On this day 2010 St Mary’s Church, Tenby celebrated the 800th anniversary of Gerald of Wales's appointment as the first Rector of Tenby in 1210, following his passionate, although failed, campaign for Wales to have its own Archbishop.

Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis) was born some time between 1145 and 1147 at Manorbier, he was the youngest son of William de Barri and Angharad (daughter of Gerald de Windsor and Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewder), making him of both Norman and Welsh descent.

Gerald received his early education from his uncle David Fitzgerald bishop of St. Davids, after which he went to study at the University of Paris. On his return in 1172, he was tasked by the Archbishop of Canterbury with collecting church taxes on wool and cheese for the diocese of St. Davids and came into conflict with Jordan, Archdeacon of Brecon, who he subsequently replaced, an office he held it until he retired. After his uncle David Fitzgerald's death in 1176 , Gerald expected to succeed him as Bishop of St Davids, but King Henry II refused his nomination and in his disappointment Gerald went to Paris where he spent three years as a very successful lecturer

In 1185, he was appointed to accompany Prince John (the future King John) to Ireland, after which he wrote his Expugnatio Hibernica and Topographia Hibernica and in 1188, he toured Wales with Archbishop Baldwin to recruit soldiers for the third crusade, an account of which is given in his Itinerarium Kambriae.

In 1198, he was offered the Bishoprics of Bangor and Llandaff in Wales and Ferns and Leighlin in Ireland, but refused them as he was still determined to become Bishop of St Davids. However, once again the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury objected to his appointment and Gerald saw this as a struggle for the recognition of St. Davids as independent of Canterbury.

The conflict lasted for five years and Gerald to Rome three times to put forward the case for St Davids to Pope Innocent III. He was ultimately unsuccessful and the story is told in his autobiography De Rebus a Se Gestis and his Dialogus de Jure et Statu Menevensis Ecclesiae. He devoted the remainder of his life to his studies, but in 1205, he went on a final pilgrimage to Rome. Gerald died in 1223 and was buried at St Davids.  

On 7th February 1301, the future Edward II, who was born at Caernarfon Castle had his appointment as Prince of Wales formalised by the Parliament of Lincoln, becoming the first non native holder of the title.  

Born this day 1945, in Llansaint, Carmarthenshire.

Gerald Davies  -  former Wales and Lions international Rugby union player, who has has been called one of the best wingers of all time.

Davies did not tour South Africa with the 1974 Lions because of his opposition to apartheid, but later in 2009 managed of the Lion's tour there.  After his retirement from playing, Davies became a respected rugby journalist and was a member of Tasker Watkins committee looking into the reform of Welsh rugby. 

Born this day 1936, in Brithdir, Bridgend

Keith Rowlands - former Wales and Lions rugby international.  He later became the first Chief Executive Officer of the International Rugby Board.  

Born this day 1935, in Swansea

Cliff Jones,   former Welsh soccer international, who was capped 59 times and a member of Tottenham Hotspur's 1960 - 61  Double-winning side, being widely considered at the time as the best left-winger in the world.  

Born this day 1933, in Cilfynydd

Stuart Burrows  -  operatic tenor.

Burrows began his working career as a teacher in Bargoed, but his magnificent singing voice soon saw him change career, to become one of  world's finest operatic tenors, he is particularly well known for his performances of Mozart's works.  

On 7th February 1916 , the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Cardiff was established.  

Born on this day 1930 in Swansea.

Peter Jones - broadcaster, best known as a sports commentator on BBC radio.

Although predominantly a football commentator, Jones also covered events such as the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games and World Cups, and also the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer. 

He was commentating during the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 and was emotionally so deeply affected by it, that it is thought to have contributed to his collapse whilst commentating on the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race of 1990 and his subsequent death the following day.

On this day in 1958, Kenny Morgans   was found unconscious amongst the debris of the Munich air disaster involving the Manchester United soccer team, he was the youngest player involved in the crash and the last survivor to be rescued from the mangled wreckage, five hours after the official search was called off.

Born in Swansea, Morgans signed for Manchester United in 1955 and was soon the club's first-choice right-winger.  He recovered physically from the crash and was back in the side before the end of the season, but his playing form was never the same and left the club in 1961 to play for Swansea Town and later Newport County before retiring and returning to South Wales to run a pub, before finishing his working life as a ship's chandler.

Born this day 1960, in Cardiff

Jeremy Bowen ,  journalist and television presenter. He was the BBC's Middle East correspondent and has been its Middle East Editor since 2005.  

On 6th February 1890 an explosion at Llanerch Colliery, Pontypool killed 176 miners.

When the explosion occurred the blast was heard two miles away and willing hands came from neighbouring and distant mines but there were only ten survivors.  The inquest into the disaster reported that the cause of the explosion was the gas firedamp ignited by the naked lights of the men who were working there and it strongly recommended the future use of safety lamps.  It was also found that on the morning of the explosion, the mine had not been throughly checked for gas.

Firedamp is the name given to a number of flammable gases, especially methane, which is present in gaps in coal seams, which when released, can trigger explosions.

On 4th February 1771, the London based Gwyneddigion Society held its first formal meeting.at the Bull's Head Tavern in Walbrook.

It was originally a social club for Welsh speakers who enjoyed singing, but later developed into a a literary and cultural society. One of its noteable early projects, was the funding of an expedition to North America in the 1790's, to find evidence of Madog ab Owain Gwynedd's legendary discovery of America.

Born this day 1903, in Cwmcarn, Monmouthshire.

Sir Oliver Graham Sutton, who was a leading meteorologist and researcher into air pollution.

Sutton was engaged in the organization of research and development of chemical weapons during World War II and was heavily involved in the Porton wartime programme. He later became Director General to the Meteorological Office and was responsible for the early development of weather forecasting using the first electronic computers and satellites, which were broadcast on the first telephone forecasts in 1955 and later adapted to the radio and television service. He was knighted in 1955 for services to mathematics and science.

Owen Tudor (Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur) a prominent member of the Tudor dynasty and grandfather of Henry VII was executed at Hereford on 4th February 1461.

Owen Tudor's father Maredudd ap Tudor (Meredith) had along with his two brothers Rhys and Gwilym been firm supporters of Owain Glyndwr's rebellion of 1400 and as a consequence, when the uprising was put down, Maredudd lost most of his land. He therefore decided to move to London and changed his son's name to Owen Tudor. After Maredudd died, Owen became the ward of his father's second cousin, Lord Rhys and at the age of seven, he was sent to the English court of Henry IV as page to the King's Steward.

1415 - Owen fought for the English at Agincourt and afterwards was granted "English rights" which allowed him to carry arms, as Henry IV had deprived Welshmen of many civil rights.

1422 - Henry V died and confusion swept through England, the infant Henry VI was now King of England and Henry V's widow Catherine of Valois was kept under watch as whoever she wed would become step-father to the king

1431 - Catherine met and by some accounts, married Owen. They had four children including Edmund and Jasper

1442 - Henry VI began to take an interest in the upbringing of his step brothers Edmund and Jasper and they were brought to London.

1452 - Edmund was created earl of Richmond and Jasper was created earl of Pembroke and Henry VI recognized them as his brothers

1457 - Henry Tudor (later to become Henry VII) was born at Pembroke Castle the only child of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort. Edmund had died 3 months earlier as a a result of defending Carmarthen Castle from the Yorkists

1460 - Henry VI was deposed by Edward IV and imprisoned

1461 - At the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire, Owen Tudor led the Lancastrian forces, who were defeated by the Yorkists and he was subsequently beheaded at Hereford.

The siege of Cardigan Castle by Royalist forces ended unsuccessfully on 4th February 1645

A history of Cardigan Castle;

1093 - Following their invasion of 1066 the Norman invaders sought to control the narrows of the River Teifi just above its estuary and they built an earth and timber castle a mile downstream of the present castle

1096 - The Welsh laid waste to the original Norman castle.

1110 - The present castle site is said to have been first occupied by the Norman lord, Gilbert FitzRichard de Clare and remained under Norman control until 1165.

1165 - Rhys ap Gruffydd the Prince of Deheubarth captured and demolished the castle.

1171 - Rhys had been so successful against Norman attempts to conquer the area that Henry II officially recognised him as the lawful Lord in south Wales, and he became known as Lord Rhys. He moved his chief court to Cardigan and began to rebuild the castle in stone. This was the first time a castle was built in stone by a Welshman.

1176 - A defining moment for Welsh culture came when Lord Rhys staged an event at Cardigan Castle that is considered to be the first national Eisteddfod and was attended by bards, musicians and singers from all over Europe.

1197 - Following Lord Rhys’s death his sons Maelgwn and Gruffydd battled over their inheritance. The following year, Maelgwn handed over Gruffydd, to the English and then seized Cardigan.

1200 - Maelgwn sold Cardigan Castle to the Normans. The following years were turbulent, with the castle changing hands between the Welsh and the Normans a number of times,with sieges recorded in 1215, 1223, 1231 and 1240,

1244 - An English Earl, Robert Waleran began to rebuild the castle using innovative designs and it was in a fit state for King Edward I to stay in it in 1284 and 1295.

1376 - Princess Joan, widow of Edward ‘The Black Prince’ ran an administration in Cardiganshire that was independent of the English Crown. Cardigan Castle had its own courts and exchequer.

1405 - Followers of Owain Glyndwr took possession of the Teifi valley from the Normans but were unable to capture Cardigan castle.

1485 - Henry Tudor (soon to become Henry VII) is said to have stayed the night in the castle on his way to the Battle of Bosworth with his army to defeat Richard III.

1501 - Henry gave the castle to Katherine of Aragon as part of her dowry to her first husband, Arthur, Prince of Wales.

1644 - During the English Civil War it was taken by the Royalists (Cavaliers). In December that year it was besieged by Parliamentary troops (Roundheads) for three weeks. A ship’s cannon was set up across the river to fire cannon balls at the castle wall. After three days the wall was breached, allowing the Parliamentary forces to take the castle.

1645 - The Cavaliers unsuccessfully tried to regain the castle with their siege ending on 4th February. The Parliamentary troops destroyed some of the stone buildings and burnt the rest, making it useless for defence and it became a private property.

1713 - Thomas Brock, one of its owners, landscaped the site to make a bowling green and many of the medieval buildings were demolished.

1805-08 - The present house, known as Castle Green House was built which became home to four county high sheriffs and the Davies family who had a virtual monopoly on Cardigan Port, which at the time was the biggest in Wales.

2003 - After many years of decay and neglect the castle was bought by the local authority.

On 3rd February 1935, 300,000 Welsh People took to the streets in protest over low incomes, poor health, substandard housing and the reduction in unemployment benefit (The Means Test), which had resulted in Wales becoming one of the world's most depressed countries. 

The 1920s and 1930s were the classic example of capitalism in crisis.  After the First World War ended in 1918 it was initially thought that the recession which followed was as a result of a post-war disruption to economy.  However things were about to get a whole lot worse. 

The danger signals had started to appear in the mid 1920s when unemployment among coal miners rose to 29%, which had risen to 43% by 1932.  Other industries such as steel, tinplate, slate and agriculture, were also badly affected and resulted in massive emigration, with over 440,000 people leaving Wales, which also dealt a devastating blow to chapel culture and to the Welsh language. 

On 3rd Feb 1134 Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William the Conqueror, died whilst imprisoned in Cardiff Castle.

Robert Curthose was born in about 1053 and at the age of 14, he became co-regent of Normandy with his mother. However when Robert suggested in 1077 that he should become the sole ruler of Normandy and Maine, the king refused and Robert rebelled.  William put down the rebellion and Robert was forced to flee. In 1080 his mother, Matilda of Flanders, managed to persuade the two men to end their feud and Robert inherited Normandy after his father's death in 1087.  However, Robert became involved in a dispute over who should rule England, with his younger brother, William Rufus, who put down a rebellion on Robert's behalf to claim the throne.

Robert joined the First Crusade in 1096 and was involved in capture of Jerusalem.  When William Rufus died in 1100, he again attempted to become king of England, but was forced to withdraw by his brother Henry I, who in 1106, captured and imprisoned Robert in the Tower of London. In 1128 he was transferred to a castle in Devizes and later held in Cardiff where in his last years, it is reported that he learned Welsh and wrote at least one poem in the language.  

Born this day 1478, in Brecon Castle

Edward Stafford   (3rd Duke of Buckingham), nobleman and nephew of King Edward IV, who was executed for treason on Tower Hill in 1521. 

Staffords father was a supporter of Henry VII's claim to the throne of England and was beheaded for participating in a rebellion against Richard III.  Therefore in his early years Stafford himself was in danger of his life and is said to have been hidden in various houses in Herefordshire.  However when Henry VII came to the throne, Stafford and his family came back into favour. and he became one of the most powerful men in the kingdom.

He attended Henry VII's coronation and was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter.  He carried the crown at the coronation of Henry VIII  and served as a captain during Henry VIII's invasion of France.  He was later appointed to commissions of the peace, with responsibility for keeping order in South Wales.  However he started to fall out of favour with Henry VIII and was tried, convicted and executed for plotting to kill the king.  

3rd February is the anniversary of the death in 1762, of Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, celebrated dandy and leader of fashion.

Born in Swansea on 18 October 1674, Nash attended Oxford University, before becoming an army officer and then later a barrister.  However, he became famous as Master of Ceremonies for the town of Bath, which he instrumental in making the most fashionable resort in England.  His nickname was earned through his fashionable clothes and elegance. However, Nash was also a notorious gambler, who died bankrupt and was buried in a pauper’s grave.

Born in February 1693 in Llandygwydd in Cardiganshire 

Theophilus Evans - cleric, historian, and man of letters, who is best known for his work  Drych y Prif Oesoedd  (Mirror of the Early Centuries) (1716) in which he identified Bangor-is-y-coed as the monastry that Saint Augustine ordered the slaughter of 1200 monks during his attempt to get the Welsh Church to conform to the teaching of Rome.

Evans was the vicar of Llandyfrïog , near Newcastle Emlyn, Llanynys in Breconshire and then from 1738 of the parishes Llangamarch, Llanwrtyd and Abergwesyn also in Breconshire, where he said to have discovered the properties of the spa water at Llanwrtyd Wells by drinking it when everybody said it to poisonous and thus curing himself of scurvy.  Also The hymnist William Williams, Pantycelyn   was appointed his curate in 1740 but as Evans refused to recommend him for ordination as a priest, he left in 1743.

Born on this day 1812 at Tyn y Meini, Bryndreiniog, Pen-y-Bont-Fawr, Montgomeryshire.

Robert Elis, known by his bardic name Cynddelw - Baptist minister, poet and lexicographer.

Elis's poem Yr Adgyfodiad was published in 1849, whilst he was a minister at Tredegar in the Sirhowy Valley and his dictionary, Geiriadur Cymreig Cymraeg, published in Caernarfon in 1868 was one of the first Welsh only dictionaries. 

On 3rd February 1925, an estimated 100,000 people line the streets of Cardiff for the funeral of boxer,'peerless' Jim Driscoll.

The Battle of Mortimers Cross took place on 2nd February 1461, during the War of the Roses (1455 - 1485)

Summary of The War of the Roses and Welsh involvement at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross February 2nd 1461;

During the Wars of the Roses, Wales was generally a Lancastrian stronghold, while the Welsh Marches, particularly the Mortimer lordships, were Yorkists.

In around 1450 King Henry VI of England began suffering from cripling bouts of insanity which led to the formation of a Council of Regency headed by Richard, Duke of York who was named Lord Protector. Recovering in late 1454, Henry resumed the throne and efforts commenced to reduce York's power. In retaliation York and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick marched on London with the goal of removing the king's councilors. They won a victory at St Albans in May 1455 capturing Henry VI and York resumed his post as Lord Protector.

The following year Henry VI returned to health and regained the throne but in 1459 York, Warwick and Warwick's father, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, renewed military action against the king, and there followed a number of battles, culminating in the battle of Northampton in 1460 where Henry VI was again captured and York announced his claim to the throne. However a compromise was reached through the Act of Accord which stated that York would be Henry VI's successor.

Unwilling to see her son, Edward of Westminster (son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou) disinherited, Queen Margaret raised an army and defeated the Yorkist forces at Wakefield killing York and Salisbury. Sir Owen Tudor and his son, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke's Welsh armies marched east, seeking to unite with Margaret's main Lancastrian army but Yorks son (the future Edward IV), who was in the Welsh Marches, raised an army and assumed a position near Mortimer's Cross (near Wigmore, Herefordshire) in an effort to prevent the Lancastrian armies uniting.

On February 2, 1461 Edward engaged the Welsh armies in battle, who although gaining the early advantage, were defeated. Retreating from the defeat, Pembroke and the Earl of Wiltshire succeeded in escaping the Yorkist pursuit, but less fortunate was Sir Owen Tudor who was captured at Hereford. and executed two days later. In the aftermath of the Battle of Mortimers Cross, despite suffering a reverse at the Second Battle of St Albans, Edward was proclaimed king on March 4 and defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towtown, which led to a long lull in the fighting. Although the Wars of the Roses would continue until Sir Owen Tudor's grandson Henry Tudor (Henry VII) defeated Edward IV's brother, Richard III at The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and married Elizabeth of York, thereby uniting the two warring houses.

As a matter of interest, on the morning of the Battle of Mortimers Cross, Edward IV observed a rare meteorological event known as a parhelion, when it appears that there are three suns in the sky, which he took to be a good omen.

Candlemas is celebrated on 2nd February.

This Christian festival is thought to originate from Imbolc, the Celtic festival celebrating the arrival of Spring. It is known in Wales as Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau ("Mary's Festival of the Candles") and was derived from the ceremony of blessing the candles that were be carried in processions, by mothers of babies born during the previous year.

Other Candlemas traditions in Wales;

* In Carmarthenshire, it was customary for kitchen windows to be illuminated with candles.

* It was another custom at the onset of the dark autumn and winter evenings, for the mistress of the farm to ceremoniously give "y forwyn fawr", the head maid, a candle for her to use in the out building during a period called "amser gwylad". The candle was then handed back on February 2nd when the light had increased enough for the candles to be dispensed with.

Born this day 1785, in Dowlais

Sir Josiah John Guest, engineer and entrepreneur. Guest inherited a share in the Dowlais Iron Company and became sole owner in 1815. By his death in 1852, it was the largest producer of iron in the world. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the first chairman of the Taff Vale Railway. He also became the first MP for Merthyr Tydfil in 1832.

Born on this day 1940 in Edmonton, London.

Sir David John White, better known by his stage name David Jason.

David Jason's father was a porter at Billingsgate Fish Market and his Welsh-born mother, Olwen Jones, worked as a charwoman. She gave birth to twin boys, but David's twin brother died during childbirth.

Jason has become one of Britain's most famous and respected actors, with many notable performances including, Only Fools and Horses, A Touch of Frost, The Darling Buds of May, Open All Hours, Dangermouse, The Wind in the Willows and Count Duckula

In 1990, he temporarily gave up working, to care for his longtime partner Myfanwy Talog, the Welsh actress who subsequently died of cancer at the age of 49.

On 2nd February 1876, at a meeting at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham, the Football Association of Wales was founded, making it the third-oldest national association in the world.

Born this day 1945, in Ystrad Rhondda.

Maurice Richards, former Wales and Lions rugby union international and Wales and Great Britain Rugby league international, who in 1969, scored four tries in an international against England.

On 2nd February 1963, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society) held its first protest, in the form of a sit-down at Trefechan Bridge, Aberystwyth.

Born on this day 1947 in Cardiff.

Frank Hennessy - folk singer and radio presenter.

Joan (Siwan) the "Lady of Wales", born in c.1191, was the illegitimate daughter of King John of England and the wife of Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great). She died on 2nd February 1237.

Little is known of Joan's early life but she seems to have spent part of her childhood in France, as King John had her brought to England from Normandy in 1203 in preparation for her wedding to Llywelyn. They married some time between December 1203 and October 1204 and Llywelyn reputedly built the Church of St Mary, Trefriw, Conwy for her. Joan and Llywelyn had at least two children together: Elen ferch Llywelyn and Dafydd ap Llywelyn.

In 1211 King John invaded North Wales and Joan acted as a negotiater between Llywelyn and her father and later in 1216 when Henry III came to the throne, Joan continued to plead Gwynedd’s cause to the English court.

At Easter 1230, William de Braose, who was Llywelyn's prisoner at the time was discovered with Joan in the royal bedchamber. Llywelyn had de Braose hanged and placed Joan under house arrest for twelve months, although she was subsequently forgiven by Llywelyn, and restored to favour.

Joan died at the royal home at Abergwyngregyn in 1237 and Llywelyn founded a Franciscan friary nearby, on the seashore at Llanfaes in her honour. Her stone coffin can still be seen in Beaumaris parish church, Anglesey.

Born on this day 1880 in Pontardawe

Phil Hopkins - Welsh international rugby union wing who was part of Wales's Triple Crown winning side of 1909, scoring two tries.