On this day 1471, Sir John Donne of Kidwelly was knighted on the battlefield following the Battle of Tewkesbury, during, the Wars of the Roses

The Battle of Tewkesbury;

Henry VI's Lancastrian army marched toward the Welsh border in order to recruit more troops, knowing that Edward IV and his Yorkist army were trying to intercept them, they took up a strong defensive at Tewkesbury. When Edward VI reached Tewkesbury he immediately engaged the enemy and routed the Lancastrians.  The result of the battle was that Henry VI's son Edward, the Prince of Wales died in battle and his wife Queen Margaret was captured.

The Donnes of  Kidwelly were a distinguished family, John's father Gruffydd had fought at the Battle of Agincourt and his mother Joan Scudamore was a grandchild of Owain Glyndwr,  in his late teens, he entered the service of the Duke of York, father of Edward IV, later becoming Edward's Esquire of the Body ( personal attendant to the king).  After the Battle of Tewkesbury, he was given lands in Buckinghamshire.  As a mark of the high esteem in which he was held, when he died, he was buried next to Edward IV in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.  

Born this day 1850

Samuel Arthur Brain , who with his uncle Joseph Benjamin Brain, founded Brains (S. A. Brain & Company Ltd) in 1882 in Cardiff.  The company owns over 250 pubs mostly in Cardiff.

Brains were the shirt sponsor for the Welsh rugby union team between 2004 and 2010, but as French law forbids alcohol sponsorship logos from appearing on rugby jerseys, the branding  "Brains" was replaced with "Brawn" when the Welsh team played in France in 2005 and to "Brawn Again" in 2007.

Some of the range of Brains beers;

Brains SA, the flagship brand, which is a light-coloured malty best bitter, colloquially known as "Skull Attack".

Brains Bitter is the brewery's standard bitter

Brains Smooth, which is pasteurised and nitrogenated

Brains Dark, which is a dark mild ale made from roasted malts

Brains IPA

SA Gold, which is hopped with Cascade, Target and Styrian Golding hops

45, a strong lager discontinued in 2011.

The Rev. James is a strong best bitter

Brains Black is a  stout

Hancocks HB  

St David's Ale is brewed to celebrate St David's Day

Taff End, which celebrates the sponsorship of the Glamorgan County Cricket Club

Bread of Heaven is sold during the Six Nations Championship

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, launched in 2006 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh national anthem and is a golden ale brewed with Welsh honey.  

On 4th May 1959 Aneurin Bevan was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party.  Bevan  was one of the most charismatic ministers of the post-war Labour government, who was instrumental in establishing the National Health Service.

Bevan was born in Tredegar on 15th November 1897 and at aged 13 he followed his father in working as a coal miner. He soon became a socialist and  trades union activist and during the 1926 General Strike, emerged as a leader of the miners of South Wales miners. Then in 1929, he became MP for Ebbw Vale and after Labour's post-war election victory in 1945 was appointed Minister for Health and was at the forefront of the establishment of the National Health Service.

In 1951, Bevan was switched to Minister of Labour, but resigned shortly afterwards in protest of his goverment's introduction of prescription charges for dental work and spectacles.  He was afterwards seen as a leader of a left-wing group in Labour Party, known as 'Bevanites' and stood unsuccessfully for the party leadership in 1955.  In 1959, Bevan was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party, even though it was known that he was suffering from cancer.  Bevan died the following year on 6th July.

On 4th May 1725, according to tradition, Ann Thomas (the "Maid of Cefn Ydfa")  was forced to marry lawyer Anthony Maddocks and died pining for her true love.

Ann was born in 1704, a cousin of philosopher Richard Price.  Her father died in 1706 and she was placed  in the wardship of Anthony Maddocks from Cwmrisga, who decided that Ann would marry his son, also called Anthony, but legend tells us that Ann had previously fallen in love with the poet and thatcher Wil Hopcyn and when discovered were forbidden to see each other.

 The couple continued  sending love letters to each other in secret but were uncovered by Ann's mother, who confiscated her writing materials.  Hopcyn then left the area and Ann married Anthony Maddocks, but she is said to have pined so badly for her lover that she fell seriously ill.  On her death bed, she requested to see Hopcyn for the last time, who arrived in time for Ann to die in his arms.