On 5th May 1405, Owain Glyndŵr suffered his first major defeat at the Battle of Pwll Melyn on land immediately to the north of Usk Castle. This setback was to seriously weaken the strength of his rebellion in South East Wales.

The battle had begun with an attack on Usk Castle, led by Glyndwr's son, Gruffydd. The castle repelled the assault and counter-attacked, driving the Welsh across the Usk and into the forest of Monkswood towards Mynydd Pwll Melyn - the 'Hill of the Yellow Pool'. According to the report from Adam of Usk, the Welsh lost 1,500 men, with three hundred beheaded in front of Usk Castle. Included in those killed were Glyndwr's brother Tudor and John ap Hywel, Abbot of the Llantarnam Cistercian monastery, as he was ministering to the dying and wounded, Gruffydd was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London.  

The Wales Coast Path which follows the whole of the coastline of  Wales was opened this day 2012, 

*   It  is an 870 miles walking route from Chepstow, in the south, to Queensferry, in the north.

*   Wales is the first country in the world to have a dedicated footpath along its entire coastline.

*   In 2011 National Geographic magazine voted the Welsh Coastline as the second best coastal destination in the world. (Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was voted top)

*   The Wales Coast Path links with the Offa's Dyke to create a 1,030 miles  continuous walking route around the whole of Wales.

Born this day 1944 in Aberystwyth

Roger Rees, Tony-winning actor, best known for playing Robin Colcord on the  television show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the television drama The West Wing.

Today is the feast day of Saint Asaph

Saint Asaph, died c.601, was the son of King Sawl Penuchel from Yr Hen Ogledd and lived in a hermitage in Tegeingl nr Holywell.  He was the second Bishop of St Asaph succeeding Kentigern alias Saint Mungo who founded the monastery there.

 Kentigern who would regularly pray standing in the cold river, once asked Asaph, to find wood for a fire, but instead, Asaph carried red hot coals to him, in his apron.  This, Kentigern took to be a miracle and showed him the power of Asaph's faith.  

  On 5th May 1967, the Brynglas Tunnels by passing Newport on the M4 motorway were opened.  

The Brynglas Tunnels carry the M4 motorway under Brynglas Hill in Newport. The 1,200-foot-long twin-bored tunnels were the first tunnels in the British motorway network and are still the only bored tunnels.  However, the tunnels have become a bottleneck, because of variable speed limits and the fact that the Newport bypass between junctions 24 and 28 have been widened to three lanes, except for the tunnels and Usk Bridge. 

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.

On this day the General Strike of 1926 began

The strike was called by the TUC for one minute to midnight on 3 May, 1926, for the previous two days, a million coal miners had been locked out of their mines over a pay dispute, which would have seen their wages decrease by 13% and their working hours increase from seven to eight hours.  In solidarity, large numbers from other industries stayed off work, and on the first full day of action, there were over 1.5 million people on strike.  The transport network was crippled, roads became choked with cars,  printing presses ground to a virtual halt, food deliveries were held up, while workers from the docks, gas, electricity, building, iron and steel industries dropped down tools.  Police charged rioting strikers with batons and fights broke out, while in Northumberland, the Flying Scotsman train was derailed,  the Roman Catholic Church spoke out against the strike, declaring it "a sin" 

The government reacted aggressively, the armed forces were quickly moved to escort food lorries while volunteers got some buses and trains back running, thousands of special policemen were recruited and a warship was sent to Newcastle.  Also, the government  tried to exert greater control over the media, by producing its own newspaper, the British Gazette, edited by Winston Churchill and using the fledgling BBC, to get its message out, with Stanley Baldwin, the prime minister, appealing to the people in a series of personal radio broadcasts to the nation. 

The TUC had been involved in secret talks with the mine owners and after nine days called the strike off without a single concession made to the miners' case.  Taken by surprise, the miners struggled on alone, but by the end of November most had drifted back to work.   

Borrn this day 1950 in Pontardawe

Mary Hopkin , folk singer who is best- known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days" which was produced by Paul McCartney, Mary had been recommended to him by the model Twiggy, who saw Mary win the talent show. Opportunity Knocks.

Born this day 1965 in Baglan

Rob Brydon  (born Robert Brydon Jones) BAFTA nominated actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist.  Best known for playing Uncle Bryn in the sit-com Gavin and Stacey and his chat show The Rob Brydon Show. In June 2012, he was one of the hosts for The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in London.  

On 3rd May 1951  - Josef Herman's "Miners", a mural commissioned for the Festival of Britain, was put on display for the first time. 

 Josef Herman was a highly regarded Polish realist painter, who studied working people as the subjects of his art.  From 1944, he lived in Ystradgynlais for 11 years and became a particularly interested in coal miners as a subject for his work.  He became part of the community, where he was fondly nicknamed "Joe Bach", but was forced to leave Wales in 1955 because of ill health caused by the damp climate. 

In May 1177, in order to strengthen his position as King of Gwynedd, Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd was given the lordships of Ellesmere and Hales in Shropshire by his brother-in-law King Henry II of England at the Council of Oxford. The agreement also saw Dafydd marry Emma of Anjou, Henry's half sister.

Dafydd was the son of Owain Gwynedd and Cristin, who were first cousins and as such, the marriage was not accepted by the church and Dafydd was regarded as illegitimate.

Owain Gwynedd was King of Gwynedd was a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule from 1137 until his death in 1170, after which there was rivalry among his many sons, for supremacy in North Wales from the river Dovey to the river Dee. Of these Dafydd, Hywel, Maelgwyn and Rhodri were to be the main protagonists. Another brother, Madog decided to leave his fractious brothers and according to folklore, sailed to America in 1170, over three hundred years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492.

1157 - King Henry II of England invaded Gwynedd. Dafydd engaged him near Basingwerk and Henry was nearly killed.

1170 - Owain Gwynedd died, with Hywel succeedìng him.

1171 - Dafydd was involved in overthrowing and killing Hywel at the Battle of Pentraeth on Anglesey.

1173 - Dafydd drove Maelgwn into exile in Ireland thereby gaining possession of all Anglesey for himself.

1175 - Dafydd imprisoned Rhodri, thus uniting Gwynedd under his rule. However, before the end of 1175, Rhodri had escaped from captivity and was able to drive Dafydd across the River Conwy. Dafydd and Rhodri then agreed that Dafydd would take charge of Gwynedd Is Conwy, the land between the rivers Conwy and Dee and Rhodri would take charge in Anglesey and Gwynedd Uwch Conwy.

1177 - In order to strengthen his position Dafydd sought an agreement with Henry II that saw Dafydd marry Emma of Anjou, Henry's half sister. Dafydd also received the lordships of Ellesmere and Hales in Shropshire.

1188 - Since the agreements of 1175 and 1177, there appears to have been a period of peace, as noted by Gerald Cambrensis, when he stayed with Dafydd at Rhuddlan Castle during his journey around Wales with Archbishop Baldwin, describing Dafydd as a man who showed "good faith and credit by observing a strict neutrality between the Welsh and English.

1194 - Dafydd's nephew Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) staked his claim to power in Gwynedd and conspired with Rhodri to defeat Dafydd at the Battle of Aberconwy.

1197 - Llywelyn imprisoned Dafydd.

1198 - Dafydd was released by the direct intervention of archbishop Hubert and retired to the Kingdom of England.

1203 - Dafydd died.

In May 1888, Owen Glynne Jones completed the first recorded climb of Cader Idris by the east ridge of the Cyfrwy.

Mountaineer and schoolteacher, Jones was born in London in 1867 to Welsh parents and on the death of his mother in 1882, moved to Barmouth. He went on to achieve a first class honours degree in experimental physics and became physics master at the City of London School

In 1888, he took an interest in climbing and knowing no more about organised climbing than he had absorbed from books on the Alps, ascended the east ridge of the Cyfrwy on Cadair Idris alone. At this time, rock climbing had hardly begun in earnest but in the English Lake District, W.P. Haskett Smith and others had been climbing for about 3 years. So in 1890, Jones visited the Lake District and soon came to the notice of the pioneers, because of his incredible strength, his ‘almost supernatural’ climbing ability and his scientific outlook. As a rock climber, he was reputed to be fearless though some have suggested that this was because of his short-sightedness. Nevertheless, he achieved many first climbs and was also at the forefront of new techniques in rock-climbing.

From 1891 onwards Jones visited the Alps annually and made some important first ascents. In 1897, he published, with George Abraham the classic Rock Climbing in the English Lake District, which along with Jones's exuberant style did much to popularise the sport. He had made plans to be the first to climb Everest, but in 1920, at the age of 32, he fell 1,650 feet to his death on the Ferpècle arete of the Dent Blanche in Switzerland.

On 2nd May 1230, William de Braose was publicly hanged, on the orders of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, after it was suspected that he had committed adultery with Llywelyn's wife, Joan (Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon)

William de Braose (c. 1197 – 2 May 1230) was born in Brecon, the son of Reginald de Braose, who he succeeded in various lordships in 1227, including Abergavenny and Builth. The Welsh detested him and called him Gwilym Ddu (Black William). He was captured in 1228 by the forces of Llywelyn in the commote of Ceri near Montgomery and ransomed for £2,000. de Braose later made an alliance with Llywelyn and his daughter Isabella married Llywelyn's only legitimate son Dafydd ap Llywelyn.

At Easter 1230, William was discovered in Llywelyn's bedchamber with Joan, which resulted in Joan being placed under house arrest for twelve months and de Braose being hanged on 2 May 1230.

Born this day 1926 in Port Talbot

Clive Jenkins , former chairman of the general council of the TUC. Jenkins was a frequent guest on television chat shows and wrote his own regular newspaper columns. He listed his stated recreation in "Who's Who" was "Organising the middle classes".

Born this day 1982 in Cardiff

Timothy Benjamin , former Olympic athlete who is regarded as one the best British 400 metre runners of all time.

In Wales Calan Mai or Calan Haf was a time for celebration and festivities as it signified the beginning of summer.

* Wales has a wealth of May Day customs and traditions. Many date from the time of the Druids, such as the lighting of fires for Beli Mawr, Celtic god of Fire and sun, purification, science, fertility, crops and success, known as the festival of Beltaine

* 'Spirit nights', or ysprydnos, took place on May Eve. It was a night when the world of the supernatural was closest to the real world.

* May Day was the point in the year when herds would be turned out to pasture.

* Villagers would gather hawthorn branches and flowers to decorate the outside of their houses to celebrate the new growth and fertility of the new season, but it was believed to be unlucky to bring them into the house

* The maypole played a central role in Welsh May Day tradition. in south Wales it was called 'codi'r fedwen', 'raising the birch', the maypole was painted different colours and the dancers would wrap ribbons around it, then it would be raised and the dancing would begin. In north Wales it was called 'y gangen haf', the summer branch and was often decorated with silver watches and spoons. Young men dressed in white and decorated with ribbons would then sing and dance around it as it was carried by another man called the Cadi.

* May Day was the time that the twmpath chwarae (the village green) was opened, where villagers would gather in the evenings to dance and play sports. A mound was prepared and decorated with oak branches on top of which a fiddler or harpist would sit and play.

* A 12th century, poem celebrating Calan haf, welcoming the new season

The beginning of summer, fairest season;

Noisy are the birds, green the woods,

The ploughs are in the furrow, the ox at work,

Green the sea, the lands are many-coloured.

Today is the feast day of Saint Brioc

Saint Brioc c.520 was from Ceredigion and became the first Abbot of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany. He is known to have travelled through the areas of modern day Gloucestershire and Cornwall.

On 1st May 1992 - The Ebbw Vale Garden Festival opened and attracted over two million visitors to the town.

The National Garden Festivals were a Government initiative to help areas adversely affected by the decline of heavy industry. They were held biannually , with the first being held in Liverpool in 1984 and subsequent festivals being held in Stoke on Trent, Glasgow, Gateshead and Ebbw Vale. They were attended by millions of visitors, but were not generally successful in attracting long-term investment for the affected areas.

The first ever edition of the Western Mail was printed on May 1, 1869.

The Western Mail was founded in Cardiff by John Crichton - Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, it describes itself as "the national newspaper of Wales" although it has a very limited circulation in North Wales.

Born this day 1957 in Gorseinon.

Richard Moriarty , former Wales rugby international and captain, best remembered for captaining Wales to third place in the i naugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, which is, to date, the best performance by Wales in a Rugby World Cup.

Born this day 1770 in London (of Welsh parents),

David Thompson , possibly one of the greatest land explorers and geographers in history. His maps of western North America formed the basis of all later maps, contributing significantly to our understanding of the culture and history of Canada and North America.

Thompson was the first white man to explore the whole length of the Columbia River, enduring incredible hardship and danger. He was respected by the Native Americans, who knew him as Koo-Koo-Sint ('you who look at the stars') because of his constant use of his sextant in map-making. He took a firm stand against the highly profitable use of alcohol as a trading commodity with them.

Born this day 1888 in Cardiff,

David Jacobs , an athlete who won a Gold Medal with the British 4x100 m relay team at the 5th Summer Olympics, held in Stockholm in 1912.

On this day 2011, charter trains ran for the first time on the Heart of Wales railway line.

The Heart of Wales Line is a railway line, that runs from Llanelli on the South Coast to Craven Arms in Shropshire, passing through some of the most breathtaking countryside in Mid Wales. It was opened in 1861 for access to the once fashionable spa towns of Mid Wales, such as Llandrindod Wells, Llanwrtyd Wells and Builth Wells.

William Critchlow Harris, born 30 April 1854 , was an architect noted mainly for both his church buildings and domestic residences in Maritime Canada.

He was born in Liverpool to Welsh parents but moved to Prince Edward Island with his family as a young child. He travelled widely throughout Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia executing design commissions, and many of his Romanesque and Victorian gothic architectural creations can still be seen today .

George Maitland Lloyd Davies, born in Liverpool to a Welsh family on 30th April 1880 , was one of Wales's most influential pacifists during the first half of the 20th century.

He formed a Christian society to promote peace in 1914 called the Fellowship of Reconciliation (Cymdeithas y Cymod) and was imprisoned for opposing the Great War and conscription.

In 1937, as a second World War seemed imminent, Davies and Gwynfor Evans established the Welsh National Pacifist Society and published the pamphlet Ymorthodwn â Rhyfel (We Reject War).

Welsh Gold

Welsh gold is prized because of its quality. It is found in two areas of Wales; an area around Dolgellau and in Dolaucothi in Carmarthenshire, where it is known to have been mined by the Romans.

* In Welsh legend, King Arthur's sword, known as Caledfwlch, had a hilt crafted of Welsh gold.

* Welsh gold became fashionable when the Queen Mother chose it for her wedding ring in 1923, which was fashioned from a gift of Clogau gold with enough left over for the wedding rings of the Queen, Princess Margaret, the Princess Royal and Princess Diana.

* On 29th April 2011 Prince William and Kate Middleton were married, their wedding rings being of Welsh gold.

* 1kg of Welsh gold from the Gwynfynydd mine was presented to the Queen on her 60th birthday in 1986.

* Commercial extraction of Welsh Gold ceased with the closure of Clogau near Dolgellau in 1911.

Born this day 1917 in Neath,

William Squire , a stage, film and television actor whose most famous role was Thomas More in the 1969 film "Anne of the Thousand Days." He is also remembered for being the voice of Gandalf in the 1978 animated version of "The Lord of the Rings" and as Hunter, the superior of secret agent David Callan in the spy series Callan of the early 1970s.

Ann of Swansea (Ann Julia Hatton) (29 April 1764 – 26 December 1838,) , was a popular novelist in Britain in the early 19th century. She was the daughter of strolling player Roger Kemble and a sister of actress Sarah Siddons. She married a bigamist, worked in a London brothel and attempted suicide in Westminster Abbey before travelling to America with her legitimate husband, William Hatton, where she found Broadway success with her libretto Tammany: The Indian Chief.

Ann and William returned to Britain and settled in Swansea, where Ann became a well-known writer. She wrote poetry and fourteen gothic novels using the pseudonym of "Ann of Swansea".

On 29th April 1941, the village of Cwmparc in the Rhondda Valley was subjected to a bombing raid from the Luftwaffe, killing 27 people.

It is believed that anti-aircraft fire had forced the German pilots to divert from their planned target at Swansea and had dropped their bombs randomly.

Among the fatalities were three evacuees from London, the Jameson family, two boys and two girls, who had been staying at 14 Treharne Street which was one of the houses hit.

Born on this day 1888 in Cardiff,

Fred Dyer, a Welsh boxing champion and baritone singer . His voice trained by Ivor Novello's mother, Clara Novello Davies, Dyer was renowned for singing to his audience after a fight and was nicknamed 'The Singing Boxer'.