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On 5th September 1927, Kathleen Thomas from Penarth, became the first person, as well as the first woman, to swim the Bristol Channel.  Many men had attempted the challenge and failed.

She had announced her intention to swim the treacherous 11 miles of chill, grey water between Penarth and Weston-super-Mare in the South Wales Echo, and no one believed that "a mere woman" would have the strength or stamina to go the distance

That part of The Bristol Chanel, which has the second highest tidal range in the world, has a fearsome reputation due to its lethal tides, caused by scattered headlands and islands funneling enormous volumes of tidal water through small spaces and the distance Kathleen swam was considered closer to 22 miles once the perfidious currents were taken into account.

'Crowds lined the beach to watch Kathleen wade into waters, accompanied by a launch containing representatives from the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association and a rowing boat carrying her uncle Jack in a bowler hat and 7hrs 20mins later, fortified by Bovril and chocolate, Kathleen arrived on the shores of the West Country.  The terrific struggle against the currents had called on all her reserves of energy and the final 100 yards had demanded every last ounce of her strength.

She was taken to a nearby hotel after the swim, where she had both a warm and cold bath, took half-hour rest and ate a fish lunch before returning to Wales a hero.

Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel -  founder of  Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery was born on September 5th, 1850 in Lynchburg, Tennessee, his grandfather Joseph "Job" Daniel, was born in Wales and had emigrated to America.  Jack Daniel died from blood poisoning in 1911, which was allegedly caused when he kicked his safe in anger when he could not get it open — he always had trouble remembering the combination.

Was the original recipe for Jack Daniel's legendary American whiskey discovered in Wales.

Mark Evans was researching his family history when he discovered a recipe, the ingredients of which match that which goes into making the  in the world's best selling whiskey.  It was written in 1853 by his great-great grandmother who was called Daniels and who was a local herbalist in Llanelli.  Her brother-in-law John 'Jack the Lad' Daniel left Llanelli at about the same time to move to Tennessee, where the Jack Daniel distillery was opened three years later.  The assumption being that he made contact with his namesake and introduced him to the Welsh recipe.     

Born on this day 1962 in Cardiff

Peter Wingfield - television actor, well known for his television roles in Holby City, Queen of Swords and Cold Squad. But he is best known for his role as the  Immortal Methos in Highlander.  In addition, Peter also played  Simon Pemberton on the  BBC radio drama The Archers. 

In 2011, Peter put his acting career on hold, to return to medical school and subsequently qualified as a doctor. Peter was Welsh National Trampoline champion at age 15.  

Born on this day 1959 in Blaina

Mike Ruddock, OBE - former Wales Grand Slam winning  rugby coach, who won the Welsh Coach of the Year in 1992 and 2005.  Ruddock is currently coach of the Ireland Under 20 rugby team.  As a player Ruddock  made 119 appearances for Swansea, scoring 43 tries and played for Wales B. before his playing days were ended prematurely in 1985. Working as an electricity linesman, he fell from a pole, suffering serious injuries including three compressed vertebrae and a fractured skull.  

Born on this day 1888 at Blaencaerau farm, Caerau, near Maesteg

Sir Rhys Hopkin Morris, Liberal MP, who was a fierce opponent of Lloyd George throughout his political career and later became the first Regional Director of the BBC in Wales. 

He graduated from  U.C.N.W. Bangor in Philosophy also serving as student President and taught in Bargoed for a few months after leaving College.  He enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers on the outbreak of war in 1914. He was twice mentioned in dispatches and awarded a medal for action in which he was severely wounded and carried shrapnel in his leg for the rest of his life.  He was called to the Bar in the Middle Temple in 1920 and practised in the South Wales circuit, before becoming interested in politics.

Morris was a Gladstonian Liberal and as such believed in  limited government expenditure, low taxation, free trade and little government intervention as opposed to Lloyd George, who was an Interventionist Liberal.  His characteristic independence of mind twice contradicted expectations and saw him elected to parliament,  he ran as an Independent Liberal against a pro-Lloyd George candidate and was elected in one of the most surprising results of the 1923 General Election.  He returned to Parliament after the 1945  election, when he won Carmarthen  from the  Labour Party  despite the rest of the country experiencing a Labour landslide.  Hopkin Morris was to hold this seat for the remainder of his life.  

Born on this day 1885 in Aberaeron

Reverend Jenkin Alban Davies - Former Wales rugby captain. 

 Davies served during World War I and was later appointed vicar of Hook in 1924.  But he is best remembered as captain of the Terrible eight, the Welsh forwards that got the better of their Irish opponents in an extremely physical encounter in Belfast in 1914.

This match is remembered as 'The Roughest Ever' and the niggling had started the evening before the match when the Irish came to the Welsh hotel and their pack leader, Doctor William Tyrell told Welsh forward Percy Jones: 'It's you and me for it tomorrow.'  Jones, a miner replied 'I shall be with you, doing the best I can.'  Another Wales forward asked: 'Can anyone join in?' And so they did!  It was one of the all-time best punch-ups, with players continually fighting during the match  and the referee, a Mr.Tulloch, from Scotland, taking little notice. 

Ater the match Jones and Tyrell  signed each others menu-card and then in 1951, the two sat together to watch the match in Cardiff.  Tyrell at that time being president of the IRU and Jones an hotelier.

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 In 1947, John, the fifth Marquess of Bute, inherited Cardiff Castle on the death of his father and faced considerable death duties. He sold the very last of the Bute lands in Cardiff and on 4th September 1947, he gifted the castle and the surrounding park to the city.  The castle is now run as a tourist attraction and protected as a grade I listed building and as a scheduled monument.   

Thomas the Tank was first broadcast on television on 4 September 1984

In 1943, Reverend Wilbert Awdry, whilst a curate in Kings Norton, Birmingham, invented stories about Thomas the Tank Engine to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles.  Afterwards, Awdry was encouraged to write the book "Thomas the Tank Engine", which was released in 1946.

 Then in 1952, Awdry volunteered as a guard to help preserve  the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway and turn it into a museum. It had originally been used for hauling slate from  the village of Abergynolwyn in the heart of Snowdonia  to the coast at Tywyn.  Working on Talyllyn Railway inspired Awdry to write into the stories, the fictional Skarloey Railway Line, whose history closely parallels that of the Talyllyn Railway and whose purple landscape of hills that Thomas was invariably shown puffing through, was inspired by the countryside of Snowdonia.

The Talyllyn Railway now carries thousands of tourists and fans of the children classic each year and Reverend Awdry remained a supporter until his death in 1997.  

Born on this day 1969 in Bangor

Sasha (Alexander Paul Coe) -  world famous DJ and record producer, who has produced many UK-charting singles and has remixed tracks for artists such as Madonna and The Chemical Brothers.  

Born on this day 1911 in Pwllheli

John Robert Jones - philosopher and political activist.

Jones studied philosophy at University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Balliol College, Oxford, then in 1952, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at University of Wales, Swansea, where seeing the decline of Welsh in the south Wales valleys, he became more politically active, as his interest turned to what he saw as the crisis of Wales and of Welsh.  He strongly opposed the 1969 Investiture of Prince Charles and resigned as a member of the Gorsedd of Bards in protest.

World War II  

On 3rd September 1939, the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany following the German invasion of Poland on 1st September.  The war would subsequently cost Wales around 15,000 lives.

There was a feeling of  inevitability after the announcement, there were no wild scenes of patriotism as there had been in 1914 and  streets virtually empty as the  deadline of 11.00am approached.

The Second World War changed Welsh society, bringing employment and improved incomes.  Many war industries were established in Wales and troops, workers, civilians, government departments and evacuees totaling as many as 200,000 were moved to Wales between 1939 and 1941.

Food shortages led to enhanced prices for food and farmers enjoyed unprecedented prosperity.  Coal was central to the war effort, as after the loss of French and Belgian coalfields, Welsh coal became very important.  Initially, 25,000 Welsh workers left mining for the armed forces and other jobs between 1938 and 1941, which led to a serious labour shortage.  To combat the problem, the government exempted coal miners from military service. The labour shortage also led to the introduction of the 'Bevin Boys' in 1943 - named after Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour and National serservice.  One  in  ten eighteen-year-olds were  draughted into mines  rather than the forces.

Wales was believed to be too far to the west to be subject to German air raids, however the docks and industrial works of Cardiff and Swansea made them obvious targets. Over the course of the war 33,000 houses were damaged and over 500 demolished in Cardiff, with 355 civilians killed.  In Swansea, which suffered the most intense attack in Wales, a raid that lasted three nights in February 1941 and destroyed half the town's centre, 11,084 houses were damaged and 282 demolished, with 227 people killed.

Even rural communities were bombed.  Caernarfonshire, which was near the flightpath of bombers targeting Liverpool, suffered five deaths in bombing raids during the war and 27 people were killed as a result of a raid on Cwmparc in the Rhondda.

Charles II's aborted escape through Wales after The Battle of Worcester. 

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651.  It was the final battle of the English Civil War, where the Parliament defeated the Royalist forces of King Charles II.  The King was attempting to regain the throne that had been lost when his father Charles I was executed.

The following six weeks was one of the most astonishing episodes in British history, as Charles desperately tried to avoid capture and reach safety in France.  It became  known as the Royal Miracle because he narrowly escaped discovery and capture so many times.

Once Charles realised that all was lost, legend has it that he fled as out the back door of his lodgings as the enemy entered at the front and escaped out of the last unguarded city gate.  When the King arrived at Whiteladies, some 50 miles from the battlefield, his hair was cut, his face and arms stained and he was dressed in the coarse clothes of a woodman.  With the road to London blocked by Commonwealth troops and the route to Scotland choked with the remnants of his fleeing Royalist Army, Charles made the decision to head for Wales and the port of Swansea, where there were known royalist sympathisers.  Travelling at night, the King found all the bridges and ferries across the River Severn heavily guarded and so decided that escape through Wales was impossible.

The King continued to evade capture, even by hiding in an oak tree, just as Paliamentary troops were searching the woods nearby and over the next six weeks, he made his way to Shoreham near Brighton, riding with a woman, and disguised as a servant.   It was an improbable venture, as he was a noticeable man at six feet two, but he rode right under the noses of Cromwell’s soldiers time after time, without being recognized.  He was sheltered and helped by dozens of people – mostly simple country folk and minor gentry, who despite the reward of £1000 offered for his capture, put their lives in jeopardy to help him.  He sailed for France on October 15, not to return until  The Restoration of The Monarchy in 1660.  After his return to the throne, he told the story frequently for the rest of his life, and it is said that the hardships he endured gave him an understanding of the common people such as no other king had had.    

 
Born on this day 1974 in Llwynypia, near Tonypandy

Robert Page - former Wales soccer international, who gained 41 caps  in a ten-year international career.   In an eighteen-year career in the Premier League and the Football League, he made 475 league appearances for six different clubs. He both captained a team and scored a goal in all top four divisions of English football.  

The last hanging at Cardiff jail occured on 3rd September 1952.  Mahmood Hussein Mattan's case was the first to be referred to the Court of Appeal, who found the judgement to be "demonstrably flawed" and his family were awarded £725,000 compensation, which was the first award to a family for a person wrongfully hanged.

Mahmood Hussein Mattan was a Somali merchant seaman who was convicted of the murder of Lily Volpert  in the Docklands of Cardiff, mainly on the evidence of a single prosecution witness.  In 1996 the family were given permission to have Mattan's body exhumed and moved from a felon's grave at the prison to be buried in consecrated ground in a Cardiff cemetery and his conviction was quashed in 1998.  

Born on this day 1879 in Llanmaes, near Cardiff 

Illtyd Buller Pole-Evans -  The man who is credited as saving the South African citrus fruit industry

After graduating from Cambridge in 1905, where he studied mycology and plant pathology. Pole Evans moved to Pretoria, South Africa, where he was appointed as mycologist and plant pathologist, in the newly-established Transvaal Department of Agriculture.  His dedication to botany in South Africa, set a high standard for a whole generation of South African botanists.

 Among his many achievements were; 

*  In 1916 an outbreak of citrus canker threatened to bring down the citrus industry in the Transvaal. Pole-Evans introduced a program that eradicated all the infected orchards and is credited with saving the industry.

*  He was world renowned expert on the Aloes, the most widely known species of which is Aloe vera.

*  He travelled widely throughout Africa and his "The Plant Geography of South Africa" was the standard reference work of the time.  He was also instrumental in the publication in 1920 of the magazine the "Flowering Plants of South Africa".

*  One of his longstanding interests was pasture grasses and he was instrumental in collecting and introducing many of these to South Africa.  

  Welsh International rugby players killed in action during World Wars One and Two.

Horace Wyndham Thomas  was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea.  He reached the rank of  Second Lietenant within the Rifle Brigade and was killed in battle at Guillemont on 3rd September 1916.

Thomas was one of thirteen Welsh internationals to die in conflict during World War I and three in World War II;

World War I;

W.P. (Billy) GEEN - 2nd lt, 9th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps. Killed in action at Ypres 31/7/15. AGED 24. Oxford Univ/Newport - 3 caps 1912-13.

Brinley R LEWIS - Major in Royal Field Artillery. Killed in action at Ypres 2/4/17. AGED 26. Swansea/Cambridge Univ - 2 caps 1912-13.

L.A.(Lou) PHILLIPS - Sgt in Public Schools Battl'n of Royal Fusiliers. Killed in action at Cambrai 4/3/16. AGED 38. Newport - 4 caps 1900-01.

C.M.(Charlie) PRITCHARD - Capt in 12th Batl'n South Wales Borderers. Wounded in Battle of Somme and died at no 1 Casualty Clearing Station, France 14/8/16. AGED 33. Newport - 14 caps - 1904-10.

Charles G TAYLOR - Engineer/captain of 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron. Killed on board HMS Tiger at the Battle of the Dogger Bank 24/1/15. AGED 51. Ruabon - 9 caps 1884-87.

E.J.(Dick) THOMAS - CSM in 16th Batl'n of 38th Welsh Division of Welch Rgt. Killed in action in attack at Mametz Wood in Battle of the Somme. AGED 32. Mountain Ash - 4 caps 1906-09.

Horace W THOMAS - Temp 2nd lt in 11 Batl'n of the Rifle Brigade. Killed in action at Guillemont, France during the Battle of the Somme 3/9/16.  AGED 26. Swansea - 2 caps 1912-13.

Phil D WALLER - 2nd lt in South African Heavy Artillery (71st Siege Battery). Killed in action at Arras 14/12/17. AGED 28. Newport - 6 caps 1908-10.

David WATTS - Corporal in 7th Batl'n King's Shropshire Light Infantry. Killed in action at Ancre Valley, France during the Battle of the Somme 14/7/16. AGED 30. Maesteg - 4 caps 1914.

David WESTACOTT - Private in 16th platoon D company of the Gloucestershire Rgt. Killed in action in France 28/8/17.  AGED 35. Cardiff - 1 cap 1906.

Johnnie L WILLIAMS - Captain in Welch Rgt. Killed in action at 5th Casualty Clearing Station at Mametz Wood during Battle of the Somme 12/7/16. AGED 34. Cardiff - 17 caps 1906-11.

Richard D.G.WILLIAMS - Lt-Col in 12th Batl'n of the Royal Fusiliers. Killed in action at Loos, France 27/9/15. AGED 59. Newport - 1 cap 1881.

World War II;

Cecil R DAVIES - Royal Air Force. Killed in action 25/12/41. Bedford/RAF - 1 cap 1934.

John R EVANS - Lt in 3rd Batl'n of the Parachute Rgt. Killed in action in North Africa 8/3/43. AGED 31. Newport - 1 cap 1934 (as captain).

Maurice J.L.TURNBULL - Major in the 1st Batl'n Welsh Guards. Killed in action near Montchamp, Normandy 5/8/44. AGED 38. Cardiff - 2 caps 1933.  

Born on this day 1974 in Llwynypia, near Tonypandy

Robert Page - former Wales soccer international, who gained 41 caps.  He also made 475 Football League appearances, captaining a team and scoring a goal in all top four divisions of English football.

On 2nd September 1402, Henry IV attempted to regain control after Owain Glyndwr's emphatic victory at The Battle of  Bryn Glas.

In June of that year he crossed into central Wales, from Shrewsbury and Hereford Castle and drove through Powys towards the Cistercian abbey of Strata Florida, which he had previously used as a base during the early years of the rebellion.

After terrible weather and constant harassment by Owain's forces Henry reached Strata Florida and partially destroyed the abbey, executing monks suspected of pro-Owain loyalties.  However, he had failed to engage Owain's forces in any large numbers and Owain's forces engaged in hit-and-run tactics on his supply chain, forcing Henry's army  to retreat.  As they did so the weather turned and the army was nearly washed away in floods.  Henry was reduced to sleeping in his armour, and nearly died when his tent blew away.

Henry and his army returned to Hereford Castle, starving and demoralised, with nothing to claim for their efforts.

Strata Florida Abbey ( Abaty Ystrad Fflur) is a former Cistercian abbey situated nearPontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron.    

It was originally founded on the banks of the Afon Fflur, a short distance from the present site. by a group of  Cistercian monks from Whitland Abbey, 

It is considered that the present Abbey was founded around 1164 A.D, by The Lord Rhys, who because of pressure from the Normans, transferred his patronage from St Davids to Strata Florida and it is why many of his descendants were buried there.

In 1184, After its foundation Strata Florida increased in power and authority and its influence was felt throughout Wales.  It is believed that the Brut y Tywysogion, the most important primary historical source for early Welsh history, was compiled at Strata Florida.

Around 1238, Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), held a council at Strata Florida, at which he made the other Welsh Princes swear that they would acknowledge his son Dafydd as his rightful successor.

In 1401, Strata Florida Abbey was the military base of king Henry IV and his son, later to become Henry V,  during the early years of the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr. 

Strata Florida was dissolved in the 1540s during Henry VIII's dissolution of the monastries

Strata Florida became a place of pilgrimage for wealthy Victorians in the late 19th century.

Born this day 1929 in Cwm, Ebbw Vale (to an Italian-Welsh father and Welsh mother above the family owned chip shop)

Victor Spinetti (Vittorio Giorgio Andrea Spinetti)  - Tony award winning actor, who studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a regular performer in London's West End.

Spinetti also appeared in more than 30 films, including the Beatles' movies "A Hard Day's Night", "Help" and "Magical Mystery Tour", as well as Zeffirelli's "The Taming of the Shrew", " The Return of the Pink Panther", "The Krays" and Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood. 

It is said that Spinetti's connection with the Beatles began because George Harrison's mother would  only go and see their films if Spinetti was in them. He later turned John Lennon's book, "In His Own Write", into a play which he then directed at the National Theatre.  Spinetti was also the voice of the arch villain character Texas Pete in the S4C animated series Super Ted.

Edward Edwards (c. 1726 – 2 September 1783) was a scholar and clergyman, born in Talgarth, Towyn, Merionethshire.  He was a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, where he later appointed Vice-Principal.

Edwards and writer Samuel Johnson, who stayed with him at Jesus College were friends and exchanged letters. Edwards had a keen interest in matters connected with Wales, but his primary interest was Greek literature and the works of the Greek philosopher Xenophon.

Penrhyn Quarry Railroad - one of the oldest narrow gauge railways in the world.  On 2nd. September 1800, encouraged by the success of the one mile long  Llandegai Tramway, built in 1798 to connect Lord Penrhyn's slate quarries at Bethesda to a local flint mill that ground clay and chert into flints, the owners of the quarry started construction of the Penrhyn Quarry Railway, connecting the quarry to the sea at Porth Penrhyn.  However, b 1874 the railroad was no longer able to keep up with the output of the quarry and a steam locomotive  was introduced.  It was closed in 1962.  

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Welshman Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn (9 October 1775 – 2 September 1850) was an influential politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was originally elected to parliament for the notorious rotten borough of Old Sarum (Salisbury) and later represented Montgomeryshire for 51 years.

In  1822 Williams-Wynn was appointed to the cabinet, in the Tory government of the Earl of Liverpool.  However, he joined the Whig party when he was not offered a position in the 1828 government of the Duke of Wellington.  He was subsequently appointed Secretary of War and then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by the Whig Prime Ministers Lord Grey and Sir Robert Peel.  At the time of his death in 1850, he was Father of the House of Commons.

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Cardiff Ely Bread Riots 2nd September 1991. 

The Cardiff Ely Bread Riots or Petrol Riots refer to an outbreak of violence that occurred in the council suburb of Ely in Cardiff from the 2nd to the 6th September. The riots are reported to have started following a dispute between two shopkeepers over the price of bread, which many believe sparked an underlying problem of social exclusion. 

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This might be a long shot!

I am an author currently completing a biography of Welsh folk singer Meic Stevens signed to Warner Brothers in the late sixties before he decided to return to Wales and perform predominantly in Welsh.

Im his own autobiography Meic refers to his liaison with Carol-Ann Mau during his days in London and with Warner Brothers. She was his fixer and was also involved with the Grateful Dead. She was from Texas and had worked briefly at a Texas hospital in some research capacity apparently. She later returned to the U.S. and apparently married and settled in North Carolina. Meic has lost touch with her.

Not much to go by I appreciate. But any ideas if she could be traceable? Her surname has probably changed. Any ideas? I have tried Facebook and various compilations of the name from this end.

Yn gywir,

If you have any information please contact americymru@gmail.com or post in comments below and we will pass it on.

Born on this day 1912 in Barry.

Gwynfor Evans - politician, lawyer and author.

His father ran a chain of shops in Barry and his mother a china shop.  Evans was educated at Barry County School, where he was captain of both the cricket and hockey teams.  At school, he also began learning Welsh but did not become fully fluent until the age of seventeen.  He later graduated  from Aberystwyth and Oxford Universities, qualifying as a lawyer.  Also during his time at Oxford, he founded a branch of Plaid Cymru.

A pacifist and a committed Christian, Gwynfor declared himself a conscientious objector during the Second World War and as such was required to appear before a tribunal which, recognising the firmness of his beliefs, registered him unconditionally. In 1945 -  Evans became president of Plaid Cymru and is also credited with keeping the party going through the lean years of the 1940s and 1950s  

In 1949, Evans was elected to Carmarthenshire County Council.

In the 1950s he campaigned to prevent the damming of the Tryweryn river river in order to supply the city of Liverpool with water .

On 14 July 1966, Evans won the parliamentary seat of Carmarthen in a by-election caused by the death of Lady Megan Lloyd George, daughter of  David Lloyd George.  It was Plaid Cymru's first parliamentary seat and followed unsuccessful attempts by Gwynfor at the general elections between 1945 and 1959.  Shy, introverted and thin-skinned, Evans was not a typical politician and was the first to admit he was not really cut out for the rough and tumble of Westminster, but he was unswerving in his beliefs, backed by centuries of Welsh history.

Evans lost the seat in 1970, but won it back in  1974, this time, returning to Parliament accompanied by two other Plaid Cymru MPs, Dafydd Wigley and Dafydd Elis Thomas.

In 1980, his threat to go on hunger strike, after the Conservatives did not honour their election promise of a Welsh language television channel, was instrumental in bringing about a U-turn on the part of Margaret Thatcher and S4C began broadcasting on 1 November 1982.  

In his political retirement he became a prolific writer. His work Aros Mae, a comprehensive history of Wales, and the English-language version Land of my Fathers, were best-sellers.

The Great Hurricane of 1908

The sinking of the barque Amazon off Margam Sands on 1st September 1908, with the loss of 21 crew;

A storm that began on the afternoon of Monday 31 August had increased to hurricane proportions by the morning of 1 September, with winds reaching up to 90 miles an hour and causing severe damage all along the South Wales coast.

With waves of nearly 60 feet, the captains of many vessels decided to remain in port, but for Captain Garrick of the barque Amazon, fully laden with coal on its outward journey from Port Talbot to Chile, there was little option but to brave the elements. he anchored off the Mumbles and tried to ride out the gale.

However at 6am on 1st September the Amazon's cables parted and the ship was driven eastwards. Pounded by the waves, the stricken vessel swung sideways on to the storm and was thrown up onto Margam Sands, bow first.

There were just eight survivors.  Many of the crew had tried to swim to safety, six made it ashore, but the remainder were immediately lost in the huge seas and when the Port Talbot Lifesaving Company arrived on the scene only two men were left alive on the ship. Twenty-one were drowned, including Captain Garrick, who had been lashed to the mainmast and whose body was discovered 8 days later near Sker Point.

A Public House in Port Talbot, "The Amazon" is named after the ship.

The Forestry Commission was established as a result of the Forestry Act on 1st September 1919.  

The Act set up the Forestry Commission, which had responsibility for woods in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.  It was a result of the difficulties Britain had meeting  demands on timber during the First World War, especially, the need for the large amounts required for trench warfare.

Britain's woodland resources had been declining since the middle ages but reached an all-time low - just 5% of land area - by the beginning of the 20th Century.  The outbreak of war made policians aware that Britain could not rely on timber imports and needed to rebuild and maintain a strategic timber reserve.  So David Lloyd George introduced the commission as being the most effective way of coordinating a reafforestation plan to meet timber needs for the foreseeable future.

1920's  -  Agriculture was depressed and the Commission was able to buy land cheaply. Public concern regarding the planting of blanket conifers led to the practice of planting hardwoods alongside roads.

1930's  -  The main market was for pit props, because of the great dependance on coal.  In 1937 the Commission began working with the Board of Trade to draw up detailed plans for felling in the event of war.

1940's  -  The Second World War and its aftermath had a major impact on forestry in Britain.  Once the War was over restoring the forest estate became a priority for the Commission. But forestry was repeatedly to clash with agriculture interests as the need to produce home grown food increased,  therefore planting was gradually moved onto land which was unsuitable for other crops, which also saw the  building of a network of forest roads.

1950s, 60s and 70s  -  Saw dramatic surges in output and income.  Technical progress allowed planting on previously unplantable land. The axe and cross-cut saw disappeared, replaced by the lightweight chainsaw.  Conservation and amenity issues became more central in the Commission's planning and forestry policy.  Emphasis was on maintaining woodland character and the importance of broadleaves.  Forests were identified as important wildlife reserves. 

1980s  -  These were years of change and challenge, as recession hit timber users. The Commission began to develop export markets, much to Scandinavia.

1990s  -  The  post-War forests reach maturity and are carefully restructured with the encouragement of more broadleaf planting.  Environmental concerns were to the fore and forest officers work closely with wildlife conservation groups to help threatened species such as the red squirrel and nightjar. Ventures such as the Valleys Forest Initiative in Wales brought local people a new sense of ownership of their woods, with  Education and Recreation Rangers managing a wide range of recreation and tourist facilities.

2011  -  The results of aerial photography and satellite imagery showed that woodland across England, Scotland and Wales, represented 13% of Britain’s land area - compared to the 5% tree cover, when the Commission was formed some 90 years earlier.

2013  -  The Forestry Commissions' responsibilities in Wales were transferred to a new body - Natural Resources Wales, marking the end of the Commission's 94 years.

Born on this day 1975 in Pontypridd

Martyn Williams, MBE  - former Wales captain and Lions rugby international.  Williams currently holds the Welsh record for most appearances in the Five and Six Nations championships, surpassing Gareth Edwards' record of 45 and his overall total of 100 caps makes him Wales' most-capped forward. He was a key member of Wales Grand Slam winning side of 2008, and was considered by many to be the best player of the tournament.

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Born on this day 1707 in Bachygraig near St Asaph, Flintshire.

Sir John Salusbury , who  was a member of the Salusbury family,  which at the time controlled most of Denbighshire.  In 1749 Salusbury left with Edward Cornwallis and became co-founder of Halifax, Nova Scotia and as such is credited as being one of the founders of modern Canada .  He spent much of his time as a magistrate for the colony, but his legacy is perhaps best encapsulated in his diaries regarding the campaign to establish the colony, which became a vital source of information regarding the hardships and difficulties regarding its development.

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Sir Leoline Jenkins, from Cowbridge, who died on 1 September 1685,  was a staunch Royalist during the English Civil War , for which at "The Resoration" he was rewarded by King Charles II by being made Principal of Jesus College, Oxford from 1661 to 1673.  During this period, he was responsible for a lot of its construction work, including the college library.  He was also created Judge of the Admiralty, responsible for the negotiation of international treaties and won  warm praise from Samuel Pepys for his ability and integrity.

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On 1st September, 1879 at the Milford Dock Company's engineers' dance at the Lord Nelson Hotel, Milford Haven, a ballroom in the U.K, was lit for the first time entirely by electricity. 

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The Severn Tunnel was opened to trains on this day in 1886.  

London to South Wales was an important trade and passenger route, however, the Severn estuary was a major obstacle, with rail travellers having to break their journey on reaching the Severn and take a ferry to rejoin a train on the other side.  The Severn Estuary is also known for having treacherous tides and this part of the journey often experienced delays and was uncomfortable for passengers.

The Victorians produced some great engineers and they were prepared to accept the technical challenge of tunnelling under the Severn, with the project beginning in 1873, however, six years later they hit the Great Spring. 

Huge pumps were brought in, but they were unable to seal off the spring until 1881.  Since then a massive pump has continued to pump out 50 million litres of water per day, which is now sold to a local water company. 

 On September 1st 1886, the first freight trains began to use the tunnel, and on the 1st December 1886 a regular passenger service was opened, cutting the journey from London to South Wales by one hour.

The first match at Cardiff City's former home football ground, Ninian Park, was played on 1st September 1910. Ninian Park was built in 1910 by ambitious amateur club Riverside FC who turned professional and joined the Southern League as Cardiff City.  The ground was named after Lord Ninian Stuart of the Bute family who agreed to be a guarantor for the club - proving that the practice of naming stadia after sponsors is nothing new.  Reigning Football League champions Aston Villa were the first visitors in September 1910 and the newly christened club gave a good account of themselves in narrowly losing 2-1. 

The former council rubbish dump on Sloper Road initially posed a hazard to players, such as Scotland international Peter McWilliam who gashed his leg on a piece of glass and never played again.   Players were even paid extra for turning up on the morning of a match to clear the pitch of broken glass and other objects.  

Ninian Park has also hosted many memorable international fixtures, including the Welsh victory over Israel in 1958, which saw Wales qualify for their first - and so far only - World Cup finals.

Maurice FitzGerald, Norman Lord of Llanstephan (c. 1105 – 1st September 1177) was the second son of Gerald de Windsor, the Constable of Pembroke Castle and his wife, Nest ferch Rhys, of Deheubarth and therefore an uncle of Gerald of Wales ( Giraldus Cambrensis). He was also a major figure in the Norman invasion of Ireland and regarded as the founder of the FitzGerald dynasty of Ireland.

1136  - As a Norman Marcher Lord, Maurice fought against a Welsh revolt with forces from Gwynedd and Deheubarth under the leadership of Owain Gwynedd, Cadwaladr ap Gruffydd and Gruffydd ap Rhys under Robert FitzMartin at the Battle of Crug Mawr.

This Battle was a significant setback to Norman expansion in Wales, as after some hard fighting and suffering 3,000 casualties, the Normans were put to flight and when trying to cross the River Teifi, the bridge broke and hundreds are said to have drowned, filling the river with the bodies horses and men. Many others fled to  Cardigan, which was subsequently burned by the Welsh.

1169  - Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough), the former King of Leinster, sought Cambro-Norman assistance to regain his throne. Maurice participated in the resulting Norman invasion of Ireland and assisted his younger half-brother Robert Fitz-Stephen in the Siege of Wexford

1171  - Maurice participated in the Norman's successful assault on Dublin.  

Born on this day 1942 in Llay, near Wrexham

Terry Hennessey  - former Wales soccer international, who made over 400 Football League appearances in the 1960s and 1970s with Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest and Derby County.

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On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris.

* On 6 September 1997, 12 Guardsmen of the Welsh Guards escorted Diana's casket, from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.

* The family of Trevor Rees Jones, Diana's bodyguard and the sole survivor of the crash are from Llanfyllin in Powys.

* On Wednesday, August 27,  Edward Williams a resident of  Mountain Ash, went to the local police station  to report a disturbing a premonition he'd had about the Princess of Wales.  A statement was taken and  logged into the Mountain Ash police records, it reads

 "He said he was a psychic and predicted that Princess Diana was going to die. In previous years he has predicted that the Pope and Ronald Reagan were going to be the victims of assassination attempts. On both occasions he was proved to be correct. Mr. Williams appeared to be quite normal."

Born on this day 1921 in Llanvihangel Crucorney (Llanfihangel Crucornau) 5 miles north of Abergavenny

Raymond Williams - Author

Williams was the son of a railway signalman and was educated at Abergavenny Grammar School and Cambridge University, where his studies were interrupted by joined the Army, during the Second World War rising to the rank of anti-tank captain,. After the war he was to return to Cambridge as a lecturer. He is perhaps best known for his incompleted series of experimental historical novels "People of the Black Mountains" which details the flashbacks of a modern man into different periods of history, from the Paleolithic period to the late-Medieval period. It was Williams' intention to come up to the modern day period. However, Williams died in 1988, before its completion.

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On this day 1968, Gary Sobers made cricketing history by hitting six sixes off one over from Malcolm Nash, in a match between Nottinghamshire and Glamorgan in Swansea.  Sobers hit the final six out of the ground "all the way to Swansea" as Wilf Wooller put it in his television commentary. 

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Born on this day 1981 in Carmarthen

Dwayne Peel  - Wales and Lions rugby international, who was part of two  Grand Slam winning sides in 2005 and 2008.

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August Bank Holiday 

The invention of the activity of bog-snorkelling was inspired by a pub conversation, at the Neuadd Arms in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys in 1976. 

The first World Bog Snorkelling Championship was held in 1985 and now takes place annually in a water filled 60- yard trench at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, near Llanwrtyd Wells every August Bank Holiday.   Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers, and complete the course relying only on flipper power.