catholic threat from Europe to the English throne.
* Elizabeth is said to have worn a leek on Saint David's Day
Today is the feast day of Saint Dunod
Saint Dunod - was a late 6th - early 7th century Abbot of Bangor on Dee, who attended the meeting of Welsh Bishops with Saint Augustine of Canterbury at 'Augustine's Oak' and is the only Welsh ecclesiastic mentioned by name by Bede.
Saint Augustine and the meeting at Augustine's Oak;
Before the withdrawal of the Roman legions Britannia had already converted to Christianity and had been in regular contact with Rome, however after the pagan Anglo Saxons invaded c449 and the subsequent expansion of their Kingdoms in England, Christianity was mainly restricted to Wales and Cornwall and the Christian church developed in relative isolation from Rome, it was centred on monasteries instead of bishoprics, it had a different calculation for the date of Easter and the style of the tonsure haircut that clerics wore was different. In 595 Pope St. Gregory the Great decided to send missionaries to Britain (known as the Gregorian mission), to try and bring the Christian Britains back into the fold and also to try and convert the pagan Anglo Saxons. He chose Augustine, a respected prior of a monastery in Rome, along with thirty monks to carry out his mission and in 597 Augustine arrived in Britain and held a meeting with the Anglo Saxon King Ethelbert, who although did not convert immediately, was impressed enough to let them continue to preach, however, Ethelbert did convert later that year along with thousands during a christmas day mass, Augustine was consecrated Bishop of Cantebury, he is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church. As Augustine mission continued successfully and more missionaries arrived from Rome, they consecrated pagan temples for Christian worship and turned pagan festivals into feast days of saints.
However Augustine failed to extend his authority to the Christians in Wales and Cornwall and as Pope Gregory had decreed that these Christians should also submit to Augustine, in 603, Augustine and Ethelberht summoned all the British bishops to a meeting, at Augustines's oak on the border between Somerset and Gloucestershire. These bishops retired early to confer with their people, who, according to Bede, advised them to judge Augustine based upon the respect he displayed at their next meeting. When Augustine failed to rise from his seat on the entrance of the British bishops, they refused to recognise him as archbishop and the old Church chose isolation over reconciliation. But perhaps the more significant factors preventing an agreement, were the deep differences between Augustine and the British church and the fact that Augustine's efforts were sponsored by an Anlgo Saxon king, whose Kingdoms were aggressively expanding to the west.
Sir John Powell (died 7th September 1696) from Llanwrda, Carmarthenshire and buried near Laugharne. was a judge who presided over the trial of the Seven Bishops in 1688.
The seven Church of England Bishops had been imprisoned for behaviour deemed to encourage insurrection in their opposition and refusal to read out James II's second Declaration of Indulgence. The Declaration had the intention of allowing freedom of religion and preventing enforced conformity to the Church of England in Britain. It granted toleration to both Catholic and Protestant but was greatly opposed by Anglicans who pointed to the fact that it also encouraged Islam, Judaism and paganism. The bishops were found not guilty.
Born on this day 1956 in Llanelli
Byron Stevenson - former Wales international soccer international who played for Leeds United, Birmingham City and Bristol Rovers. He was controversially sent off in Turkey in 1979 after he allegedly fractured opponent Buyak Mustafa's cheekbone. He was given a four-and-a-half year European ban, effectively ending his international career.
Following his retirement from football, Byron became the landlord of the New Inn public house on Elland Road, which also had been managed by another Leeds United and Wales international legend John Charles. Stevenson died of throat cancer in 2007.
The Troublesome Tudors and Sleazy Stuarts - Wicked Wales
Welsh history in all its gory glory!
Bring history to life with The Troublesome Tudors and Sleazy Stuarts , the first book in the Wicked Wales series, focusing on the gorier elements of periods of Welsh history.
Did you know that under the rule of the Tudors and Stuarts people were boiled alive in oil, husbands tried to sell their wives at livestock fairs, and over a nine year period, one bishop hanged 5,000 people, including one man who was already dead?
A blend of amusing text, gory facts and humorous illustrations bring the era of the Tudors and Stuarts to life, in an appealing and entertaining way. The text is interspersed with quizzes, fact panels, cartoons and games, making this the ideal book to engage childrens interest and get them involved in the history of Wales.
This week an author from south Wales is launching his second novel in the only existing WW1 series of detective novels. Demons Walk Among Us is Jonathan Hicks'' second book featuring military policeman Thomas Oscendale, and is the sequel to best-seller The Dead of Mametz, published in 2011 by Y Lolfa which received much acclaim.
Buy Demons Walk Amongst Us here
Read our interview with Jonathan here
The brand-new sequel, Demons Walk Among Us, finds Thomas Oscendale fresh from the horrors of war on the Western Front and on leave in the coastal town of Barry, where he is drawn into the investigation of the savage murder of a war widow. The novel paints a vivid picture of life in the trenches as well as life in the industrial towns of south Wales during the Great War.
Demons Walk Among Us is set one year on from the first novel in the series. As 2014 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, there has been a burgeoning of interest in its history of this period and reviewers have noted Oscendale''s potential to develop into one of the great literary sleuths.
Available from all good bookshops and via Amazon on the author''s website:
The Battle of Crug Mawr, near Cardigan in Dyfed, took place in September or October 1136. It was a significant setback to Norman expansion in Wales and was part of the Welsh revolt against Norman rule, which had begun on 1 January 1136 with a Welsh victory at the Battle of Llwchwr near Swansea.
In April of that year, Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare, the Norman lord of Ceredigion, was killed by the men of Gwent, which encouraged the forces of Gwynedd and Deheubarth to ally and invade Ceredigion. After some fierce fighting, the Norman army was forced to retreat, with the bridge across the River Teifi giving way under the sheer weight of numbers. Hundreds drowned and the river clogged with the bodies of men and horses. Those who survived fled to Cardigan, but the town was taken and burned by the Welsh. The castle, however, was held by Robert Fitz Martin, the only one to remain under Norman control by the end of the rebellion.
Ysgol Gyfyn Rhydfelen (Now Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), the first Welsh medium secondary school in South Wales, was opened in the village of Rhydyfelin near Pontypridd, on 6th September 1962. In 2006, the school moved to a new site in Church Village and today, has approximately 1000 students, ninety-two percent of whom come from homes where the first language is English.
Robert Jones (19 August 1857 – 6 September 1898), born at Penrhos between Raglan and Abergavenny, was a recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions inside the hospital at the Battle of Rorke's Drift in January 1879.
Jones was posted in the hospital room during the battle and despite suffering four spear and one bullet wounds, managed with his colleague, William Jones, to defend his position against wave after wave of Zulu attacks and bring six of the seven patients to safety
After discharge, Jones became a farm labourer in Peterschurch, Herefordshire where he died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in 1898 aged 41 years. The Coroner's court heard that he was plagued with recurring nightmares of his hand to hand combat during the battle and a verdict of suicide whilst temporarily insane was passed.
He is buried in Peterchurch churchyard with the gravestone facing the opposite way to all the others, presumably because he committed suicide. In 1998 a campaign was launched to have it realigned but as yet, this has not happened.
Born on this day 1920 in Gorslas, near St Clears.
Trevor Morris OBE - professional footballer, manager and secretary of the FAW ( the Football Association of Wales)
The son of a miner, Morris began his career with Ipswich Town. With the outbreak of World War II, Morris' playing career came to an end when he served in RAF Bomber Control and piloted the lead aircraft in a squadron of 40 Lancaster Bombers on D-Day. He flew over 40 missions over enemy territory and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Coss.
Morris returned to football and became manager-secretary of Cardiff City in 1954 and the following season, took over at Swansea. In 1971, he was appointed the secretary of the Football Association of Wales, where he remained until 1982. One of Morris's long-term achievements was the acceptance of the principle that footballers could play for a country with which they had blood ties but which was not the country of their birth.
Born on this day 1869 in Oswestry.
Sir Henry Walford Davies - composer,
* Davies was appointed Master of the King's Musick (a post comparable to that of Poet Laureate), during the reign of King George V.
* Upon the creation of the RAF he was appointed its Director of Music and composed the well-known RAF March Past.
* Davies became Gregynog Professor of Music at Aberystwyth University in 1919 and later, Musical Director of the University of Wales.
* He became chairman of the National Council of Music for Wales and helped greatly with the promotion of Welsh music.
* Prior to the outbreak of World War II, Davies was a well-known and popular radio personality.
Draw the blackout curtains, put on your gas mask, take cover under the stairs, and settle down for a good read
Do you enjoy reading about fighting and killing, bombing and burning, gassing and ghastliness? If so, this is the book for you.
Woeful Wales at War is the second book in the Wicked Walesseries published by Pont Books. Following on from The Troublesome Tudors and Sleazy Stuarts, this new publication by Catrin Stevens focuses on Wales during the First and Second World Wars, and as is customary in the Wicked Wales series, the humour is often of the grim variety.
Fascinating facts, witty text and humorous illustrations help bring history to life in a light and entertaining way that engages childrens interest.
