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Born on this day 1896 in Llangollen.
William Stanley Gwynn Williams , was a musician, lecturer, editor, composer, broadcaster and author. He specialised in British history, and particularly in Welsh music. He is remembered most fondly as being prominent in the establishment of the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen in 1947 and being its first musical director.
Born this day, 1821 in Salisbury, New York (of Welsh descent)
Linus Yale, Jr , a mechanical engineer and manufacturer, who was best known for inventing the cylinder lock, which is still universally used today. His father, Linus Yale Sr specialised in bank locks and Yale Jr joined his father in business, introducing revolutionary locks that utilized permutations and cylinders. He founded the Yale Lock Manufacturing Company, which today is the best-known name in the locking industry.
Born this day, 1944 in Ystradgynlais,
Ronnie Rees , a former Wales soccer international, who was a member of Jimmy Hill's Coventry side that gained rapid promotion from Division Three to Division One.
On 4th April 1120, the Archbishop of Canterbury granted a request from Gruffydd ap Cynan to recognise David the Scot as Bishop of Bangor.
The see had been vacant for almost twenty years, the result of a disagreement between Gruffydd and the English monarchy; the previous bishop, Herve, having been ousted. Henry l eventually agreed to David's appointment on condition that he recognised the supremacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
David, who was probably Irish, not Scottish, rebuilt the cathedral at Bangor, aided by funds donated by Gruffydd. He is last recorded as attending the deathbed of Gruffydd ap Cynan in 1137.
On 4th April 1903, the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway began operation.
It was one of very few local lines to be built under the Light Railways act of 1896, which encouraged growth in areas of low industry. It soon became freight only, apart from a week in August 1945 when it was used to ferry visitors to the National Eisteddfod held in the area.
The line eventually closed, but in 1963 was partially reopened after a group of volunteers and enthusiasts had raised money for its restoration.
Outlaw Jesse James, was shot dead this day, 1882. (Both he and his brother Frank considered themselves Welsh)
Jesse James was born in Clay County, Missouri on 5 September 1847. His great-grandfather is believed to have been William James, a Baptist minister from Little Newcastle in Pembrokeshire.
The James brothers' career in crime began in revenge for an attack on the family farm by Union soldiers, with the brothers robbing banks, stagecoaches and trains owned by Northern establishments.
Despite being a feared band of outlaws with a huge bounty offered for their capture, they remained popular in Missouri for their active support of the confederate cause. They were eventually betrayed by members of their own gang because the reward being offered was too large to ignore. Jesse was shot in the back of the head by Bob Ford on 3rd April 1882.
Born this day, 1812 in Tregaron.
Rev. Henry Richard was a Congregational minister and Member of Parliament who was often referred to as the "Apostle of Peace". He was well known as a promoter of peace and international arbitration, having served as secretary of the Peace Society for forty years. He was also an active supporter of the anti-slavery movement.
Born this day, 1739 in Llandyfrydog, Anglesey (The flower pictured, Daviesia physodes is named after him)
Hugh Davies, botanist and Anglican clergyman . He published a catalogue of the flora of Anglesey, the first volume in which plant names were cross-referenced in the Welsh language with their scientific names.
Born this day, 1945 in Swansea
Gary Sprake , former Wales soccer international, best remembered as the goalkeeper for Leeds United for more than a decade during which they were a dominant side in the English domestic game.
He was known a brilliant goalkeeper, but occasionally prone to mistakes. He self-deprecatingly called his autobiography "Careless Hands" referring to an incident at Anfield, in which he threw the ball into his own net because he changed his mind about rolling the ball out to start an attack and tried to draw the ball back into his body. "It went over my shoulder right into the net in front of 30,000 people and right in front of the Kop."
Twm o’r Nant was the pen name of Welsh dramatist and poet Thomas Edwards ( January 1739 – 3 April 1810 ).
He was born in Llanefydd and was famous for his anterliwtau (interludes), based loosely on medieval morality plays, which were performed in towns and villages around his native Denbighshire.
The government undertook a census of everyone living in Wales and England on Sunday 2 April 1911 . The results of the 1911 census gives us some interesting insights into what life in Wales was like in those days;
* The estimated population in Wales in 1911 was 2.42 million people. Today ’s population in Wales is an estimated 2.97 million people
* Life expectancy was 54 years for women and 50 for men in the UK in 1911. By 2011 life expectancy was 82 for women and 74 for men
* In 1911 43.5% of the Welsh population spoke Welsh; in 1971 this was 28.6%.
* Approximately 175,000 people worked in the Welsh coal mining industry in 1911 (one tenth of the population). Nowadays less than one percent of the Welsh population work in the mining industry.
For action this day in 1945, Edward Thomas Chapman was awarded the Victoria Cross .
Ted Chapman ( 13 January 1920 – 3 February 2002 ) was born in Pontlottyn in the Rhymney Valley. He became a miner before enlisting in 1940.
'On 2 April 1945 , near the Dortmund-Ems canal, Corporal Chapman halted the enemy advances with his Bren gun, at one time firing the weapon over his shoulder to protect those bringing him ammunition. He was then wounded while trying to rescue his Company Commander, but refused to be hospitalised, instead returning to his section to consolidate the ground that had been gained.'
The Falklands War began this day in 1982.
The Falklands War began when Argentine forces invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The British government sent a naval task force to retake the islands.
The Welsh Guards formed part of the Task Force and on 7 June they were on board the Sir Galahad, waiting to be landed at Bluff Cove when they came under attack. On the Sir Galahad, there were 48 dead, 32 of whom were Welsh Guards. There were also many wounded, many suffering from horrendous burns, the best known being Simon Weston.
M archer Lord, Walter de Lacy of Ewyas Lacy, is said to have fallen from a ladder to his death on this day 1084 while inspecting the nearly finished work at St Peter’s Church in Hereford.
Ewyas was possibly an early Welsh kingdom which existed around the time of the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century.
Before the Norman conquest, Ewyas was beyond the reach of Anglo-Saxon administration. After 1066 Walter de Lacy was sent into Wales alongside William Fitzosbern, Earl of Hereford, and annexed the borderlands, defeating the people of Brycheiniog and Gwent. Part of Ewyas went to the de Lacy family who built castles to defend their territory. Ecclesiastically, all but one of the parishes in Ewyas remained in the Diocese of St David until 1852 when they were transferred to the Diocese of Hereford.
On 2nd April 2007, the Smoking ban in all enclosed public places in Wales came into force.
A history of smoking bans;
1575 - The use of tobacco was banned in any church in Mexico.
1590 - Pope Urban VII threatened to excommunicate anyone smoking in Church.
1604 - King James I of England published an anti-smoking treatise.
1663 - The Ottoman Sultan Murad IV prohibited smoking in his empire.
1941 - Smoking was restricted in Germany under orders from Adolf Hitler.
1975 - The US state of Minnesota was the first state to restrict smoking in public spaces.
1990 - San Luis Obispo became the first city to restrict indoor smoking in all public places.
1993 - Peru made it is illegal to smoke in any public enclosed places and any public transport.
1999 - Kerala High Court in India declared public smoking as illegal.
2003 - New Zealand implemented a smoking ban in schools, school grounds, and workplaces.
2004 - Ireland implemented a nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces.
2007 - Smoking was banned in all public places in the whole of the United Kingdom and the age limit for buying tobacco was raised from 16 to 18.
Born on this day 1915 in Penarth
Wing Commander Reginald Patrick Mahoney Gibbs DSO DFC & Bar was a military pilot and journalist. He fought in World War II and was famed for his torpedo attacks against enemy shipping.
On 1st April 1977 , Richard Booth, a local second-hand bookshop owner, declared Hay-on-Wye to be an 'independent kingdom' with himself as its king and his horse as prime minister.
The publicity stunt subsequently developed the town into a favourite destination for second-hand book lovers and venue for a literary festival which draws 80,000 visitors over ten days over the Whitsun bank holiday each year.
The Welsh coal strike of 1898 commenced on 1st April.
The Welsh coal strike of 1898 was an industrial dispute which began as a campaign by the colliers to remove the sliding scale payment system, which linked colliers' salaries to the price of coal on the open market. The miners argued that the scale could be abused by traders and mine owners to the detriment of the workers.
The strike quickly turned into a lockout which would last for six months and resulted in a failure to remove the contentious sliding scale and also saw the end of Mabon's day, the first Monday of the month holiday, which had previously awarded to the miners. The strike is seen as an important landmark in Welsh history and was instrumental in the rise of trade unionism in South Wales and the foundation of the South Wales Miners' Federation.
Today is the feast day of Saint Tewdrig
Saint Tewdrig, was the grandson of King Nynniaw of Gwent and ruled Gwent in the early 7th century. In later life, he abdicated and became a hermit at Din-Teyryn (Tintern). Soon afterward, however, in around 630, the Saxons invaded Gwent, so Tewdrig decided to come out of retirement and take up his sword once more to defend the church. The Saxon menace was defeated, but Tewdrig was wounded in the Battle of Pont-y-Saeson.
His wounds were cleaned at a miraculous spring, now known as St.Tewdrig's Well, where he died. His son, King Meurig, built a church on the spot and enshrined his father's body there. The place became known as Merthyr-Teyryn (Mathern, near Chepstow) after the Martyred King.
Born this day, 1943 in Derby (both of his parents were Welsh)
Dafydd Wigley , a former MP, Welsh Assembly Member and leader of Plaid Cymru. In 1974, he became one of Plaid Cymru's first MPs to be elected to the House of Commons and in 2010 he was granted a peerage and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wigley of Caernarfon.
Did a Welshman invent the wheel?
Astonishing new evidence is emerging that a Welshman may be associated with perhaps one of the most important inventions in the development of humankind.
The name of Madfor Myles, a Celtic tribal leader who lived in what is now Mid Wales has been put forward as the first known user of the axled wheel. Carbon dating of the shaped timber found in a bogland area in the Brecon Beacons makes it the earliest use of such a wheel anywhere on the planet. It is likely that it was used on carts used to transport agricultural equipment and produce between the hendref, the tribe's permanent lowland settlement where they would spend the winter and the hafod, the highland pasture, that the tribe would use during the summer months.
Further evidence revolves around the name given to the device, Madfor's mother is thought to have descended from the Wheelan tribe of Ireland, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that it was originally called a wheelan, in her honour, which was shortened to wheel over the years.
On 1st April 1859, the Corris Railway opened.
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge railway initially built to transport slate to be shipped from the Dyfi estuary. When in the 1860's the line ceased to deliver direct to shipping, a passenger service flourished, using adapted wagons, and for the rest of the nineteenth century, the Railway developed a substantial tourist traffic.
The railway continued to run its own successful bus services and tourist routes (picture shows Corris Railway charabancs on the Grand Tour passing Talyllyn c 1907) until in 1930 the Great Western Railway purchased the line and soon afterwards it became one of the first to be closed by the newly-nationalised British Railways. A preservation society was formed in 1966, initially opening a museum and then a short section of line between Corris and Maespoeth, which was re-opened to passengers in 2002. The railway now operates as a tourist attraction.
On 1st April 1974 , The Local Government Act 1972 came into effect, reorganising local government areas and incorporating the area of Monmouthshire as part of Wales.
The historic county of Monmouthshire was formed from the Welsh Marches by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. The Second Laws in Wales Act of 1542 enumerated the counties of Wales and omitted Monmouthshire. This led to confusion as to whether the county was part of Wales or not. Since the changes in April 1974 the area has been placed unequivocally in Wales.
Born this day 1948, in Nantyffyllon
J.J. Williams , former Wales and Lions rugby international who played a significant role in the 1974 test series against South Africa, scoring two tries in each of the second and third tests.This performance earned him the title "The Welsh Whippet". He was also an outstanding track athlete, representing Wales in the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and becoming Welsh sprint champion in 1971.
On 1st April 2007 , prescription charges were abolished for NHS patients in Wales.
The NHS, founded in 1948, was intended to provide an entirely free health service for everyone. However, the increasing cost prompted the introduction of prescription charges in 1952 causing the resignation of several prominent ministers, including Aneurin Bevan, who had introduced the National Health Service, and Harold Wilson, the future Prime Minister.
In 1965, under Harold Wilson, Labour abolished prescription charges, but restored them in June 1968 , with exemptions for old and young people, those on benefits, and people with chronic diseases.
On 31st March 1406, Owain Glyndwr composed the famous Pennal Letter to the French King, Charles VI, setting out his plans for an independent Wales. Pennal is a village on the north bank of the River Dyfi, near Machynlleth.
In the letter, Glyndwr asked for French help in his rebellion against English rule and called for recognition of Wales as an independent nation. He also stated his aims for establishing an independent Welsh church and university.
Glyndwr had been a loyal soldier for Henry IV of England and when in 1399 Henry did not support him in a dispute with Reginald de Grey, Lord of Ruthin, over land which de Grey had stolen from him, he rose up in rebellion on 16th September 1400, he rose up in rebellion, raised his standard outside Ruthin and was proclaimed Prince of Wales.
Thousands of Welsh people, angered by unjust English rule rose up with him, including Welsh students at Oxford and Welsh workers in England. Ruthin was attacked and the castles at Harlech and Aberystwyth were taken.
Henry retaliated by burning and looting across North Wales, forcing Glyndwr into the hills. Then in 1401, Glyndwr's supporters took Conwy Castle and he took the fight into Mid and South Wales, securing a significant victory at Pilleth near Knighton in June 1402, where he also captured the English leader Edmund Mortimer, who then became Glyndwr's ally.
By the end of 1403, Glyndwr was in control of most of Wales and in 1404 he called a parliament at Machynlleth in which he drew up treaties with France and Spain. The following year, Glyndwr made plans with Mortimer and Thomas Percy, earl of Northumberland and to partition the Kingdom of England and Wales with Mortimer taking South and West England, Percy taking the Midlands and North England and Glyndwr taking Wales and the Marches. Then in 1406 Glyndwr sent his famous letter to France.
The rebellion was now all out war, with the English launching attack after attack, which the Welsh defended by using hit and run guerilla tactics. However by 1415, the revolt was exhausted and Glyndwr forced into hiding. Glyndwr was offered and refused a royal pardon but was never betrayed and died uncaptured.
Born this day, 1944 in Caerwys, Flintshire
Myfanwy Talog , actress and long term partner of Sir David Jason.
Talog worked as a teacher before taking up an acting career, in which she appeared in the series Ryan and Ronnie and The Magnificent Evans with Ronnie Barker, she also did voices for Super Ted and the BFG episodes and sang the theme tune to Danger Mouse, which was narrated by David Jason. She died of breast cancer in 1995.
On 31st March 1920, the majority of the Welsh section of the Church of England became known as the Church in Wales.
The Church of England had been separated and disestablished in Wales and Monmouthshire by an act of parliament in 1914, which led to the creation of the Church in Wales. However, it's implementation was delayed until after the First World War and commenced on 31st March 1920. There were, however, a small number of churches within Wales, but close to the Wales - England border, that remained within the Church of England.
March 1944 saw the final air raid in Wales by the Luftwaffe.
The industrialised cities of Cardiff and Swansea bore the brunt of the attacks in Wales, with 355 people losing their lives in Cardiff and 227 in Swansea during an intense three-night raid in February 1941. However, there were also attacks in Caernarfonshire, which was on the flight path to Liverpool and Cwmparc in the Rhondda, where in April 1941 27 people were killed during a bombing raid.
Hywel Harris underwent a religious conversion on this day, 1735 while listening to a sermon by the Rev. Pryce Davies in Talgarth parish church. Harris then became one of the main driving forces of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century.
Harris, who was born in Talgarth, Breconshire on January 24th 1714, had become a local schoolteacher and while listening to Pryce Davies's sermon, he came to the conviction that he had received mercy through the blood of Christ and converted to Methodism. Then, when failing to be accepted for ordination in the Church of England, he became a travelling preacher in mid and south Wales. William Williams, Pantycelyn was a follower of his.
He was a determined man of unshakeable beliefs, who was viewed as challenging the established order and provoked hostility, he and his fellow Methodists required considerable personal courage to carry on their ministry in the face of intimidation and violence, with one Methodist, William Seward being stoned to death at Hay-on-Wye in 1740.
Harris was effectively regarded as the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Wales, also known as the Calvinistic Methodist church and when he died, in 1773, twenty thousand people are said to have attended his funeral. Throughout his life, Harris kept a detailed diary, seen as a first eye witness of the Welsh Methodist revival, which is kept at the National Library of Wales. Coleg Trefeca nr Talgarth is a museum and conference centre dedicated to his memory.
Methodism is a branch of Protestant religion that originated in 1739 with the teachings of John Wesley. While studying at Oxford, Wesley and his brother Charles were instrumental in forming a group devoted to study, prayer and evangelistic preaching. They were given the name Methodist, because of their methodical approach to their religious affairs.
Because of their evangelistic methods, the Wesley brothers were barred from preaching in most Church of England churches, so they preached in homes, farm houses, barns and open fields and soon Methodism spread and eventually became an established religion.
On 30th March 1555, Rawlins White was burned at the stake on St Mary Street, outside Bethany Church. (Now part of the James Howell department store, where there is a plaque to his memory) for refusing to denounce his protestant faith.
Rawlins White was a fisherman from Cardiff who had become a devout Protestant in his late 50's and despite not being able to read and write, he had learnt large sections of the bible and begun to preach openly in Cardiff. However when Mary became Queen in 1553, Protestantism was suppressed and White who refused to stop preaching was arrested by the Bishop of Llandaff and sentenced to death by burning.
White who was determined to die bravely, broke down on his way to the stake when he saw his wife and children weeping uncontrollably. However, he regained his composure and struck his breast in defiance.
White then helped arrange the wood and hay for the fire, so he have a quick death and as the flames consumed him he shouted out to the large crowd, not to listen to a priest who was speaking the words of the liturgy and asked the Lord to receive his soul.
On 30th March 1555, Robert Ferrar, Bishop of St David's was executed by burning at Carmarthen.
Robert Ferrar, originally from Halifax, was an Augustinian monk at Nostell Priory, who because of the Augustinians policy of sending, at least, one monk from each of their houses to receive an education, became a student at Oxford University.
It was while at Oxford that he came under the influence of reformers and the works of Tindale. He was made prior of Nostell on his return, but still had sympathy for the protestant reformation, so that when the monastery was dissolved in 1539, he received a pension, eventually married and had three children. He was appointed the chaplain to Edward Seymour (the Lord Protector) and then Archbishop Cranmer.
Then in 1549, he was appointed as Bishop of St David’s, but came into conflict with his parishioners over his over-zealous policies and was imprisoned until Mary Tudor came to the throne.
Ferrar was now in difficulty as not only was he regarded as a protestant but also because he was married. Mary refused to recognise the legality of Ferrar’s marriage and he was deposed of his see. He was tried for heresy and found guilty. He refused to recant and was burned at the stake at Carmarthen on 30th March 1555. It is reported that he met his end with fortitude.
Born this day, 1973 in Cardiff
Mathew Pritchard, professional skateboarder and co-founder of the Dirty Sanchez crew.
Born this day, 1966 in Pontycymer, Bridgend
John Devereux, former Wales and Lions rugby union international and Wales and Great Britain rugby league international.
Born this day, 1913 in Cardiff.
R.S.Thomas - poet and priest who was noted for his nationalism, spirituality and deep dislike of the anglicisation of Wales. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize and awarded the Queen's Medal for Poetry. He is regarded as one of Wales's finest poets, with a career spanning fifty years, he was also a prolific campaigner on issues such as holiday homes, the Welsh language and nuclear disarmament.
Today is the feast day of St Gwynllyw.
Saint Gwynllyw, born c. 450 was King of Gwynllwg and an active and merciless warrior who in one raid accompanied by 300 men, abducted Gwladys, the beautiful daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, with whom, he had a son, the famous Saint Cadoc.
To celebrate his son's birth Gwynllyw went on another raid stealing cattle from Caerwent. In adulthood, Cadoc was deeply religious and according to some sources, persuaded Gwynllyw to seek forgiveness for his sins and give up his life of violence.
Gwynllyw then had a dream in which an angel spoke to him and he saw a vision of a white ox. When he later saw the same ox as in his dream he founded a hermitage on the site of what is now St Woolos Cathedral on Stow Hill overlooking Newport.
On this day, 1461 the Battle of Towton occurred. It was an important battle during the War of the Roses.
The Battle and Welsh involvement
The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars between 1455 and 1485, that pitted the ruling Lancastrian monarchy against the house of York, they had arisen from the slow breakdown of English government under Henry VI, who, prone to bouts of mental illness, procrastinated on decision making, which resulted in factions being formed and enmities being deepened.
This drove Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, to assert his own claim to the throne, but when he was killed in December 1460, his son, the future Edward IV took up the fight.
* Wales played a central role in the War of the Roses, because many of the prominent figures, were of Welsh descent, or owned land in Wales. Wales in the 15th century was divided into two administrative entities.
1) The Principality of Wales, which was under the rule of the monarch and was divided into two groups of shires, centred at Carmarthen and Caernarvon and governed by a justiciar and chamberlain appointed by the crown.
2) The Marcher Lordships, in which each Lord had complete responsibility for government and neither Royal writs nor Royal officials, had any authority.
* The House of Lancaster had a blood connection from Henry VI's half-brothers, Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond and Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke and Lancastrian support was therefore strongest in the Principality.
* The House of York had a blood connection from Richard, Duke of York's maternal relatives, the Mortimers, who were one of the most powerful Marcher families. Edward IV was also the Mortimer heir, therefore, Yorkist support was strongest in the Marches.
The battle took place in snowy conditions, on a plateau between the villages of Towton and Saxton in Yorkshire, 12 miles south-west of York. It was the bloodiest ever fought on British soil, with casualties believed to have been in excess of twenty thousand which resulted in the fighting being frequently stopped to remove the dead bodies. The result was a crushing victory for the Yorkists and Edward IV.
On the 29th of March 1895, Dinas Oleu, a gorse-covered hillside in the Mawddach Estuary became the first property donated to the National Trust. The 4.5 acres of land containing rare species of plants and birds was given to the Trust by Mrs Fanny Talbot, a friend of Octavia Hill and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, two of the Trust's founders.
Born this day, 1942 in Tredegar
Neil Gordon Kinnock - MP and Leader of the Labour Party, whose period as Leader of the Opposition between 1983 and 1992, was the longest in British political history to date.
Kinnock's grandfather and his political hero Aneurin Bevan were mining colleagues and after graduating from Cardiff University, he worked as a tutor for four years before becoming involved in politics, In 1970 he became Labour MP for Bedwellty and in 1983, he became the only Welsh leader of the Labour party, to date.
Despite a heavy defeat to Margaret Thatcher in 1987, the party kept faith with Kinnock and after Thatcher's resignation, Kinnock held the edge in the close-fought campaign of 1992, until the tabloid press pulled out all the stops, branding Kinnock as a Welsh windbag who would open the floodgates to left wing extremism. His subsequent defeat at the election spelt the end of his career in frontline British politics and he became a European Commissioner.
Neil Kinnock’s big speeches were always intensely emotional, such as his pre-election speech at Cardiff in 1987, which moved many party stalwarts to tears.
Born this day, 1981 in Bettws, Newport.
Gareth David-Lloyd - actor best known for his role as Ianto Jones in the British science fiction television programme Torchwood.
Born this day 1833 in Laugharne
Edward Wienholt, Australian pastoralist and politician.
Wienholt arrived in Queensland in 1853, where he and his partners rapidly built up one of Australia's largest pastoral empires, owning 289,966 acres by 1888. He also became involved in local politics and had a district in Murgon and a parish near Dalby named after him.
Pastoralism
Pastoralism is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock and moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and water.
Despite the intention of Australia's founding fathers to encourage agriculture in the colony, pastoralism developed well before farming, with the introduction of sheep, cows and goats in 1836. However this development came at a cost to the native Aborigines, whose initial response was friendly and curious, but as competition for water and land between the indigenous people and cattlemen increased and the arrival of European diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza swept from one Aboriginal camp to another, the Aboriginal response became fearful and violent, resulting in Aborigines being generally pushed into reserves or missions.
Captain Stephen Halden Beattie from Montgomery, a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the St. Nazaire Raid, which took place on 28th March 1942 during the Second World War.
Beattie was in command of the destroyer HMS Campbeltown, which under intense fire, he deliberately rammed into the dock gates of the Normandie dry dock. The ship had been packed with timed explosives, which took the dock out of action and afterwards, forced German warships to return to home waters for repairs .
