Today is the feast day of St Illtud

The Church of St Illtud at Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major)  was established by Illtud in about AD 520 and contains a superb array of early Christian memorial stones, including, The Houelt Cross, which is a fine example of a Celtic wheel cross.  It is a memorial to King Rhys ap Arthfael of Morgannwg who died around AD 850. 

Born in Brittany from a military background, Illtyd began his career by crossing to Britain, it is said, as a skilled warrior serving Arthur in the defence of Britain. Illtyd's war band raided Llancarfan Abbey but the monks pursued them into a bog where "the earth swallowed all of them except Illtyd".  St Cadog reminded Illtud of his religion and the humbled warrior took up a monastic life, founding the abbey at Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) where in 508, he re-established the monastery school known as Cor Tewdus which was reputedly burnt down by Irish pirates in 446. This monastic complex became a centre of learning, with students studying the Bible, philosophy, science, geometry, rhetoric, grammar and arithmetic. It reputedly had seven halls, 400 houses and more than 2000 students, which included St David, St Patrick, Paul Aurelian, Taliesin, Gildas and Samson.

Illtud himself is said to have been a disciple of Germanus of Auxerre who visited Llanilltud on his mission to Britain. Apart from Llanilltud, there are churches dedicated to him in Breconshire, Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire, Dolgellau, Brittany and on the Gower.  In Merthyr, there are also Holy Wells dedicated to him and the legendary place of his burial is Bedd Gwyl Illtud, Breconshire.  

The final campaign of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd

Victory at The Battle of Moel-y-don on 6th November 1282, delayed Edward I's eventual conquest of Wales.  

In 1272 Edward I had acceded to the throne of England and Llywelyn had consistently refused to pay him tribute. The result was that in 1276, Edward declared Llywelyn a rebel and took prisoner Llywelyn's betrothed wife, Eleanor de Montfort.  Edward marched a huge army into North Wales, aided by Llywelyn's own brother, Dafydd ap Gruffydd. By the summer of 1277, Edward's forces had reached the centre of Gwynedd, where they confiscated the harvest in Anglesey.  Unable to feed his army, Llywelyn was forced to negotiate, resulting in the Treaty of Aberconwy. This treaty guaranteed peace in return for several difficult concessions for Llywelyn;

*  Llywelyn was forced to acknowledge the English king as his sovereign.

*  Llywelyn continued to rule  Gwynedd Uwch Conwy, west of the River Conwy (indicated in green).

*  The Perfeddwlad, east of the Conwy, was divided between Dafydd ap Gruffudd (shown in gold) and areas ceded to the English Crown (shown in red).

*  Eleanor was released and she and Llywelyn were formally married in Worcester in 1278, on the Feast Day of St Edward.

Following the treaty, Dafydd turned against the English and was reconciled with Llywelyn.  The brothers then rebelled, fighting to keep Wales independent, but Edward continued to send armies into Wales and in 1282, a force consisting of 2000 infantrymen and 200 cavalrymen under the former constable of Gascony, Luke de Tany, succeeded in capturing Anglesey. de Tany's men then constructed a bridge of boats across the Menai Strait, to attack Llywelyn from the north.  However as the English crossed, Llywelyn emerged with a large army to meet them and as they attempted to retreat, the English were cut off by the rising tide, with many knights drowning, dragged down by their heavy armour, along with 300 infantrymen.

This military success, coupled with victory at the battle of Llandeilo Fawr in South Wales during which another English army was routed, inflated Welsh morale and delayed Edward's plans. However, Welsh hopes were dashed a few weeks later when Llywelyn was killed at Cilmeri, after leading a foray into mid-Wales to gather support.  

On 6th November 1918, Captain John Fox-Russell from Holyhead was killed in action, serving as a medical officer at Tel-el-Khuwwilfeh, Palestine and subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation reads;

"For most conspicuous bravery displayed in action until he was killed. Captain Russell repeatedly went out to attend the wounded under murderous fire from snipers and machine-guns, and in many cases, when no other means were at hand, carried them in himself, although almost exhausted. He showed the greatest possible degree of valour."

He had previously been awarded the Military Cross at the First Battle of Gaza.  

Born on this day 1923 in Tonypandy.

Donald Houston - actor, whose first two films The Blue Lagoon (1949) with Jean Simmons and A Run for Your Money (1949) with Sir Alec Guinness, were highly successful.  He would often indulge his Welsh accent, but could also conceal it behind an English public school veneer when required.  His other prominent roles included The Longest Day (1962), Where Eagles Dare (1968) and The Sea Wolves (1981).  Later in his career he appeared in comedies such as the Doctor and Carry On series.  

Born on this day 1528 in Ruthin.

Gabriel Goodman – Dean of Westminster and re-founder of Ruthin School.

He was of wealthy parentage and attended Cambridge University in 1549, later becoming chaplain to Sir William Cecil,  and tutor to William's eldest son Thomas Cecil, Earl of Exeter. He became a senior clergyman in 1559 of St Paul's Cathedral, and in 1562,  when the old Westminster Abbey was reinstituted by Queen Elizabeth I, Goodman was made Dean. During this period, William Morgan who was supervising the printing of the Welsh Bible stayed with Goodman at the Deanery.

In 1574 Goodman returned to Ruthin where he rehoused Ruthin School in a new School-house to the north of St Peter's Church.