In November 1916, Christopher Williams visited the scene of the Welsh losses at Mametz Wood during World War I and later painted his famous "The Welsh at Mametz Wood" at the request of David Lloyd George.

Today is the feast day of Saint Sadwrn Farchog (the Knight), deemed by some scholars to be St. Giles, the saint who brought Christianity to England

Sadwrn was born c.485 in Brittany and was a brother of Illtud. He relinquished a military career to follow his brother's religious mission in Wales.  He founded the church of Llansadwrn in Carmarthenshire and then lived as a hermit on Anglesey; a church dedicated to him stands on the site of his cell. Sadwrn is buried at All Saints' Church near Northampton.   

Born on this day 1973 in Cardiff,

Ryan Giggs - Wales soccer international.

Giggs first played for Manchester United during the 1990-91 season and made over 1000 competitive appearances. He is the most decorated player in English football history and was the first player to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) He also won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2009.

 

 On 29 Nov 1644, a battle took place near Dyfi Bridge, in which Sir Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle, commander of the Parliamentary army, was victorious. Many Royalist supporters were killed and their houses in Machynlleth burned down.  

Stradey Park was the home of Llanelli RFC from the first game on Saturday 29 November 1879 when Llanelli played Neath in the Welsh Challenge Cup, until the last ever game on 24 October 2008, an EDF Energy Cup match between the Scarlets and Bristol. A new stadium, Parc y Scarlets, was built on the eastern outskirts of Llanelli, which opened on 15 November 2008. Stradey Park was demolished in 2010, to be replaced with housing.

The ground hosted many memorable games, including Llanelli's defeat of Australia in 1967 and the All Blacks in 1972, as well as being the venue in 1893 of Wales' first ever Triple Crown. A distinctive feature of the ground was the scarlet saucepans placed on each goalpost to represent  Llanelli being a major tin plating centre, as well as to exemplify the traditional club anthem, "Sosban Fach."

Owain ap Gruffydd c. 1100 – 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death. He was a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule and the first native prince to adopt the title Prince of the Welsh. He is known as Owain Gwynedd to distinguish him from the king of  Powys of the same name, who was known as "Owain Cyfeiliog". 

1132 - His elder brother Cadwallon was killed, leaving Owain as his father's heir.

1136 - Owain and his brother Cadwaladr won a major victory over the Normans near Cardigan and annexed Ceredigion into their father's territory.

1137 - Gruffydd, his father, died and Owain inherited the well-established kingdom but had to share it with Cadwaladr.

1143 - Cadwaladr was implicated in a murder and Owain stripped him of his lands in north Ceredigion. Owain now ruled alone over most of north Wales. 

1150 - Owain captured Rhuddlan and was victorious in battle at Coleshill against Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys and Earl Ranulf of Chester.

1154 - Henry II became King of England.

1155 - A further quarrel with his brother led to Cadwaladr being driven into exile, King Henry II giving him lands in Shropshire.

1157 - Henry invaded Gwynedd  with the support of Madog ap Maredudd of Powys and Cadwaladr. Henry's forces ravaged eastern Gwynedd and destroyed many churches, whilst  Owain's men ambushed the royal army at Ewloe in a narrow, wooded valley, routing it completely with King Henry himself narrowly avoiding capture. However, Owain was eventually forced to come to terms with Henry, being obliged to surrender Rhuddlan.

1160 - Madog ap Maredudd died, enabling Owain to regain territory in Powys.

1165 - King Henry again invaded Gwynedd in 1165, and was met by an alliance of all the Welsh princes, with Owain as the undisputed leader. The Welsh weather forced Henry to retreat. In fury, Henry mutilated Welsh hostages, including two of Owain's sons.

1167 - Owain regained his eastern conquests, recapturing Rhuddlan and Prestatyn Castles.

Owain died in 1170 and was buried in Bangor Cathedral.

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Carry on up the Khyber, released on this day 1968 was partially filmed in Wales. 

Scenes  were filmed below the summit of Snowdon, with the Watkin Path representing the Khyber Pass. In September 2005, a plaque was unveiled in Snowdonia to mark the spot where the film was shot.  

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Born on this day 1964 in London to Welsh parents,

Sian Williams - journalist and current affairs presenter. She is best known as a co-presenter of BBC Breakfast and the BBC News at Six.  Williams spent over a decade reporting and editing news programmes with BBC Radio, before moving into television news. 

During BBC Cymru Wales TV series Coming Home, Williams discovered that she was the first member of her family to have been born outside Wales in the 350 years of her known family history. She said, "I think it's not about where you're born, it's about where generations of your family come from. I can now proudly say I'm Welsh, it doesn't matter that I was born in Paddington, I'm Welsh, yes I am, and very proud of it too."  

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Portmeirion is a popular tourist village  on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in Gwynedd.  It was designed and built between 1925 and 1975 by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between in the style of an Italian village.

Sir Clough Williams-Ellis wanted to evoke the atmosphere of the Mediterranean and particularly that of the village of Portofino.

Portmeirion has served as the location for many films and television dramas, most famously as The Village in the 1960s television series The Prisoner, which became a cult classic. Fans continue to visit Portmeirion, which hosts annual Prisoner conventions.

The Owain Glyndŵr Society was founded in November 1996 to mark the six-hundredth anniversary of Owain Glyndwr's revolt in September 1400.  On September 16th 2000, the exact anniversary, a memorial stone was unveiled in Machynlleth, the town where Glyndwr held his Parliament. The inscription on the stone reads;

'Owain Glyndŵr instigated the Welsh Revolt against the rule of Henry IV of England. Although initially successful, the uprising was eventually put down — Glyndŵr was last seen in 1412 and was never captured'  

 . 

   The Great Storm of 27th November 1703 was the most severe storm  ever recorded in Southern Britain, with 120-mph wind  causing widespread damage. 

*  In Wales, there was major damage to Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.

*  At sea, many ships were wrecked, with about 1,500 seamen killed.

*  The Eddystone Lighthouse was destroyed, killing six occupants.

*  4,000 oak trees were lost in the New Forest alone.

*  HMS Association was blown from Harwich to Gothenburg in Sweden. 

*  The roof was blown off Westminster Abbey.

* Queen Anne had to shelter in the cellar of St. James's Palace.

*  At Wells, Bishop Richard Kidder was killed when two chimney stacks in the palace fell on his bed as he slept.  

St Davids Cathedral

 Dewi Sant is thought to have been born c.487 and died 1st March 589. David's mother Non was a nun at Ty Gwyn (Whitesands Bay) who was allegedly raped by Prince Sandde of Ceredigion. Non named her son, Dewidd, but he was commonly called Dewi. David is an Anglicised version.
David undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Saints Teilo and Padarn, where they are said to have been consecrated bishops. On his return he founded the monastery of Mynyw (St. Davids), which became a centre of learning, attracting many pupils from many different areas. King Constantine of Cornwall became a monk at Mynyw, as did St. Aeddan from Ireland.  David's order was strict, reputedly based on that of Egyptian monks. The brothers ate only one meal a day of bread with vegetables and salt, and they drank only water. They were a silent order and their days were filled with prayer and hard manual labour. They kept bees and cared for many pilgrims and travellers. David himself ate only bread and herbs and drank only water, becoming known as Dewi Dyfyrwr (David the Waterman) and as a self-imposed penance, he would sometimes recite Scripture while standing up to his neck in a lake of cold water. Despite his ascetic lifestyle and meagre diet, he was apparently tall and physically strong.

Between 645 and 1097, the community was attacked many times by raiders, including the Vikings and many of the Bishops were murdered by raiders and marauders.

1081 - William the Conquerer visited St David's to pray, recognising it as a holy a place. 

1090 - The scholar, Rhigyfarch wrote his “Life of David."

1123 - Pope Calixtus II granted a Papal privilege making St. Davids a centre of pilgrimage, decreeing that “Two pilgrimages to St David's is equal to one to Rome, and three pilgrimages to one to Jerusalem." 

1171 - King Henry II's visit saw the following of David increase – and the need for a larger Cathedral. 

1540 - During The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII, the body of Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, was brought from Carmarthen to be entombed in front of the High Altar.

1649 - 1658 - During the Puritan Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, the Cathedral was all but destroyed by Cromwell’s forces, and the lead stripped from the Bishop’s Palace roof. 

1793 - The Welsh architect John Nash was commissioned to restore the West Front, to repair the damage done one hundred and fifty years previously.

1862-70 - Within a century the Nash West Front had become unstable, and the whole building was restored by George Gilbert Scott. 

1995 - The British Government re-instated the title of "city" to St Davids.  

The Worm's Head promontory, so named by Viking settlers because of its sea-serpent shape, is the westernmost point of the Gower peninsula. The island is joined to the mainland by a rocky causeway which is only exposed at low tide.

The young Dylan Thomas fell asleep on the Inner Head and missed the tide:

"I stayed on that Worm from dusk to midnight, sitting on that top grass, frightened to go further in because of the rats and because of things I am ashamed to be frightened of. Then the tips of the reef began to poke out of the water and, perilously, I climbed along them to the shore."

The Outer Head is a breeding ground for Herring Gulls, Guillemots, Razorbills, and Kittiwakes, with the occasional appearance of Puffins.

The Outer Head is also home to Worm's Head Cave, a natural blow hole which emits loud booming sounds, giving rise to a local saying - "The old Worm's blowing, time for a boat to be going".

Built by William Jessop and Thomas Telford, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was opened on 26 November 1805.  It is a navigable aqueduct carrying the Llangollen Canal over the Dee valley. A Grade l Listed Building and a World Heritage Site, it is the highest and longest aqueduct in Britain.    

Born on this day 1905 in Mostyn, Flintshire,

Emlyn Williams, actor, playwright and author.

 Williams, an Oxford scholar, wrote and starred in several hugely successful plays in the 1930s, such as Night Must Fall (1935)  Murder Has Been Arranged (1930), and The Corn Is Green (1938). He was also famed for his public readings from the works of Charles Dickens and Dylan Thomas.

Williams gave encouragement to a young Richard Burton.  In fact, Burton's stage debut, "The Druid's Rest", and film debut The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949), were both written and directed by Emlyn Williams. When he died in 1987, Williams had written or co-written 20 screenplays and 20 plays. As an actor, he had appeared in 41 films and teleplays, in addition to numerous appearances on stage.

Born on this day 1946 in Ebbw Vale,

Brian Hibbard was an actor and singer, best known as the lead vocalist in the band The Flying Pickets.

Following the band's  success, Hibbard became a television actor, appearing in Emmerdale, Eastenders, Coronation Sreet and Pobol y Cwm, as well as playing Dai Rees, the "Karaoke King" in the 1997 film Twin Town. Hibbard died of prostate cancer on 17 June 2012.  

Darklands is arguably the first Welsh horror film. Written and directed by Julian Richards, it was released on 26th November 1997. The UK press dubbed it "the Welsh Wicker Man".

   

On 25th November 1233, Richard Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, together with his allies Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Owain ap Gruffydd, defeated forces loyal to Henry III of England at the Battle of Monmouth.

Spurred on by this success, Marshal and Llywelyn attacked Shrewsbury in January 1234, burning and looting the town.  Henry was enraged and hunted Marshal down, killing him in Ireland in April of the same year. On 21st of June, Llywelyn and Henry came to terms, with an agreement called The Peace of Middle, which established a truce, with Llywelyn retaining Cardigan and Builth. This truce was renewed annually until Llywelyn's death.

The White Ship;

Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester (1094 – 25 November 1120) was the son of Hugh d'Avranches, Ist Earl of Chester (Hugh the fat), who was  an important councillor of William the conquerer and one of the first Lords of the Marches.

In 1114, Richard led an army into Gwynedd. Gruffydd ap Cynan, the then ruler of Gwynedd, facing an overwhelming force, was obliged to pay homage to Henry I but lost no territory.

The line of the d'Avranches  failed when Richard joined the young William Adelin, heir to King Henry I aboard the doomed White Ship.  The ship went down in the English Channel near the Normandy coast  on 25 November 1120, drowning all but one boy.  Richard died leaving no issue, and the Earldom of Chester passed through the line of his sister, Maud.

The loss of William Adelin, the legitimate son and heir of King Henry I, led to a period of civil war in England known as the Anarchy.  

Born on this day 1775 in Brecon 

Charles Kemble - actor and  younger brother of Sarah Siddons, "a first-rate actor of second-rate parts."

Early in his career, he acted alongside his sister, chiefly in secondary roles, and received little acclaim. 

Eventually, he won independent acknowledgement, particularly as Cassio in Shakespeare's Othello, and his visit to America during 1832 and 1834 aroused much enthusiasm. The later part of his career however, was beset by money troubles in connection with his joint ownership of Covent Garden theatre.  

Evacuation Day, November 25th 1783, saw the last British troops,  including the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, i n the United States depart from New York, after which General George Washington led a triumph through the city. The last shot of the war was fired from a departing British gun boat at the jeering crowd on Staten Island.

On 24 November 1816 a 27-metre column was unveiled in Llanfair PG on Anglesey commemorating the courage and heroism at the Battle of Waterloo of the Marquess of Anglesey who lived just a few miles away at Plas Newydd on the Menai Straits.

When war broke out with France he raised a regiment of volunteers and began a military career that saw him rise quickly to the rank of major general.

During the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, he led the charge of the heavy cavalry, destroying d'Erlon's Corps in the centre of the French line, though he lost a leg during the battle.

He had an artificial leg fitted with a hinged knee and ankle, later known as the 'Anglesey leg', the first of its type.

The Marquess went on to lead a distinguished public life, twice becoming Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.    

Born on this day 1942 in Cardiff

Craig Thomas - author of thrillers, most notably the Mitchell Gant series.  His best-known novel,  Firefox, became a film both directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.  Most of Thomas's novels are set within MI6; his more recent novels include Snow Falcon and A Different War.  

Born on this day 1951 in  Moascar, Egypt

Graham Price - former Wales and Lions rugby international  who won 41 caps for Wales as a prop forward.  He joined Pontypool after leaving school and along with Bobby Windsor and Charlie Faulkner, formed the legendary Pontypool Front Row.

Price is remembered for debut international in 1975  against France in Paris when he sprinted 70 yards to score a try.  He won Grand Slams with Wales in 1976 and 1978 and played in 12 successive tests for the British and Irish Lions.  

B orn on this day 1962 in Rheindahlen, West Germany.

Paul Thorburn - former wales rugby international and captain.

Thorburn was a long distance goal kicker who holds the record for the longest successful kick in an international test match, with a penalty kick measuring exactly 70 yards 8 and a half inches  against Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park. After retiring from playing in 1991, he was tournament director for the World Cup in 1999 and also a former special projects manager for the Welsh Rugby Union.

Born on this day 1979 in Harrow, London

Tomos George L. Shanklin - former Wales rugby international and British and Irish Lion.

 Shanklin won 70 caps and scored 20 tries foe Wales. He once turned down an invitation from Clive Woodward to play for England, explaining "Everything about me is Welsh, except my accent. I'd lived in Tenby from the age of eight to 14, my family, friends and upbringing were all Welsh".  

On 24th November 2005, new licensing laws came in force, permitting, pubs, clubs and supermarkets in England and Wales to open 24 hours

The change did not bring about the predicted wave of alcohol-fuelled violence and debauchery.

 Gangster Llewellyn Morris Humphreys, known as Murray the Hump, whose parents came from a hill farm in Carno, near Newtown, died of a heart attack on 23rd November 1965.  He was one of the most successful of all gangsters and one of the most powerful men in the Chicago underworld.

 Murray the Hump was one of the organisers of the infamous St Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 when seven members of Bugsy Moran's gang were machine-gunned to death. 

On the death of Al Capone in 1947, Murray the Hump succeeded him at the head of the organisation and introduced money laundering to the mob, and was responsible for introducing gambling to Las Vegas.  By 1965, the FBI were beginning to catch up with him and he was involved in a fist fight with them onNovember 23rd 1965.  Later that evening, he was found dead. He had apparently been vacuuming the room at the time of his death.

Murray the Hump never forgot his Welsh roots and visited Wales in 1963 under an assumed name.   

Joseph Jenkins (1818-1898) was a farmer and poet from Tregaron in Ceredigion. When he was 51, Joseph left his wife and family for Australia, working as a Swagman, and keeping a diary of his experiences in the Australian Bush. He is reputed to be the 'Jolly Swagman' who features in the popular Australian song 'Waltzing Matilda'. Later Joseph worked as a cleaner of streets in the town of Maldon, until at the age of 76 he became homesick for Wales. He departed by rail on 23 November 1894.

He achieved fame with the publication of excerpts from 'Diary of a Welsh Swagman', and in 1994, a drinking fountain was opened at Maldon in recognition of his unique record of life as a rural worker in Victoria. 

"Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong

 Under the shade of a coolibah tree

And he sang as he watched his billy boil

You’ll come a waltzing Matilda with me.."

*  A swagman is an old Australian term describing a transient worker who travelled on foot between farms carrying his swag (bedroll). A swagman wore a hat strung with corks, to ward off flies. 

*  Waltzing comes from the term 'auf der Walz', which means to travel while working. 

*  Matilda is a romantic term for a swagman's bundle, personified as a woman.

*  A billabong is an oxbow lake, found alongside a meandering river.

*  A coolibah tree is a kind of eucalyptus tree which grows near billabongs.

*  A billy is a can for boiling water in, usually 2–3 pints.

Born on this day in 1803 in Corwen, Merionethshire,

Edward Edwards - marine zoologist.

A wealthy industrialist, Edwards first studied marine life in the waters of the Menai Strait. In order to study the habits of fish more closely, he developed and constructed artificial aquaria.

 His most notable invention  was his 'dark-water chamber slope-back tank,' which replicates the rock pools on the shores of the Menai Strait.  

 'Live at Treorchy' was recorded on 23 November 1973, by Max Boyce.  It contains a mixture of songs and poems along with Boyce's interactions with the crowd at Treorchy Rugby Club. The album was an unexpected success, making Boyce a household name in Wales and beyond.  Boyce, a factory worker from Glynneath, became an international star who has since enjoyed a career in entertainment spanning 40 years.

Welsh historian Martin Johnes describes Live at Treorchy as being as 'important to an understanding of Welshness as anything Dylan Thomas or Saunders Lewis wrote.'  Hymns and Arias, on of the album's songs, has become an anthem of Welsh popular culture and is often heard at Wales international matches.

A three-year dispute began on 22 November 1900 when 2800 men walked out of the Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda. Most of the quarrymen held out for three years, by which time they had been crippled by hardship.

 The dispute was the result of years of ongoing dissatisfaction in the quarrying industry. An agreement or 'bargain', which had protected the quarrymen’s earnings against working with rock of variable quality, had not been honoured, and the entire workforce went on strike.  

The quarry owner, Lord Penrhyn, was determined to break the tradition of ‘bargain’ because of the autonomy it afforded the workers. He vigorously opposed unionisation, and it was the right to an effective union that became the main principle during the strike. 

  By 1902, 1300 had left the area in search of work, mainly to the south Wales coalfield. Tensions between strikers and returning workers were high, with notices being displayed in the houses of striking men bearing the words ‘Nid oes Bradwr yn y Tŷ Hwn’ (There is no traitor in this house).  Facing starvation, the quarrymen were gradually forced back to work, the atmosphere becoming increasingly severe when it became obvious that Lord Penrhyn would not compromise.

The strike was a devastating blow to the slate industry.  Penrhyn’s labour force had been decimated, and a depression in the building industry meant the gradual disintegration of slate quarrying.  

 

Born on this day 22nd November 1819 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire (her father was Welsh and she attended a Welsh Baptist School in Coventry)

Mary Anne Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She published seven novels, mainly set in provincial England. She used a male pen name to ensure her works would be taken seriously, as female authors at the time were considered incapable of writing anything other than lightweight romances.  

The Welsh language was officially spoken in the Vatican by Pope John Paul II, on  22 November 1987, as part of a beatification ceremony raising three Welsh martyrs, convicted under the penal laws of Queen Elizabeth I, to the rank of 'Blessed'.  Beatification is the penultimate stage before being declared a saint in the Catholic Church.  

President John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. (J.F.K is pictured with possibly the most famous Welsh terrier in the world, Charlie, his loyal companion)

J F K's visit to Wales in 1938;

In July 1938, the 21 year old future President spent 5 days at St. Donats Castle owned by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in July 1938, with his father Joseph and other members of the Kennedy family.

Edward Nicholson, a member of staff at St Donat's Castle, recalled how "Mr Kennedy was a very active youngster, full of life. He swam in the pool and was an excellent swimmer. He attended mass at St David's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Charles Street, Cardiff. I shook hands with the President. He asked a lot of questions about the Welsh language and how many people in Wales spoke it. He showed a keen interest in Welsh industry, too."  

On 22nd November 1974, Helen Morgan won the Miss World beauty contest.  However, she was encouraged to resign four days after her victory on the discovery that she had an 18 month old child. In the same year, she won the Miss Wales and Miss United Kingdom titles and came second in the Miss Universe pageant.