http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:41:13 +0100 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/4296/27th-june http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/4296

On this day 1906, an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit Swansea, wreaking damage and bringing panic to the streets.
The picture shows Bwa Maen (The Stone Bow), the extreme folding of rock along the Dinas Fault. A fault line running from Hereford to Swansea - the cause of the Swansea earthquake of 1906. This remains one of the UK's largest ever tremors and was felt over much of south Wales. Contemporary reports tell of falling bricks and chimney pots, children being evacuated from school, Mumbles lighthouse wobbling on its foundations and Llanelli's Town Hall clock stopping.
There were very few injuries, however, with only one man and a three-year-old boy requiring hospital treatment after being hit by bricks and a girl working in Cwmavon being badly injured when tin plates toppled on top of her.



 
Born this day 1906 in Maesteg. 
Vernon Watkins  poet, translator and painter, he read fluently by the age of four, and at five announced that he would be a poet.
He wrote poetry and read widely from eight or nine years of age and was especially fond of the works of Keats and Shelly. Watkins spent most of his working life as a bank clerk and was only interested only in having enough time to work on poetry.  He was a close friend of Dylan Thomas who described him as "the most profound and greatly accomplished Welshman writing poems in English" and he was the only person from whom Thomas took advice on writing poetry.  He along with Dylan Thomas were members of the Swansea group known as the "Kardomah boys".  He was godfather to Dylan's son Llewelyn and wrote Dylan Thomas's obituary.




Wales toured South Africa in 1998 under caretaker coach Denis John , with an inexperienced side and got the hiding of all hidings at Loftus Versfeld on 27th June, with the Boks running riot and winning the game 96-13. It was Wales's biggest ever defeat, the 15 tries Wales conceded was another record as was the 83-point losing margin. 
WALES: 15. Byron Hayward (Darril Williams) 14. Dafydd James 13. Mark Taylor 12. John Funnell (Stephen Jones ) 11. Garen Evans 10. Arwel Thomas 9. Paul John (David Llewellyn) 1. Mike Griffiths 2. Barry Williams (Garin Jenkins) 3. John Davies (Darren Morris) 4. Ian Gough 5. Andy Moore 6. Nathan Thomas 7. Colin Charvis (Geraint Lewis) 8. Kingsley Jones, captain (Chris Wyatt).




Born this day 1985 in Port Talbot
James Hook  - Wales international rugby union player who currently plays for the French club Perpignan.
Hook's strengths as a player include good distribution skills, his tactical and spacial awareness and reliable goal kicking. His instinct is to play an attacking running style of rugby and his versatility in being able to play in many positions is an asset to any team he plays for, however this versatility has also meant that he has not been able to nail down a secure playing position and many believe that this was a major consideration in his decision to move to France., Hook is Wales third highest all-time points scorer behind Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.
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Y Mabinogi (and the English version Otherworld) ,  is mainly an animated film, but also containing live action sequences, which is based on  The Mabinogion.  It was released on 27th June 2003, starring Matthew Rhys, Daniel Evans and Jenny Livsey.
 
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New Year Customs in Wales.
Calennig.
The ancient custom of calennig can trace it roots back to the middle ages and is still active in some areas of Wales today. Children would go from house to house, singing rhymes and wishing the occupants a healthy and prosperous new year. In exchange for this goodwill, they would receive money, food or the calennig apple, which is an apple standing on a tripod of twigs and decorated with holly.























The Battle of Llwchwr and the Revolt of 1136.
The Battle of Llwchwr (Battle of Gower), which occured on New Year's Day 1136, between Loughor and Swansea, resulted in victory for the Welsh over a Norman army.
In 1135-1136, a succession crisis hit England following the death of Henry I. Stephen de Blois displaced his cousin and Henry's daughter Matilda which resulted in a breakdown in law and order, referred to as The Anarchy. Many Welsh lords saw this as an opportunity to rebel and recover lands, previously lost to the Normans. One such lord, Hywel ap Maredudd of Brycheiniog raised an army and marched on South Gower.
When the Normans intercepted them, the scale of the Welsh army took them by surprise and there was a violent clash on the common of Carn Coch, the Welsh army routed the Norman force, killing 500 men.
This victory inspired more rebellions and Gruffydd ap Rhys lord of Deheubarth journeyed to meet with Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd to enlist his aid in the revolt. In his absence, his wife Gwenllian raised an army and attacked the Norman castle of Kidwelly (Cydweli). However she was defeated, captured and beheaded and two of her sons, Morgan and Maelgwyn, also died (one slain in battle, one captured and executed).
In response, Cadwaladr and Owain, the brothers of Gwenllian, invaded Deheubarth, taking Llanfihangel, Aberystwyth and Llanbadarn and the two Gruffydds engaged a massive Norman army drawn from all the lordships of South Wales at the Battle of Crug Mawr, two miles outside Cardigan, in October 1136. After some hard fighting, the Norman forces were forced to retreat and were pursued as far as the bridge over the River Teifi.
The bridge collapsed with the weight of the fleeing Normans and hundreds are said to have drowned. Others fled int0 Cardigan, which was taken and burned by the Welsh. However they were unable to take the castle and it remained the only one to remain in the Norman's hands until the end of the rebellion.



Born on this day 1879 in Gowerton.
Ernest Jones - neurologist, psychoanalyst and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. Jones was the leading exponent of psychoanalysis in the English-speaking world during the 1920s and 1930s.

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Born on this day 1881 in Newtown
George Latham former Wales soccer international and coach.
Latham also coached Cardiff City between 1911 and 1936 and in that time, the team won the FA Cup in 1927 and only missed out on the League Championship by goal difference. While serving as a coach Latham was forced into playing for the side, becoming the oldest debutant in the history of the club at 41. His hometown club, Newtown later named their ground Latham Park in honour of him.
Latham served in the Second Boer War and the First World War, being awarded the Military Cross in 1917, for his bravery under heavy fire.





On 1st January 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government launched the project "Plant" (the Welsh word for children)
The project involves planting a native Welsh tree for every newborn or adopted baby born in Wales, to give the children a sense of ownership of their natural environment. The children receive a certificate through the post soon after their birth or adoption, stating that a tree has been planted for them and given its location.







Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 1st January is the Eighth Day of Christmas.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - Eight Maids a Milking
Milkmaids would once have been a common sight in Wales, as many large houses employed them to milk dairy cows and to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter and cheese. Also in the nineteenth century, there was large scale migration of Welsh people to London in search of employment, resulting in the London milk trade being dominated by the Welsh and accounting for more than 50% of the trade. It was said of them "They alone among the inhabitants of the United Kingdom can make cowkeeping in London pay;
Milkmen were a rarity; a far more common sight in the London's streets were the milk-maids, who often had a regular round of customers, or 'milk walk'. Others were itinerants who 'cried their milk' looking for casual buyers.
The explanation of the saying "as smooth as a milk maid's skin" comes from the milk maid's exposure to cowpox, which gives a partial immunity to smallpox, which often causes pockmarking on the face of the victim. This observation also led to the development of vaccines.


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Born on this day 1974 in Farnborough, Hampshire (of Welsh parents from Penygroes, Gwynedd)
Iwan Thomas -  one of the world’s elite 400mtr runners, who won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.  Over his career, Thomas also won European and Commonwealth titles.  He retired in 2006, only to discover two years later that he was a world champion as well.


This came about because Antonio Pettigrew, a member of the USA’s gold medal winning team in the 1997 World Championships in Athens admitted in 2003 that he had taken illegal substances and, as a result, all of his performances between 1997 and 2003 were declared void by the IAAF. This meant that the British squad of Thomas, Roger Black, Mark Richardson, and fellow Welshman Jamie Baulch belatedly became world champions after an eleven year gap. 
His 400m time of 44.36 set when taking the UK title in 1997 is still a British record. 


 



Born on this day 1965 in Watford (Welsh grandmother) 
Vinnie Jones - former Wales soccer international and captain. 

As a player, Jones was renowned for his tough man image, being sent off 12 times and at three seconds into a match, holding the record the quickest recorded booking.  Jones also took an uncompromising approach to his subsequent acting career, with his roles in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch"


 

Waldini (1894 -  5 January 1966)  was the stage name of Wallace (Wally) Bishop, a musician, band leader and impresario born in Cardiff, whose career spanned 6 decades
Known also as "The Great Waldini" or "Mr Music",  Waldini founded a concert party whilst serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Egypt, during World War One, after which he worked as  a cinema musician.  During the depression years of the 1930's, he formed a band of unemployed musicians, which he called Waldini and his Gypsy Band and they played every day at Roath Park, Cardiff.  
During World War Two, the band was hired to entertain the troops and after the war, they worked at summer holiday resorts all over the UK, but especially at Happy Valley at the Great Orme, Llandudno.  During his career, he also found time for talent spotting and in the early 1940s gave Peter Sellers one of his first jobs.   


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 5th January is the Twelfth Day of Christmas.   
On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Twelve Drummers Drumming.  
Welsh medieval tabor (tabwrdd) player - The tabor is a portable snare drum, suspended by a strap from the forearm.  It is found in Medieval Europe from around 1300 and was often played in unison with a three-holed pipe flute  in the "pipe and tabor" one man band configuration, as since the pipe has only three holes it can be played with one hand, leaving the other available to play the tabor.  It was used for dancing, ceremonies and processions, folk customs and street entertainment. 
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Born on this day 1878 in Tenby
Augustus  John - the leading British portraitist of his period and a brilliant draftsman.
John worked as a war artist for the Canadian army during World War I, after which he adopted a bohemian type of lifestyle, traveling with and painting, Irish travelers, Normandy fisherfolk, and gypsies. He later specialized in commissioned portraits of society figures.  


 
Born on this day 1940 in Cardiff.
Professor Brian Josephson - Nobel prize-winning physicist and “pioneer of the paranormal.” and whose motto is “nullius in verba” - take nobody’s word for it.
Josephson was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1973 for his discovery of the “Josephson Effect” which explains how an electrical current can flow between materials with no electrical resistance, even when an insulator is placed between them.  It is used for making immensely sensitive scientific instruments, that are capable for example, of measuring the magnetic field around a mouse’s brain. 
In the late 1960s, he began to explore paranormal themes, such as the relationship between music, language and mind and in the early 1970s started practising transcendental meditation and trying to find a scientific basis for telepathy. 


 

Born on this day 1850 in Bettws, Newport
Griffith Jenkins Griffith - Welsh - American industrialist and philanthropist, who donated 3,015 acres of land to the City of Los Angeles which later became Griffith Park.
Griffith emigrated to Pensylvania in 1865, before moving to San Francisco in 1873, where he became manager of the Herald Publishing Company.  In 1878, he became mining correspondent for a San Francisco newspaper and as such he gained extensive knowledge of the mining industry on the Pacific Coast.  His knowledge of mining, led to him being employed by many  mining syndicates and also earned him a significant fortune.
In 1882, he moved into property development and also started an ostrich farm near the Los Angelos River, to supply the feathers used in making women's hats.  After the property rush peaked, in 1896, Griffith donated 3,015 acres of land to the City of Los Angeles, which later became Griffith Park.  He also gave the money to build the park's Greek Theatre and Griffith Observatory. Griffith's legacy, however, was marred by his notorious attempted murder of his wife in 1903, a crime for which he served two years in prison.


 
Born on this day 1958 in Swansea.
Gary Jones - actor and writer, best known for his roles in Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: The Ark of Truth.
Jones moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1986 where he worked as an Art Director and award winning comedy writer, before moving into acting.  He is also known as an excellent MC and is in great demand for hosting events, such as award presentations.


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 4th January is the Eleventh Day of Christmas.   
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - Eleven Pipers Piping.  
Pipes have been documented in Wales since at least the 12th century and more than likely pre-date this considerably.  They would have been used socially for entertainment and accompanying singers as well as a rallying cry in battle.  
*  A Christmas feast which included pipers was held by the Lord Rhys at Cardigan in 1176, which is regarded by many to be the first eisteddfod.  
*  The Welsh Laws of Hywel Dda, in the 10th century and later versions in the 12th and 13th centuries provide information about the status of music in Wales and state that the king should recognize the status of master craftsmen in his service by giving each one an appropriate instrument, specified as harp, crwth, or pipes.  
*  In 1376, the poet Iolo Goch describes the instrument in his Cywydd to Syr Hywel y Fwyall.  Also, in the same century, Brut y Tywysogian ("Chronicle of the Princes"), written around 1330 AD, states that there are three types of wind instrument: Organ a Phibeu a Cherd y got ("organ and pipes and bag music").  
*  In 1784, Edward Jones wrote: `The musical instruments, anciently used in Wales... are six in number, the Telyn, or harp; the Crwth; the Pibgorn, or Horn-pipe; the Pibau-cod, or Pib-braich; that is, the Bagpipes, or the arm pipes: the Tabwrdd, Tabret or Drum; and the Corn-buelin, Cornet.' 
With the general decline of Welsh traditional music in the 19th century, the pipes slowly disappeared from use.  However in the last 30 or so years, there has been a revival of piping in Wales, with pipe bands being established in the cities of Newport, Swansea and Cardiff. 
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Born on this day 1907 in Neath
Ray Milland - Academy Award-winning actor and director.  His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985 and at one time, he was Paramount Pictures highest paid actor, co-starring alongside many of the most popular actresses of the time. 
Milland was a member of the Household Cavalry of the British Army, before taking up acting.  He initially took parts as an extra in many British productions before starring in "The Flying Scotsman", which resulted in him getting a contract with MGM
He then moved to the United States where he signed for Paramount and Universal, appearing in  "Three Smart Girls" and  "The Jungle Princess" with Dorothy Lamour, which made him an international star.  After a further 20 years of acting success, he moved into directing.  




Born on this day 1987 in Carmarthen.
Ken Owens - Wales rugby international, who was part of the Grand Slam winning side in 2012.  Owen currently plays as hooker for the Scarlets regional side.  



Born on this day 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa
JRR ( John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien, the author of  The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. 
Tolkien, whose fiction is influenced by Wales, is known to have loved the Welsh landscape and its language.  For example, the Elvish language, Sindarin, sounds very much like Welsh and many of his place names have similar Welsh equivalents e.g. Crick Hollow (Crickhowell)



Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 3nd January is the Tenth Day of Christmas. 
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - Ten Lords a Leaping
It is thought that "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was a song used by Catholics, who were wary of showing their faith openly.  According to the theory, the subject of each verse represents a hidden religious meaning.
The Ten Lords a Leaping, represents The Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments, along with the Creed and the Lord's Prayer appear in the first book to be published in the Welsh language "Yn Y Lhyvr Hwnn" ( 'In This Book').  It was published in 1546 and was the work of John Price of Brecon. 
The full list of suggested hidden meanings are;
* The partridge in a pear tree, represents Jesus Christ.
* Two turtle doves, represent the two Testaments
* Three French hens, represent faith, hope and love.
* The four calling birds, represent the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
* The five golden rings, represent the first five books of the Old Testament.
* The six geese a-laying, represent the six days of the creation.
* Seven swans a-swimming, represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
* The eight maids a-milking, represent the eight beatitudes, given in the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus.
* The nine ladies dancing, represent the Holy Spirit's nine fruits.
* The ten lords a-leaping, represent the Ten Commandments.
* The eleven pipers piping, represent the eleven faithful disciples.
* The twelve drummers drumming, represent the Apostles Creed's twelve points of belief. 
 
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The Cardiff Blitz, were the World War II bombings of Cardiff, by the Nazi German Luftwaffe, between July 1940 and March 1944.  The worst night of bombings occurred on 2nd January 1941, when, 100 German aircraft took part in a 10-hour raid, that saw 165 people killed and 427 more injured, while nearly 350 homes were destroyed or had to be demolished.  Western Cardiff was the worst hit area, particularly Canton and Riverside, where 116 people were killed, 50 of which were killed in one street in Riverside, De Burgh Street.
Cardiff was targeted because  Cardiff Docks was one of the biggest coal ports in the world.  In total, more than 2,100 bombs fell in the Cardiff district during the four years of bombings, with 355 people killed and 502 injured.   





Born on this day 1856 in Pentrepoeth, Swansea.
John Viriamu Jones - scientist, who worked on measuring the ohm and an educationalist who worked to raise the standard of secondary education in Wales.
Jones was the first principal of Cardiff and Sheffield Universities, first vice-chancellor of the University of Wales and also principal of the Cardiff Technical School.
He was named after John Williams, the missionary to the South Pacific, 'Viriamu', in the language of the South Pacific island of Erromango means "Williams".   





On 2nd January 1980, British Steelworkers went on strike over pay.

British Steel had just reported half-yearly losses and claimed it needed to reduce its workforce by approximately 30% in order to get back into profit.  The steel workers feared British Steel's long term plans for profitability would mean the closure of some plants with the loss of thousands of jobs and the workers at Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales feared their plants would be the first to close. 
 After spreading to the privatised steel works, the strike lasted nearly 14 weeks, with the plants reopening after a pay package was agreed.  Later that summer, however, 17,000 of the 24,000 South Wales steel workers were put on short time and by the end of 1980, British Steel had completed the closure of a number of outdated and loss-making plants, reducing its overall workforce from 268,500 employees to 130,000.  




 
The drowning of rural Welsh valleys in order to provide English cities with water, often by compulsory purchase and without compensation, is a controversial subject which over the years has led to many protests.  
On 2nd January 1982, The Welsh Army of Workers claimed responsibility for a bomb explosion at the Birmingham headquarters of the Severn Trent Water Authority.  An hour later a second bomb was found and defused at the main complex of the International Development Corporation (IDC) in Stratford-upon-Avon.   No one was hurt by the bombings, which were part of a campaign for local authorities from Birmingham and the West Midlands to pay for the water they receive from the Elan Valley reservoirs.
1880's - Lake Vyrnwy  in Montgomeryshire was the first reservoir in Wales and at the time, it was the biggest man-made lake in the world. It was built to supply water to Liverpool and Merseyside and involved flooding the head of the Vyrnwy valley and submerging the small village of Llanwddyn.  
1890s - The City of Birmingham Corporation bought 180km² of land in the Elan and Claerwen valleys in Powys, as there was an increasing demand for water in Birmingham for public health reasons and for industry.
1904 - The Elan Valley reservoir was opened to supply water to the City of Birmingham. The three dams opened there were - Craig Goch, Pen y Garreg and Caban Coch, with a surface area of 500 acres.
1907 - Llyn Alwen near Betws y Coed was constructed by the Wirral Water Board.to supply 9 million tons of water per day to Birkenhead.
1923 -  Welsh MP's prevented the Corporation of Warrington  drowning the Ceiriog valley near Wrexham.
1952 - Claerwen reservoir and dam in Elan Valley was opened and the area was leased by the Midlands for 999 years for a sum of 5 pence a year. It provides 75 tonnes of water per day. 
1965 - Consruction of the Llyn Celyn reservoir in Gwynedd involved the drowning of the village of Capel Celyn, to supply water to Liverpool
1967 - Llyn Clywedog near Llanidloes was built to supply water to Birmingham and the English Midlands, following an Act of Parliament ordering  its creation, despite strong local opposition.


 

Born on this day 1752 in Llandyfrydog, Anglesey.
Nicholas Owen - clergyman and antiquary who wrote on various topics from Welsh history, including the claim that it was Prince Madoc who first discovered America.
Owen was appointed perpetual curate of the now ruined St Michael's Church, Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog in Anglesey in 1790.


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 2nd January is the Ninth Day of Christmas. 
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Nine Ladies Dancing.    
Dancing has always been popular in Wales.  In the 16th century, the twmpath was an 0pportunity for the community to meet and dance in the open air to music provided by a musician sat on the tmwpath (a tump of raised ground).  There was also step or clog dancing, which included stepping and displays of skill such as high leaps and the dancers putting out a candle flame with their feet.   
However, when Nonconformity became dominant in the 1730s, dancing was discouraged as a more conservative way of life became expected by the ministers.   This resulted in folk dancing almost vanishing in Wales by the 20th century.  
The decline of traditional Welsh dancing was reversed in the 1930's when Lois Blake, an Englishwoman who had moved to Denbighshire, took it on herself to reintroduce the historic dance steps and music, such as Lord of Caernarvon's Jig of 1652, the Llangadfan set of 1790 and the Llanover Reel, popular at Llanover Court until the late 19th century.  
Then in 1949, the Welsh Folk Dancing Society was established, which along the introduction of folk dancing into the National Eisteddfod programme has ensured an optimism for the continuation of Welsh folk dancing.
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Born on this day 1937 in Margam, near Port Talbot
Anthony Hopkins - Oscar winning actor.
Hopkins' schooldays were unproductive as he found that he would rather immerse himself in art, such as painting, drawing and playing the piano, than attend to his studies.  His life path altered at age 15, following a brief encounter with Richard Burton, who encouraged him to become an actor.   To that end, he enrolled at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff and then after two years national service, he moved to London  and was invited by Laurence Oliver to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.  From that moment on, he was to enjoy a successful career in cinema and television, with his remarkable acting style reaching the four corners of the world.
In 1998, Hopkins gave £1m to the National Trust in order for them to buy a large piece of land on Snowdon and therefore save it from private development.  To learn scripts, Hopkins reads them out loud 250 times.  He also learns a new poem every week to exercise his memory.  


      
Humphrey (VI) de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford(c. 1249 – 31 December 1298) - was an active participant in the Welsh Wars, who had inherited major possessions in the Welsh Marches from his mother, Eleanor de Braose.
1270 - Following the rebellion aganst King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263–4 and the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267, at which Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was recognised as Prince of Wales by King Henry. Llywelyn had extended his territory into the Marches, taking much of de Bohun's land.  Therefore much of de Bohun's focus was on reconquering these lands through private warfare against Llywelyn.
1272 - While Edward I was away crusading, Llywelyn refused to pay him homage, partly because of the military actions of de Bohun, which Llywelyn saw as violations of the Treaty of Montgomery.
1276 - de Bohun was present at a royal assembly where a judgment was passed against Llywelyn.
1277 - Edward I declared war on Llywelyn, with de Bohun serving in Anglesey.
1282 - War with Wales broke out again; this time a full-scale war of conquest. de Bohun assuming the role as Constable of England.
1294–95 - de Bohun fought again in Wales, in the suppression of the rebellion of Madog ap Llywelyn.  


     
Born on this day 1878 in Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Carmarthenshire and brought up in Rhydlewis, near Llandysul.
David Caradoc Evans - journalist, author and playwright.
Evans's best known work is a series of short stories called My People in which he highlights the hypocrisies he sees in the piety of non-conformist Christianity with the harsh reality of people living in poverty.  The work attracted savage criticism from the press at the time and they referred to Williams as  "the best hated man in Wales".


 

The Gop is a neolithic mound which lies north of Trelawnyd in Flintshire.  It is the biggest prehistoric monument in Wales and was probably built around 3,000BC.  Excavations have indicated that it was used as a look-out or hill fort and further down the hill there are are caves where burials date back possibly to 6,000 BC.
John Wynne (1650 – 31 December 1714) - the industrial pioneer and high Sheriff of Flintshire, was born and lived in Trelanwnyd
He had plans to turn Trelawnyd into the centre of the North Wales lead industry and an industrial town of some importance.  He built houses, established a weekly market and built the Nonconformist chapel in 1701 as well as a grammar school at "plas yn dre". He also obtained permission to rename the village "Newmarket" in 1710.  However his plans ultimately came to nothing, but Wynne was responsible for the village's growth and its population did top over 600 residents. 





 
Ras Nos Galan
This is a race held in memory of Griffith Morgan (1700–1737) “the fastest man of his time”, known better as Guto Nyth Brân, from Llwyncelyn, near Porth.  It is run every year on New Years Eve at Mountain Ash, over the course of Guto's first ever race.  It has become a tradition of this race for a mystery runner to compete and over the years this has included Iwan Thomas, Linford Christie and Alun Wyn Jones  At the conclusion of the race, a wreath is then placed on Guto's grave in Llanwynno graveyard.  There is also a commemorative statue of Guto in Mountain Ash.
It was said that Guto's speed was first noticed, when he managed to catch a wild hare.  Another legend has it that he could run the 7 miles, to the local town of Pontypridd and back home again, before his mother's kettle had boiled. 
Seeing his potential the local shopkeeper, Siân o'r Siop (Siân from the Shop), became his trainer and manager and organised a race on Hirwaun Common against an unbeaten English Captain, for a £400 prize.  Guto won the race won easily and kept on winning, remaining unbeaten until he was 30.  Over the years, Guto and Sian had fallen in love and Guto decided to retire to enjoy a quiet life with Sian.
However, in 1737, a new champion runner had emerged, called the "Prince of Bedwas" and Sian persuaded Guto to have one last race against Prince, for a prize of 1000 guineas.  The race was over the 12 miles  from Newport to Bedwas and was a very even contest.  Nearing the finish, Prince held a slender lead, however one last lung bursting effort from Guto, saw him cross the line first.  However, in the celebrations after, Guto collapsed and died in Sian's arms.  


 

Rowan Williams' 10 year term as Archbishop of Canterbury came to an end on 31st December 2012 and at a ceremony at Lambeth Palace, he gave the official robes  that he had worn on his enthronement to the president of the National Museum Wales, where they will be displayed and will remain the property of the people of Wales.   


 

The traditional carol "Deck the Halls" originates from the Welsh melody first found in a musical manuscript by Welsh harpist John Parry Ddall in 1741,  It was subsequently published and named "Nos Galan" ("New Year's Eve") in 1784.  Subsequently, the tune spread widely, with Mozart using it in a piano and violin concerto and Haydn in the song "New Year's Night."  


 

Born on this day 1860 in Newport.
Horace Sampson Lyne - who won five caps for Wales, before retiring and becoming the WRU's longest serving president.  Lyne is also notable as one of the six representatives that set up the International Rugby Board.  


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore 31st December is the Seventh Day of Christmas.  
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Seven Swans a Swimming. 
Several species of swan are found in Wales, but it is the mute swan that is most common, its population having recovered following the ban on lead fishing weights in 1987.  Small numbers of Bewick and Whooper swans, over winter in Wales, with both species specially protected due to their small and vulnerable populations. 
A history of  Swans
*  In Greek mythology, the story of Leda and the Swan describes Helen of Troy as being the daughter of Zeus disguised as a swan and Leda, Queen of Sparta. Other legends refer to the otherwise silent Mute Swan singing beautifully in death, hence the phrase swan song.
*  A coat of arms was originally a knight's personal badge and many depicted birds especially swans.  Later Henry V carried a swan on his pennon at Agincourt
*  From the 12th century, the mute swan was a valuable commodity and was regularly traded between noblemen.  It was also a favourite food of royalty and the owners of swans were duty bound to mark them by way of a succession of unique nicks in the beaks of their birds. It was and still is the duty of the Royal Swanmaster to organise the annual swan-upping and traditionally the British Monarch retained the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water. Today it serves as a check on the health of the swans
*  Swansea is thought not to be named after the Swan, even though Swansea City F.C have adopted the Swan as their emblem and nick name.  The name is considered to be of Viking origin.


 
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Born on this day 1921 in Blaenavon, Monmouthshire
Ken Jones - arguably, Wales’ greatest ever all-round sportsman.
 Jones was not only a Welsh and Lions international, who won 44 consecutive caps for Wales and whose most famous score came in 1953, against the All Blacks.  His pick up and try from a Clem Thomas kick gave Wales a famous victory and is still the last time we beat New Zealand.  He also triumphed as a sprinter at the Olympic Games of 1948, when he was part of the Great Britain 4x100 metres relay team that won silver and later won a silver medal in the 220-yard sprint at the 1954  European Championships, when he had the honour of captaining the British team.  


 
Born on this day 1931 in Dyserth, near Rhyl. 
Sir John Houghton -  A world-renowned expert on global warming, who was the lead editor and  co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) scientific assessment working group.
He was brought up as an evangelical Christian by devout Christian parents and strongly believes in the connection between the environment and Christianity.  He is currently an elder at Aberdovey Presbyterian Church.
Among his career achievements are;
*  Professor in atmospheric physics at Oxford University.
*  Chief Executive of the Met Office.
*  Founder of the Hadley Centre, which is one of the United Kingdom's leading centres for the study of climate change.
*  Chairman of the John Ray Initiative, an organisation which seeks to connect the environment, science and Christianity.

*  Founder member of the International Society for Science and Religion.
In 2013, Sir John was anounced as an Advisory Board member for Sure Chill Technology, a technology that allows refrigerators to stay at 4C for more than 10 days without power and is used mainly in Africa' to store vaccines and other medical supplies.   


 
Twm Sion Catti
Twm Sion Catti, was born Thomas Jones in Tregaron around 1530, the illegitimate son of Catherine Jones and the local squire.
Twm was brought up as a Protestant, so when the Catholic, Mary I became Queen, he went into hiding and initially earned his living by robbing the rich of West and Mid  Wales.  However as the law officer started to close in on him, he fled to Geneva and only returned when the Protestant Elizabeth I ascended to the throne and gave him an official pardon.
One tale tells how when a farmer was looking for him for stealing one of his bullocks, Twm disguised himself as a beggar and gave the farmer directions to Twm's house and offered to mind his horse whilst he went in.  Twm then, not only galloped off on the farmers horse, but convinced the farmers wife that her husband was in serious trouble and that he needed to return with money.  Suitably convinced the farmers wife gave Twm the money, who the rode off for London
Twm is also remembered for the caring way he treated his many victims, who is reported to as firing an arrow at, to pin them to their saddle rather than killing them.  Twm  arch enemy was the Sheriff of Carmarthen, whom he hid from in a cave on Dinas Hill, near to the village of Rhandirmwyn.
Later in life, Twm changed his ways and married Joan, a wealthy heiress in theTregaron area and even became a respected Justice of the Peace.  


 
Christmas Customs in Wales. 
The Mari Lwyd. 
This was the Welsh tradition during the Christmas season of carrying a horse-figure  from door to door by a group of  Mari Lwyd singers.  Although now extinct in most parts of Wales, it is still performed in some parts of Glamorgan., where it is not yet completely extinct.  The group would often be invited into the house, where they would be given food, beer or money and then entertain the household with a  farewell song.  


 


Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore 30th December is the Sixth Day of Christmas. 


On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Six Geese a Laying. 
The Brecon Buff is one of the few native breeds of geese in the UK, however, many species of  wild geese over winter in Wales.  However, the Greenland white fronted goose  is becoming increasingly rare, with its last remaining population in Wales to be found on the Dyfi Estuary.
A brief history of the goose; 


*  About 3 000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians deliberately fattened geese for eating.
*  The Greek poet Homer mentions Goose Husbandry in 700BC. 

*   The Romans in c 625BC recorded an efficient system for keeping geese for their meat, fat and feathers.  They were also used as guard animals, famously saving Rome from the Gauls in 390, by  raising the alarm. 

*  In the early middle ages, geese were an important part of the European peasant economy, as they were cheap to keep and  gained weight quickly. 

*  In the 18th Century, geese accompanied cattle, when Welsh drovers took them to English markets.  They were fitted with protective boots and were fast travellers as they could graze as they moved.  There was also an increasing market for their feathers for use as ink quills.
*  During the 1930’s and 40’s goose fat was used as a remedy for colds. 


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Cardigan Castle - Birthplace of the Eisteddfod.
A cultural gathering of poets, singers and musicians was held in Cardigan Castle over the Christmas period of 1176.  It was a significant moment in Welsh history as all subsequent eisteddfodau owe their origin to this first event.
The aftermath of the Norman Invasion of 1066, saw a period of intense and constant warfare between the Marcher Lords of Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford and the Welsh princes.  However, by 1155 Rhys ap Gruffydd (the Lord Rhys) had managed to bring all of Deheubarth under his control and felt sufficiently secure to organise a cultural event that would underline his position as a far-sighted ruler and as a major supporter of artistic endeavour.  So decided to hold a competition for poets and musicians, with bardic chairs to be awarded to the victors. The tournament attracted competitors from all over Wales, as well as from Ireland and France.  


 

Born on this day 1970 in Bangor and raised in the Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan on Anglesey.
Aled Jones singer best known for his single of 1985, "Walking in the Air", from the animated film "The Snowman".
Jones was signed up by the record company Sain, after coming to their attention as the lead soloist of the Bangor Cathedral choir at age eleven.
His recording career was paused after hiss voice broke, but by this time he had recorded 16 albums, sold more than six million albums, and sung for Pope John John Paul II, the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales and had the distinction of being the first artist to have two classical albums listed simultaneously in the popular music charts.
In recent times, Jones has presented various television programmes, such as Songs of Praise, Escape to the Country, Cash in the Attic and ITV Breakfast programme Daybreak. In 2014, he became the host of the ITV show, Weekend.  


   


Patagonian settler Llwyd ap Iwan, the son of the Welsh settlement's founder, Michael D Jones, was murdered on the 29th December, 1909, some say by Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid but more probably by members of their gang.   He was shot dead in the co-operative store, of which he was the supervisor, close to his home at Nant y Pysgod, about thirty miles from Esquel in the foothills of the Andes.   


 


Born on this day 1971 in Coventry

 

Dominic Dale - Welsh snooker player, who grew up in Penarth and is proud of his Welsh roots.

 

Dale has won two world ranking tournaments in his career, as well as the Welsh Amateur Championship and was runner up at the World Amateur Championship in 1993.  He is the only player to have ever won multiple ranking tournaments without ever reaching the world top 16.








 


Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore 29th December is the Fifth Day of Christmas.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Five Gold Rings.
Welsh gold occurs naturally in two distinct areas.
* A band stretching from Barmouth, past Dolgellau and up towards Snowdonia, which was mined mainly at the Gwynfynydd Gold Mine, near Ganllwyd, which was discovered in 1860 and was active until 1998 when it was closed because Health and Safety issues regarding the mine discharge into the River Mawddach and the Clogau Gold Mine near Bontddu, which following the gold rush of 1862 developed into the largest and richest of its kind and continued as a major operator until 1911. It still re opens occasionally for small extractions
* A small area in the valley of the River Cothi at Dolaucothi, midway between Llandovery and Lampeter. It was the neolithic Britons of the late Bronze and Iron ages who originally opened Dolaucothi, perhaps as early as 600 BC and it was then further developed by the Romans in AD 75, under the military control of their fort near the present village of Pumsaint, producing gold destined for the Imperial Mint in Lyon. Mining recommenced at the site on a small scale in the 17th century but it was not until the 19th century, that there was expansion beyond the original open cast, culminating in a shaft to a depth of 140 metres, which produced large amounts of ore during the 1930s. However, by 1938 the mine was no longer commercially viable and when it flooded, it was not re opened.




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Ivor the Engine was first released on television on 28 December 1959.
Ivor the Engine is a children's television series that tells of the story of a little green locomotive living in the "top left-hand corner of Wales". His friends include Jones the Steam, Evans the Song and Dai Station.  The series was later revived in 1975 when new episodes in colour were produced for the BBC.
The series was written and narrated by Oliver Postgate, with his friend Peter Firmin providing the artwork, which originally consisted of cardboard cut-outs painted with watercolours.  It was produced in a disused cow shed at Firmin's home near Canterbury, with the sound effects being endearingly low-tech, for example, the sound of Ivor's puffing was made vocally by Postgate himself. 
Postgate drew inspiration for the series from a World War II encounter with Welshman Denzyl Ellis, a former railway fireman, who described how steam engines came to life when steaming them up in the morning. Postgate decided to locate the story to North Wales, as he considered it more inspirational than the flat terrain of the English Midlands.  


 
Born on this day 1861 in Swansea
David 'Dai' Gwynn - former Wales rugby international, whose playing career was notable for being in the side for Wales's first home game, at St Helens's against England in 1882 and then in 1890, being in the team that beat the English for the very first time.  Gwynn later moved north and played for Oldham and when he retired, he became heavily associated with Swansea Cricket Club and umpired for the club.   


 
Charity fundraiser Andrew Craig made his 52nd ascent of Snowdon, on 28th December 2011  to end his marathon of climbing Snowdon every week for a year.
Craig from Caernarfon braved snow, ice, fog, heavy rain and blistering heat to raise money for Breast Cancer.  It was the idea of his wife, Lynne, who suggested he should do the challenge after one of her best friends died from the disease and another had been recently diagnosed.  


 
O Little Town of Bethlehem (in Wales)
The Welsh Bethlehem is a remote and peaceful village that lies in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons in the Tywi Valley, to the northeast of Llandeilo,  However in December every year, thousands of people visit the village, to receive a Bethlehem postmark on their Christmas cards, which results in the local post office, that usually only opens on Tuesday, having to open for six days of the week.
The Welsh Bethlehem is overlooked by an old Iron Age fort, Carn Goch, with both the Welsh castle of Dinefwr and the Norman fortress of Carreg Cennen located nearby.  The name Bethlehem came into common parlance in Wales once Bishop Morgan translated the Bible into Welsh in 1588 and while the village was originally known as Dyffryn Ceidrich, the name Bethlehem was soon given to the local chapel and by the time of the Methodist Revival in the mid 19th century, the village was also being called by the name of its chapel.  


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore 28th December is the Fourth Day of Christmas.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Four Calling Birds
Calling appears to be an Americanisation of Colly, the Old English term for ‘black,’ Colly birds, therefore, refer to the common blackbird. 
The blackbird was the fifth most spotted bird in the 2013 Big Garden Birdwatch in Wales.
The Common Blackbird was seen as a sacred in Greek folklore and like many other small birds in medieval times, it was trapped as an easily available addition to the diet.  A sixteenth-century amusement was to place live birds in a pie.
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The Dan yr Ogof Caves were first discovered on 27th December 1912, by Tommy and Jeff Morgan, who were trying to find the source of the river Llynfell that flowed through their farm land at the base of the cliffs at Dan yr Ogof.
The brothers had tried previously but had been prevented from penetrating far into the mountain by a large lake. Undeterred they returned with coracles, candles, a piece of rope and an old revolver, using arrows in the sand to find their way back.  They crossed not one lake but four and discovered a labyrinth of caves, passages and chambers, a 330 million years old wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites.  They were eventually stopped by a small passage that was too small to crawl through.
Not long afterwards, they started charging a small entrance fee to take people into the caves by candle light and opened the caves properly to the public in 1939.  However, during World War II,  the government closed the caves down and used them to store ammunition and works of art. Water from the caves was also piped to Swansea when the water mains were damaged by bombs during the blitz on the city.
 In 1963, a local girl called Eileen Davies, a member of the South Wales Caving Club, managed to crawl further into the caves, to discover over 10 more miles of caves and passages, with expert cavers believing that there are still more to discover.  


 
 


Born on this day 1931 in Swansea. 
John Charles - former Wales soccer international, who is considered by many to have been the greatest footballer that Britain ever produced.  He was a world class centre-half or centre-forward, who could also play full-back or midfield, if required.   At 6ft 2ins and 14 stone, Charles had an tremendous physique, but he was also extremely agile for a big man.  He possessed a delicate first touch, good control and was masterful in the air.  There is no comparable player with that kind of versitility in the history of the game.
Following his transfer from Leeds United to Italian giants Juventus in 1957, he became probably the most successful import to Serie A where his name is still revered. 
 


 
 

 
On 27th December 2013, Maria Leijerstam from the Vale of Glamorgan became the first person to cycle to the South Pole.  The 500 mile journey took her 11 days to complete. 


 

Born on this day 1972 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham 
Colin Charvis - former Wales rugby captain and Lions international.  Charvis earned 94 caps and scored 22 tries.
 


 
   
Dinefwr Castle, associated with the princes of Deheubarth, occupies a place of great affection in the minds and traditions of the Welsh people.  It lies on a steep ridge near Llandeilo overlooking the River Tywi.
A timeline of the history of Dinefwr Castle;
c. 871 - Traditionally, a castle was first constructed  by Rhodri the Great.
c. 900 - Dinefwr became the chief seat of Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Deheubarth and also most of Wales.
1155 - 1197 - Rhys ap Gruffydd (the Lord Rhys), ruler of Deheubarth rebuilt the castle. 
1197 - On Rhys ap Gruffydd's death the castle passed to his son Rhys Gryg. 
1233 - When Rhys Gryg died his son Rhys Mechyll inherited Dinefwr and his other son Maredudd inherited Dryslwyn, only five miles away.
1244 - When Rhys Mechyll died, his son Rhys Fychan allied with King Henry III of England against Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was supported by Maredudd.
1256 -  Llywelyn ousted Rhys Fechan from Dinefwr giving Maredudd control of Dinefwr.
1257 -  Rhys Fychan accepted Llywelyn as overlord and had his lands, including Dinefwr, restored.  Maredydd, in turn switched sides and paid homage to Henry III.
1277 -  King Edward I of England invaded Wales and captured Dinefwr.  The castle was put into the custody of a constable.
1316 - The castle  burnt during the rebellion of Llywelyn Bren.
1317 - The castle was given to Hugh Despenser, the favourite of King Edward II of England.
1403 - The castle was unsuccessfully besieged by Welsh forces during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr.
1467 - Dinefwr was in the possesion of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, who marched with Henry VII against Richard III and was instrumental in Henry's victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.  The poet Guto'r Glyn implies that Rhys himself was responsible for killing Richard with a poll axe.
 1531 - Rhys ap Thomas's grandson was executed for treason and the castle was confiscated by the crown.  The family were later able to recover it, but abandoned it in 1600, for a new house built on the site of the present Newton House.
The castle is now under the ownership of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and managed by CADW on their behalf.
 


 


Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 27th December is the Third Day of Christmas.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - Three French hens.
There is certainly no shortage of French or other types of hens in Wales and they have been around for a long time.
The chicken is regarded as the first domesticated animal, the first bird and consequently, the first descendant of the dinosaurs.  They were first domesticated from the Indian and Southeast Asian red jungle fowl and appear in China about 6000 BC and in India about 2000 BC.  There are artistic depictions of the bird adorning Egyptian royal tombs and they are recorded as accompanying Roman armies, where apart from being an important part of the diet, their behavior was carefully observed before battle, with a good appetite indicating a likely victory. According to Cicero, when one contingent of hens refused to eat before a battle at sea in 249 BC, the angry consul tossed them into the sea. History records that he was defeated.
The rooster plays a crucial role in the Gospels in helping to fulfill the prophecy that Peter would deny Jesus “before the cock crows.” and Pope Nicholas I, ordered in the ninth century that the rooster should be symbolized on top of every church as a reminder, which is why some churches have cockerel-shaped weather vanes. 


The fact is that the male of the species can be quite a fierce animal, meant that they have been bred and trained for fighting and in the parts of the world where it is still practiced, it has claims to being the world’s oldest continual sport.  Cock-fighting was outlawed in Britain in 1849 and the idea of exhibitions took root as a way of continuing competition, with the first Standards being produced in 1865 for just a handful of breeds to try to maintain uniformity.  Then at the turn of the century, with the importation of breeds from the continent and America, the number of traditional and hybrid breeds increased dramatically.


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Christmas Customs in Wales. 
Gwyl San Steffan (St. Stephens Day or Boxing Day) 
"Holly-Beating" or "Holming." was a Boxing Day tradition in some parts of Wales, in which young men would beat the arms and legs of young women with sprigs of holly until they bled. In others areas, the custom was for the last person in bed in the morning to get the beating.  Thankfully,  these customs died out by the end of the 19th century.   


 

Born on this day 1990 in Caerphilly
Aaron Ramsey - Wales soccer international, who started his career at Cardiff City, before moving to Arsenal in 2008 in a £5 million deal. His career stalled significantly however after he suffered a broken leg, but he has gradually returned to full physical and mental fitness and is now a key player in the Arsenal and Wales teams.  


 
The animated children's television series, Fireman Sam, which follows the adventures of Sam and the other inhabitants of the fictional town of Pontypandy, was first broadcast as Sam Tan in Welsh on S4C on 26th December 1985.  It was later broadcasted in English on BBC1 in 1987.  


 
On 26th December 1614, William Jones bequeathed a substantial amount of money for the funding of the Monmouth Alms Houses and the Monmouth Free School.
William Jones, who was originally from Monmouth, made his fortune as a haberdasher and merchant in Germany.  He established a charity in 1613, run by the Haberdashers' Company to found the Monmouth Alms Houses, then in 1614, he founded the free school in Monmouth.
The original Monmouth Alms Houses of 1614 were rebuilt in 1842 and 1961 and a fourth version of the Monmouth Alms Houses is scheduled for completion in 2013.  The Haberdashers' Company  served as the trustee of the charity from 1613 until 2011, when the trusteeship was transferred to Bristol Charities. 
Almshouses are houses provided by charities to typically elderly people who no longer earn enough to pay rent.  They are also provided to the poor of a locality and those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows.  


     
Born on this day 1837 at Buttington Vicarage in Montgomeryshire.
Professor Sir William Boyd Dawkins, who is regarded as Britain's first true Engineering Geologist.
Dawkins was a cave hunter, geologist and archaeologist, who is noted for his research on fossils and the antiquity of man. From 1870, he gave increasing time to 'the practical side of geology', which involved him in the important engineering projects of the day, such as a tunnel under the Humber and a Channel Tunnel attempt. 
In 1859, he moved to Somerset to study classics with the vicar of Wookey and led excavations in the Wookey Hole Caves. His work also proved the existence of exotic animals that lived in England prior to the ice ages, such as the Cave hyena, Cave bear, Bison and a large cat, possibly a relative of the Sa bre Tooth Tiger.  


     
Born on this day 1858 in Llanuwchllyn, near Bala.
Sir Owen Morgan "O.M" Edwards - historian, educationalist and writer, who was described as being a strong cultural nationalist.
In his autobiography, Sir Owen tells of his early education in Llanuwchllyn and how he was regularly given the "Welsh Not" to wear, for speaking Welsh.  He later studied history and philosophy at  Aberystwyth, Glasgow and Oxford, before being appointed a lecturer in history at Oxford.  Edwards was briefly elected MP for Merionethshire, but decided not to pursue a parliamentary career, instead, becoming the first Chief Inspector of Schools for Wales and actively encouraged the teaching of Welsh in Welsh schools.
Edwards established the periodicals Cymru and Cymru'r Plant in an attempt to inform the people of Wales about their language and history and also wrote several books on Welsh history.  His second son, Ifan ab Owen Edwards, was the founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru ("The Welsh League of Youth").   


 
Born on this day 1933 in Aberystwyth. 
Owen Edwards - described as 'a giant of the broadcasting world' was the first chief executive of S4C.  He was the son of Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards, founder of  Urdd Gobaith Cymru (Welsh League of Youth).
He was a presenter on the early Welsh-language television programme Dewch i Mewn during the 1950s.  Then from 1961 to 1966 he presented Heddiw, the BBC's early evening Welsh-language news magazine programme.  In 1967, he was appointed Programme Organiser with BBC Wales, Head of Programmes in 1970 and Controller in 1974.
 He became head of BBC Wales in 1974, before taking the same position at S4C in 1982.  


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day, therefore, 26th December is the Second Day of Christmas.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me - Two Turtle Doves.
 Perhaps because of Biblical references, where two turtle doves are recorded to have been sacrificed for the Birth of Jesus, its mournful voice and the fact that they form close breeding pairs, turtle doves have become emblems of devoted love. 
They are no longer found as a breeding bird in Wales and their population in the UK has declined by over 90%
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Welsh soldiers in the Christmas truce of 1914. 
On Christmas Day 1914, the 2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers were involved in one of the most moving events of any conflict, whilst fighting on the front line in Northern France during World War I.
Private Frank Richards from Blaina recalled in his memoirs how two men put up a board, with Merry Christmas written on it and then climbed up the trench with their hands up.  Two German soldiers did likewise and the two pairs of soldiers then walked into no-mans land and shook hands.  Then soldiers from both sides threw down their arms and joined them and exchanged gifts such as beer, cigarettes, plum puddings and chocolate.  They then sang carols and organised a football match.
The following morning Capt Stockwell of the Welsh Fusiliers climbed up the trench and held up a sign with "Merry Christmas" on it.  A German commander then appeared with a sign saying "Thank You".  Both men saluted each other, fired three shots into the air and then climbed back into their positions and the war recommenced.   


     
Christmas Customs in Wales. 
The Plygain Carol Service
This was held on Christmas morning, sometimes as early as 3 a.m. but more often at  6 a.m and it was custom with many people to stay up all night, before attending, making cyflaith (treacle toffee) or singing, dancing and playing the harp.  In  Tenby, Laugharne and Llanfyllin there are reports of, crowds carrying torches or candles in a procession, where the young men of the parish, escorted the clergyman from his house to the church.  The bringing in of the candles was seen as an important part of the service as it symbolized the coming of the Light of the World.  


 

Born on Christmas day 1766 at Esgaer-waen in Llandysul
Christmas Evans - Nonconformist minister, who is regarded as one of the greatest ever preachers in the history of Wales. 
Evan's father was a shoemaker, who died when Christmas was only nine and his family had to apply for relief from the parish poor law.  Evans himself was forced to travel to Herefordshire to find work and it was while there that he went to a rowdy fair and lost the sight of his right eye when a youth struck him with a cudgel.
When he returned to Wales in the early 1780s, he took employment on the farm of Rev. David Davies at Castell Hywel and  began to attend a local chapel, at about the same time as a spiritual awakening in the Twrgwyn area of Cardiganshire. 
Evans then became a preacher and moved to North Wales in 1789, settling in Llangefni on Anglesey, where he spent 35 years building up a strong Baptist community and funded many of the sixteen new chapels built at that time, through preaching tours to South Wales.  In 1826, Evans accepted an invitation from a congregation in Caerphilly, where he tripled the membership in two years and then accepted an invitation to the pastorate of Tabernacle chapel in Cardiff where his preaching attracted large congregations.  He continued to make frequent tours of Wales and it was while preaching at Swansea in July 1838, that Evans was taken ill and died.   


     
Murder at Abergavenny Castle on Christmas Day 1175
Seisyll ap Dyfnwal was a Welsh Lord in the Kingdom of Gwent and a brother-in-law of   the Lord Rhys , King of Deheubarth.  On Christmas day 1175, along with his eldest son Geoffrey and other Welsh  leaders from the area, Seisyll was invited to Abergavenny Castle by Norman Baron William De Braose to try and resolve their differences following a period of conflict.  However once inside the castle walls, they were cut down without mercy and De Braose and his men then rode out to Seisyll's home where they murdered his younger son, Cadwalladr aged seven and captured his wife.
 The effect of  De Braose's actions was to have a negative impact on Anglo-Welsh relations for generations to come, with the de Braose family name becoming a byword for dishonourable dealing and De Braose himself earning the nickname the 'Ogre of Abergavenny'.
In 1182, Hywel ap Iorwerth, the Welsh lord of Caerleon, avenged the death of, by storming Abergavenny Castle and putting De Braose to flight. De Braose later died in exile .   


         
William the Conqueror was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066.
William the Conqueror's interaction with Wales;
William immediately began to build castles to control the native population and maintain their control of the kingdom, the word castle, deriving from the Norman castellum.  The early Norman castles were called motte and bailey, basically, an earthen mound on which was built a wooden tower surrounded by a wooden palisade.   These wooden castles were to be gradually replaced by larger stone castles.
The Wales of 1066 was one of dynastic disarray, as a result of the death of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn in 1063.  However it is argued that this made Wales harder to conquer as when the Normans reached the borders of Wales, they were confronted by a number of smaller kingdoms rather than one single kingdom.  William, therefore operated a policy of establishing the Marcher Lordships, a series of powerful earldoms in the borderlands, whose barons had complete jurisdiction over their subjects, without recourse to the king. These barons were then encouraged to push gradually westward into Welsh territory, erecting castles to hold each parcel of territory they carved from Welsh holdings. 
1067 - William Fitzosbern was created Earl of Hereford and overran the kingdom of Gwent, establishing castles and garrisons at Monmouth, Clifford, Wigmore and the first stone castle in Wales, at Chepstow at the mouth of the Wye, where it served as a base from which the Normans continued to expand westward into Wales,
1071 - Hugh d'Avranches (Hugh the Fat) was given the earldom of Chester, were he built a large motte-and-bailey castle, from where he struck deep into Gwynedd, 

1071 - Roger de Montgomerie was created Earl of Shrewsbury and pushed deep into Powys.  Around 1086, he built a motte and bailey castle at the ford of Rhydwhiman across the Severn and named the place Montgomery.  
1071 -  The first Benedictine monastery was built at Chepstow.
1081 - William visited St David's, ostensibly to show his respects but in reality as a demonstration of his power to the native rulers. He did, however, recognise the rule of Rhys ap Tewdwr in Deheubarth and accepted that of Iestyn ap Gwrgant in Morgannwg.
1086 - Caerleon Castle established and the Kingdom of Gwent extinguished.
1087 - William died and his eldest son, William Rufus took control. The lowlands of Morgannwg fell to Robert Fitzhamon, who built the Norman castle at Cardiff in 1091, Rhys ap Tewdwr was killed and Brycheiniog was seized in 1093 and the Earls of Shrewsbury drove through Powys and Ceredigion to southern Dyfed where they established a castle at Pembroke also in 1093. 


 
Traditionally in the Western Church, the First Day of Christmas is Christmas Day.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me - A partridge in a pear tree.
Partridges are are ground-nesting birds of the pheasant family.  In Wales, the population of the grey partridge has decreased by over 50% during the past 30 years, mainly because of the loss of insect food on arable farms and seed food on grassland farms.
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Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock - died 24th December 1143 and was buried in Llanthony Priory. 
FitzWalter was High Sheriff of Gloucester and Constable of England and a significant adversary of the Welsh during "The Anarchy" in England (1135 - 1154).
The Anarchy was a conflict in England, characterised by a breakdown in law and order. It originated with a succession crisis towards the end of the reign of Henry I. Henry's attempts to install his daughter, the Empress Matilda, as his successor were unsuccessful and on Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois took power. Fitzwalter was initially a supporter of Stephen but later switched his allegiance to Matilda. 
1136 - Miles Fitzwalter, founded the priory Llanthony Secunda Priory Hempsted, Gloucester for the Augustinian monks of Llanthony Priory near Abergavenny in The Vale of Ewyas seven miles north of Abergavenny after persistent attacks from the Welsh.
1137 - The whole of South Wales rose in rebellion, with Owain Gwynedd and Gruffydd ap Rhys successfully capturing considerable territories, including Carmarthen Castle. 
1142 - Miles Fitzwalter was made lord of Abergavenny by Matilda and the holder of Abergavenny Castle.
1143 - On Christmas-eve Miles Fitzwalter was slain while hunting by an arrow shot at a deer. A dispute at once arose for possession of his body between the canons of Llanthony and the monks of Gloucester. The case was heard before the bishops of Worcester, Hereford, and St. David's, and it was decided that he was to be buried in the chapter-house at Llanthony.  


 


Christmas Customs in Wales. 
Noson Gyflaith (Toffee Evening) was a traditional part of Christmas in some areas of Wales when families would invite friends to their homes for an evening of making toffee and storytelling. 
When the toffee had boiled it was poured onto a greased slate or stone slab. Then people would cover their hands with butter and while the toffee was still warm, people would pull and twist it until it was a golden yellow colour.
Housewives would also sell their toffee, which was also called taffi, dant, fanny or by the name of the person who made it, such as e.g. losin Mag.
The Recipe; 
three pounds soft brown sugar
half a pound salted butter
juice of one lemon
quarter pint boiling water (or a little more according to the consistency of the sugar)
Using an enamel or steel pan, gradually melt the sugar in the boiling water over a low heat. Stir it continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar is thoroughly melted. (This usually takes from twenty to thirty minutes.) Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the lemon juice and the softened butter, and stir in the sugar. Boil this mixture fairly briskly for a further fifteen minutes without stirring it. 
Gently drop a teaspoonful of the mixture into a cupful of cold water, and if it hardens at once it has reached the required consistency. Pour the mixture slowly on to a large, flat dish previously greased with butter. (Do not scrape the pan clean as this mixture might turn the toffee back into sugar.) Butter the hands and 'pull' the toffee into long, golden strands while hot. Cut into smaller pieces.




 

Born on this day 1905 in Houston, Texas (of Welsh decent)


Howard Hughes - aviator, film director and famous recluse.




 
The Red-Headed Bandits of Mawddwy  were a band of outlaws, robbers and highwaymen from the area of Dinas Mawddwy in the mountains above Dolgellau, an area where there were great difficulties in preserving law and order.
They became famous in folk literature and they are remembered by a number of place names in the area, such as Llety'r Gwylliaid (bandits lodging), Llety'r Lladron (robbers lodging) and the bandits reputed meeting place, the Brigand's Inn at nearby Mallwyd.
The bandits were eventually captured and on 24th December 1555  a staggering 80 of them were executed, with a burial mound at Rhos Groch (the Red Moor) said to be where their bodies are buried.    


 

On 24 December 1930, Harry Grindell Matthews  demonstrated his new invention, the "Sky Projector" in Hampstead Village, London 
Considered, one of the greatest British inventors of the twentieth century, Mathews lived in seclusion high in the remote Welsh mountains near Clydach.  He was the classic stereotype of the eccentric inventor, but his ideas were so revolutionary and far-reaching, that the British Government dismissed him as a fraudster and a crank.  However, his achievements and world firsts make for impressive reading.
*  The 'Death Ray'
*  The world's first Mobile Phone
*  Sound-film synchronization,
*  Wireless communication with a plane in flight.
*  Automatic Pilot
*  Submarine Detection
*  The Sky Projector
*  Aerial Mines  


 

In 1647, the feast of Christmas was abolished  in Wales and England by the Puritan Parliament and replaced with a day of fasting. 
During the later part of the English Civil War and the subsequent rule of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector, Wales and England were ruled by a Puritan Parliament. 
Puritans saw Christmas as a Roman Catholic festival and disliked the waste, extravagance, disorder, sin and immorality associated with it.  What they wanted was a much stricter observance of holy days such as Christmas, Easter and Whitsun.  Despite pro-Christmas protests and rioting, the ban remained until the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660. 
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Hywel Dda (c.880 – 950) created the kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales.  His name is particularly linked with the codification of Welsh law, which was thenceforth known as the Laws of Hywel Dda.
A timeline of the life of Hywel Dda; 
880  Hywel was born, the son of King Cadell of Seisyllwg.  

904  Hywel gained control of Dyfed, through his marriage to Elen, the kingdoms only surviving heir.
911  Cadell died and Seisyllwg was divided between Hywel and his elder brother, Clydog.
918  As rulers of Seisyllwg, Hywel and Clydog, submitted to Edward the Elder of England
920  Clydog died, leaving the whole realm to Hywel, who joined Seisyllwg and Dyfed into a single realm known as Deheubarth.

928  Hywel was a well-educated man, having a good knowledge of Welsh, Latin, and English and made a pilgrimage to Rome, becoming the first Welsh prince to undertake such a trip. Upon his return, he forged very close relations with King Athelstan of England, who allowed Hywel  to use the mint at Chester to produce his own coinage, the first Welsh ruler to do so for at least a thousand years. 

942  Hywel claimed himself as ruler of Gwynedd and Powys, when Idwal Foel, King of Gwynedd and his brother Elisedd were killed in battle with the English King Edmund. 
c. 940 – 945   As ruler of most of Wales, Hywel was able to pursue the accomplishment for which he is best known: the codification of Welsh law.  At a conference held at Ty Gwyn ar Daf, an occasional residence of Hywel's near Whitland, Carmarthenshire, Welsh law was set down in writing.  According to tradition, much of the work was done by the celebrated clerk, Blegywryd and deposited at Dinefwr Castle. 
950 Following Hywel's death, his kingdom was soon split, with Gwynedd  being reclaimed by Idwal Foel's sons while Deheubarth was divided between Hywel's sons.  However, his legacy survived in his laws, which were still in use until the implementation of Henry VIII's  Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542.


 
The Frongoch internment camp in Merionethshire,which held 1,863 Irish prisoners following the Irish Republican Easter Rising, was shut down on 23rd December 1916. 
Until 1916, the abandoned distillery had housed German prisoners of war, but they were moved to accommodate the junior officers and rank-and-file members of the Irish Republican movement, which included such notables as Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith.  British authorities had previously executed 15 of the leaders of the rising, including  Patrick Pearse and James Connolly and the surviving leaders were sent to high-security prisons. 
The camp however became a breeding ground for the revolution, with Collins, for example, giving impromptu lessons in guerilla tactics.  Indeed, Fron-goch transformed the rebel army into the driving force behind the subsequent Irish War of Independence. 
Prisoners were permitted to  exercise with route marches across the Welsh countryside, organise fancy dress competitions, seasonal games at Halloween and sporting challenge matches. A typical example was the athletics day, in which Collins won the 100 yard race in 10.8 seconds.,
The region of Wales in which the Irish prisoners found themselves ironically bore many similarities to Ireland.  The local population had also suffered from evictions and enforced emigration and soon after established a Land Commission modelled on the Land League instigated by Michael Davitt in Ireland, even inviting Davitt to address a meeting at Blanau Ffestiniog.  


 
The Welsh in Liverpool 
John Edward Jones (Ioan Maesgrug) was born in Liverpool to Welsh parents on 23rd December 1914.  He was educated in Liverpool before training as a barrister and becoming a  circuit judge in 1969 
He was active in many Welsh circles in Liverpool, serving as president of the Liverpool Choral Society, president of the Merseyside Branch of the Red Cross, a Fellow of the Merseyside Eisteddfod and a Moderator of the Liverpool presbyterian church.  He was a member of the Gorsedd of Bards taking the name ‘Ioan Maesgrug’ and had a particular interest in the history of the Welsh in Liverpool and published many books on the subject. 
There a strong links between Liverpool and North Wales,  indeed its very name is thought to have come from 'Lle'r pwll' - that is 'the place of the pool'.  The Welsh travel for work, shopping, cultural events and nights out, while many Liverpudlians holiday in north Wales resorts.  This is illustrated by the large number of Welsh surnames still evident in the city, such as Hughes, Williams and Owens.  The city centre's Pall Mall was known as 'Little Wales' and a chapel built in Toxteth was for a long time the largest Welsh Chapel in the world.  However, not everyone not everyone has fond feelings about the links, as illustrated by the infamous attack on the Welsh by Anne Robinson, who is from Liverpool.
There was a huge growth in rural to urban migration across the whole of the UK during the 19th century and  Liverpool experienced dynamic industrialization and rapid urban development.  The port became one of the world‟s largest and most important seaports, known as “Europe‟s gateway to the Atlantic” with a financial and commercial centre that was second only to London.  Welsh Slate had been traditionally shipped from Liverpool and as the port grew it attracted many people from the North Wales in search of work.  So much so that by 1813, around 10% of Liverpool's residents were Welsh and it became known as  the unofficial 'Capital of North Wales'.  A combination of factors including the proximity, the language, the chapel infrastructure and business success interacted to create a culturally rich and politically active Welsh community in the city, so much so that The National Eisteddfod was been held in Liverpool - 1840 - 1854 - 1884 - 1900 and 1929.   



A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas, published in 1955, is a story in which Thomas recreates the nostalgic magic of a childhood Christmas as though it were a fairy tale and how modern Christmases are not as good as the ones of his youth when for example, It was always snowing.   



Anselm Marshal (died 23 December 1245 at Chepstow Castle and was buried in Tintern Abbey). He was the sixth Earl of Pembroke (of the second creation), the youngest and last of the five sons of William Marshal 1st Earl of Pembroke, to hold that title.
His death is notable in the fact that it marked the extinction of the male line of the Marshall family and was credited to a curse the Bishop of Ferns, Ailbe Ua Maíl Mhuaidh put on the family in 1218, over a dispute about two manors belonging to him in Ireland that William Marshal, had seized.
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Born on this day 1988 in Gorseinon
Leigh Halfpenny - Wales and Lions rugby international.
Halfpenny made his debut for Wales aged 19 and has since become a regular member of the side, as well as first choice goal kicker.  He was awarded Player of the Tournament in the 2013 Six Nations Championship.
He had to withdraw from the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa due to injury, but on the 2013 tour to Australia, he was player of the series, playing in all three tests and breaking the points scoring record for the Lions. 


 

Born on this day 1822 at Tanrhiwfelen, a house just outside Aberystwyth. 
Ieuan Gwyllt,  the bardic name of musician and minister John Roberts, who is perhaps best remembered for his Welsh translation of the hymn "Gwahoddiad" 
His bardic name is derived from the nomme de plume he used whilst writing poetry as a boy, 'Ieuan Gwyllt Gelltydd Melindwr' (John of the Wild Woods near the Mill Tower).
Roberts's "Llyfr Tonau Cynulleidfaol" was the first book of Welsh Hymn tunes.  He also founded in 1859 the Welsh hymn-singing festivals and as such was much in demand as a conductor and as an adjudicator in eisteddfodau.  In 1861, he was ordained a Calvinistic Methodist minister and was a gifted preacher.


 
Born on this day 1967 in Blackwood. 
Richey Edwards -  lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers, best known for his politicized songwriting and mysterious disappearance, which have gained him cult status.
Edwards disappeared on 1st February 1995 and was officially presumed dead on 23rd November 2008 and it is widely believed that he committed suicide, by jumping off the Severn Bridge.


     

On 22nd December 1844  John Jones (Shoni Sguborfawr) and David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr) were convicted for their part in the Rebecca Riots, both men were sentenced to be transported to Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania).
The Rebecca Riots were a series of protests that  took place between 1839 and 1843 in South and Mid Wales, undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers, who took direct action against toll gates in response to perceived unfair taxes and tolls.   The general public supported the riots and very few rioters were arrested and convicted.  However, some of those taking part used the guise of 'Rebecca'  for their own gain, to exact revenge and extort money.  Two such men were Shoni Sguborfawr (Johnny Big Barn) and Dai'r Cantwr ( David the singer)  
Shoni (John Jones) was described as "a half-witted and inebriate ruffian" from Penderyn, near Merthyr had made a name for himself as a hard man in the toughest area of Merthyr.  He had shot a man in Pontyberem and had a police record for being drunk and disorderly and brawling in the streets.  
Dai'r Cantwr (David Davies) was a farm labourer from Llancarfan, near Cowbridge who was also well known to the police.,
During the riots, both men were paid to take a prominent role in attacking the toll-gates, but after the riots ended they began using extortion to gain money from several farmers, threatening to reveal them as Rebecca Rioters.  Eventually, people turned against them and they were reported to the police, warrants were issued for their arrest and they were placed in custody in Carmarthen Goal.  
On 22 December 1843, they were sentenced to transportation to Van Dieman's Land.  Dai Cantwr was sentenced to 20 years and 'Shoni' for life.  In Van Dieman's Land, they were unable to stay out of trouble and continued to be anti-social and aggressive, both men being convicted for stealing and being drunk and disorderly.  However, both men were eventually awarded tickets of leave and returned to Wales.
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  Jasper Tudor (1431 – 21/26 December 1495) was the uncle and guardian of King Henry VII of England. He was also the architect of Henry's successful conquest of England and Wales in 1485.
A timeline of the life of Jasper Tudor;
1431 - Jasper was born at the Bishop of Ely's manor at Hatfield in Hertfordshire in 1431, the second son of Owen Tudor and the former Queen Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V of England. He was therefore, the half-brother to Henry VI. Through his father, Jasper was a descendent of Llywelyn the Great's Chancellor, Ednyfed Fychan.,
1437 - On Catherine's death, Owen Tudor was arrested and sent to Newgate prison. Jasper and his brother Edmund were put into the care of Katherine de la Pole, a nun at Barking Abbey, in Essex.
1442 - Jasper and Edmund's half-brother, King henry VI, began to take an interest in their upbringing and they were brought to live at court. Henry arranged for the best priest to educate them intellectually and morally.
1452 - Jasper was was created the Earl of Pembroke and Edmund the Earl of Richmond. In turn, they gave Henry unwavering loyalty and fought and promoted his and his Lancastrian family’s interests.
1456 - On the death of Edmund, Jasper took over the responsibility of maintaining the Lancastrian ties within Wales.
1461 -  After the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in Herefordshire, in which the Lancastrian forces, led by Owen Tudor, were defeated.  Jasper was forced to flee in disguise to Pembroke, eventually escaping to France via Scotland.  However the four-year-old Henry Tudor was left behind at Pembroke Castle, under the custody of Edward IV's supporter, William Herbert, who was never cruel to the boy, in fact, he and his wife, Anne Devereux, raised him as their own. 
1468 - Jasper returned to Wales, with the support of Louis XI of France and gathered 2000 men, but was eventually routed at Harlech Castle and forced to return to France
1469 - Jasper's invasion, did, however, create a breach in the Yorkist party, as the Earl of Warwick became dissatisfied with the king and switched sides to support Henry VI. Warwick later defeated and killed Herbert ( Henry's guardian) at the Battle of Edgecote, leaving Henry Tudor under the protection of Anne Devereux, in Herefordshire.
1470 - Jasper launched another invasion, this time with the support of Warwick and when they arrived in Hereford, he was reunited with Henry Tudor. Meanwhile, Warwick marched on London and freed HenryVI from the Tower, restoring him as king. Edward IV was forced to flee to Holland. It was also a reunion for Henry and his mother, who spent about six weeks together in London. Jasper briefly regained the earldom of Pembroke.
1471 - Edward IV returned from Europe, killed Warwick at the Battle of Barnet and was reinstated himself on the throne. Henry VI was killed, prompting Jasper to raise an army to fight Edward which was to be reinforced by Henry VI's widow, Margaret of Anjou and their son Prince Edward.  She gathered an army in the West Country and marched north toward Wales to join forces with Jasper, but Edward IV confronted them at Tewkesbury on 4 May and soundly defeated them killing Prince Edward.  Henry Tudor was now one of the few surviving male heirs of the Lancastrian line.  Jasper, realising Henry's vulnerability, decided to take him to safety in France, however, storms in the English Channel forced them to land at Le Conquet in Brittany, where they were given refuge by Duke Francis II. Even though Edward IV placed diplomatic pressure on Duke Francis, the uncle and nephew remained safe from the clutches of the English king for the next 12 years
1483, Edward IV died unexpectedly and support grew for Henry Tudor, now the leading Lancastrian claimant to the crown. This encouraged his mother, Margaret Beaufort and Edward IV's widow, Elizabeth Woodville (the dowager Queen) to plan, Henry's return to Britain and wed Elizabeth's daughter, also Elizabeth (Elizabeth of York) to Henry Tudor, thereby uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York.
1485 - Henry landed near Milford Haven and marched through Wales, where he received substantial support. On 22nd August, Henry defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, to become King Henry VII.
1485 - Jasper subsequently had all previous attainders annulled, he was restored to all his former titles and was made a Knight of the Garter. On 7th November, he married Catherine Woodville, a sister to Edward IV's queen Elizabeth Woodville.
1488 - Jasper took possession of Cardiff Castle.  


         

Celtic Festivals.
Yule - Winter Solstice.
The Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs on either December the 21st or 22nd. It is the shortest day and longest night of the year when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest.
The midwinter festival of Yule appears first in the 4th century Gothic language of the Germanic peoples and was later absorbed into the Christian festival of Christmas. The term "Yule log" is one of a number of terms used to refer to the custom and in Welsh it is called a boncyff Nadolig.
It is speculated that the Celtic Druids observed the winter solstice, as it marks the shortest day and the rebirth of the Sun, when the hours of daylight increase, until the Summer Solstice. It is thought that the Druids would gather by the oldest mistletoe-clad oak, from which, the Chief Druid would remove the mistletoe with his golden sickle, to be caught by the other Druids standing below with an open sheet, making sure none of it touched the ground. The early Christian church, in fact, banned the use of mistletoe because of its association with Druids.
In the recent Welsh Druidic tradition, the Winter solstice festival is known as Alban Arthan. The name deriving from the writings of Iolo Morganwg, the 19th-century radical poet and is observed in a manner that commemorates the death of the Holly King identified with the wren bird (symbolizing the old year and the shortened sun) at the hands of his son and successor, the Oak King (the new year and the new sun that begins to grow). 


 
Wales beat the New Zealand All Blacks 13 -12 on 21st December 1935. 
Wales, captained by Claude Davey and inspired by Wilf Wooler and Cliff Jones secured victory with only 10 minutes remaining in the match even though they were reduced to 14 men following a neck injury to hooker Don Tarr.  Wooller broke the All Blacks defence then chipped ahead, but the bounce of the ball prevented him from gathering to score.  However, Geoffrey Jones was in support and managed to go over for his second try of the match, which prooved to be the match winner.  


 
21st December 1990 saw the final closure of the last pit in the Rhondda when the miners of Maerdy colliery made an emotional and dignified march from the pit for the very last time.
It marked the end of an era when the Rhondda became the most intensely mined area in Britain, starting with the discovery of coal at the Dinas Mine in 1809 to at its peak, when the valleys had 66 mines in production with a yearly output of nine-and-half million tonnes, to the demise of the industry following the First World and the emergence of oil as a competitor in the 1960s and 1970s.


 
Editorial cartoonist and visual commentator, Joseph Morewood Staniforth (better known as J.M. Staniforth) died on 21 December 1921. 
Born in Gloucester in 1863, Staniforth began working for the Western Mail at 15 and the paper started publishing his cartoons in 1889.  His drawings and cartoons covered the changing political scene and social unrest in Wales of the period.  One of his most famous creations was 'Dame Wales'  a woman dressed in the national costume, who spoke words of reason and symbolised Wales in a similar manner to the way that other cartoonists would use Britannia to symbolise Britain.   


 
21st December 1890 saw the onset of a snowfall in Wales during a winter which saw temperatures fall to the lowest ever recorded, with the River Severn being frozen over enough to allow traffic to travel over it and sheep & pigs to be roasted on top of it.    


 
Born to Welsh parents on this day 1799 in Worcester.
John "Jacky" Vaughan.
At an early age, Vaughan followed his father in working at Dowlais Ironworks. Over the years, he worked his way up through the industry to become an ironmaster and in 1840, went into partnership with the industrialist Henry Bolckow, from which the ironmaking and mining company, Bolckow, Vaughan & Co.Ltd was founded in 1864.  It was this company that is credited with transforming the small rural town of Middlesbrough into the centre of ironmaking in Britain.
 
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Born on this day 1843 in Brecon.

Frances Elizabeth Hoggan (née Morgan) - the first British woman to receive a doctorate in medicine from a European university and the first female doctor to be registered in Wales.
Frances Hoggan's  father was a curate and she was raised and educated in Cowbridge and Windsor.  She obtained her doctorate from  Zurich University in 1870, after which, she married Dr George Hoggan and the couple then operated the first husband-and-wife medical practice in the UK.  Francis was also an active campaigner for social reform, particularly involved in racial issues.



On 20th December 1955, Cardiff was proclaimed the capital of Wales. 
* The Romans settled in Cardiff in 55 AD and built a military fort on the site of Cardiff Castle.
* Llandaff Cathedral stands on one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain and dates back to 1107.
* Cardiff is home to the world’s oldest record store – Spillers, which opened in 1894.
* The world’s first £1 million cheque was signed in Cardiff’s coal exchange in 1904.
* In 1910, Captain Scott left from Cardiff for his ill-fated journey to the South Pole.
* Cardiff was designated as the world's first Fair Trade Capital City.
* Cardiff has a population of 346,000 and attracts more than 18 million visitors a year. 
* Four of Cardiff’s  buildings have won prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) awards – Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff Met University’s School of Management, Chapter Arts Centre & Cardiff Central Library.
* Cardiff was the European Capital of Sport for 2014.
* The National Museum in Cardiff is home to one of the best Impressionist art collections outside Paris, boasting works by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Cézanne.  


 
Born on this day 1912 in Bridgend. 
Sir Morien Bedford Morgan -  "The Father Of Concorde"
Morgan became interested in aircraft, whilst studying at Cambridge University, after which he secured employment with the Royal Aircraft Establishment, before becoming the Controller of Aircraft within the Ministry of Aviation.
In 1948, he began researching the possibility of a supersonic passenger airliner and in 1956 when Chairman of the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee, selected the Bristol 223 as the basis for the design of what would ultimately become Concorde.  


         
 Born on this day 1976 in Newport. 
Adam James Powell - game designer and businessman, who with his wife Donna founded Neopets and Meteor Games. 


 
Born on this day 1792, near Llangadog, Carmarthenshire.
David Griffiths, who was a missionary in Madagascar, who together with fellow Welsh missionary David Jones, from Cardiganshire, translated the first Bible to be printed in an African language.
Griffiths and his wife, Mary, were sent to Madagascar in 1821, by the London Missionary Society, where along with David Jones, founded the first Protestant mission in Madagascar, under the patronage of King Radama I.
They also translated the Bible, which was published in 1835.  However, following the king’s death, the new monarch, Queen Ranavalona I banned Christianity in 1835.  This led Griffiths to disguise himself as a trader, in order to help the persecuted Christians.
He returned to Wales in 1840 to become a pastor and published a history of Madagascar in Welsh,  as well as a Malagasy grammar in English.   


 
 Born on this day 1926 in Port Talbot
Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon former  Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, Leader of the House of Commons and Deputy Prime Minister, whose resignation speech in 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated Margaret Thatcher's downfall as Prime Minister three weeks later. 
]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:31:49 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3842/19th-december http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3842

The Penmachno Document was created on 19th December 1294 at Penmachno in Gwynedd by Madog ap Llywelyn during his revolt against the unfair rule of the English.
Although the document only consists of the grant of two parcels of land, it is significant in the fact that it is the only surviving document issued by Madog in which he styles himself prince of Wales.  
Madog was the son of Llywelyn ap Maredudd, who supported the attempt to overthrow Llywelyn ap Gruffudd the Prince of Wales at the Battle of Bryn Derwin in 1255 and was subsequently exiled to England, where Madog was probably born.
Madog is known to have received a substantial amount of money from King Edward I of England in 1277, which in 1278, he used to sue Llywelyn ap Gruffudd attempting to regain his father's cantref of Meirionydd.  After the death of Llywelyn in 1282, it would appear that Madog returned to Gwynedd and received lands in Anglesey from the King. 
In the autumn of 1294, Madog put himself at the head of a national revolt in response to the imposition of unfair taxes by the royal administrators.  However, a final battle between Madog's men and those of the English crown occurred at the battle of Maes Moydog in Powys in 1295, in which the Welsh army were defeated and Madog barely escaped with his life.  He was later captured and taken to London, however he escaped execution, as he is recorded as still being alive in 1312.   


 
Wales beat the New Zealand All Blacks 13 -8, on 19th December 1953. 
Flanker, Sid Judd and wing, Ken Jones scored tries for Wales in what still remains the last time Wales defeated New Zealand.  


 
 A special hour-length final episode of the popular television documentary Coal House was shown on 19th December 2009 
The two-part series followed the lives of modern day families replicating the lifestyle of people in the Welsh coal mining town of Blaenavon in two earlier periods of the 20th century.
The first series is set in the economically depressed time of 1927 and shows how the men and boys over 14 were required to walk over the mountains to work in the local coal mine, while the women had to run a home without electricity and running water. 
The second series is set at the end of World War II, in 1944 and shows how the men and boys over 14 were expected to do Home Guard duties, after a long day's work at the coal mine.  The women are expected to run the home with limited rations, whilst also looking after war evacuees and Bevin Boys, who were conscripted to work in the mines. 


 
Released on 19th December 2008, Frost/Nixon, starring Welsh actor Michael Sheen as David Frost in a film dramatisation of the Nixon interviews of 1977. 


 
Owen Gruffydd (1643 - December 1730) was a poet who wrote about his sadness of the decline of the Welsh language.
Owen Gruffydd was born in the parish of Llanystumdwy, Caernarfonshire, where he was a weaver by profession and gained high repute as a poet.  He gradually lost his sight with old age, after which he dictated his verse to friends. 
Most of Gruffydd's poems were written in honor of the local aristocracy , but he also wrote popular verse, such as carols for Christmastide.  A large collection of Gruffydd's works is archived in the British Museum and the National Library of Wales.
]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:29:58 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3841/18th-december http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3841

Born on this day 1818 in Llandinam, Montgomeryshire.

David Davies - the much respected coal baron and industrialist. 
Davies left school at 11, to work with his father at a sawmill.  He then began organising labourers for the railway lines that were starting to appear all over Wales, before turning his attention to the rapidly growing coal industry.  He invested all of his money, leasing land in the Rhondda in the hope of striking coal, however, he failed initially to find profitable seams and was facing financial ruin, when his workers showed incredible loyalty and faith in him, by working without wages for one last attempt to find coal.  The breakthrough came at the Cwmparc mine, near Treorchy, from which Davies's fortunes rose.
He established the Ocean Coal Company Ltd and was exporting so much coal through Cardiff docks, that when the docks owner, the  Marquess of Bute , started to raise his charges, Davies was instrumental in the building of the rival docks at Barry.


 
On 18th December 1967, Newtown in Powys  was designated as a new town, the second such town in Wales.
The project aimed to reverse rural depopulation by attracting new industries and jobs to the area and involved re-channelling the River Severn to reduce the risk of flooding in the town.  


 
 Born on this day 1920 in Cilfyydd, near Pontypridd
Merlyn Rees - Labour party Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992, who held the positions of both Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1976) and Home Secretary (1976–1979). 


 
Born on this day 1707 in Epworth, Lincolnshire.
Charles Wesley - an early leader of the Methodist movement and prolific composer of hymns, who married Welsh woman Sarah Gwynne from Garth near Builth Wells.
At Oxford university, Charles formed a group dedicated to Bible study and the living of a holy life, in which he was joined by his elder brother John.  In 1738, both brothers experienced a "conversion" after which they felt compelled to spread the word of the Gospel. 
On one of his preaching tours to Wales in 1749, Charles met and married Sarah Gwynne (1726–1822), from Garth, near Builth Wells, who was the daughter of  the magistrate Marmaduke Gwynne,  The couple moved to Bristol and Sarah then accompanied Charles his evangelistic tours.
During his lifetime, Charles Wesley published the words of over six thousand hymns, including; "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" and "Rejoice, the Lord is King"  


 
Born on this day 1987 in Salford and raised in Llandrindod Wells.
Dan Lydiate - Wales And Lions rugby international.
During his career, Lydiate has shown an impressive commitment to overcome the adversity of serious injury.  At 19 he recovered from a serious career threatening neck injury and at the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, he infamously woke every hour to treat an ankle injury.  Lydiate is regarded as one of Wales's best tacklers and was awarded the Player of the Tournament award in the 2012  Six Nations Championship.


Peggy Cummins (born in Prestatyn on 18 December 1925) is a retired Welsh-born Irish actress. Cummins is best known for her performance in Joseph H. Lewis' Gun Crazy (1949), playing a trigger-happy femme fatale who robs banks with her lover (played by John Dall).
]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:26:49 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3840/17th-december http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3840

 Sarah Jacobs, the 'Welsh Fasting Girl' died on 17th December 1869. 
Sarah was born in 1857 on a farm near Llanfihangel-ar-Arth in Carmarthenshire.  When she was nine, she became seriously ill and was confined to bed for a considerable period of time.  She passed the time by composing poems and reading the Bible, but then according to her parents, Evan and Hannah, she suddenly began to refuse food.  However, she did not suffer any ill effects and seemed to be thriving.
Word got about and soon, Sarah became famous, with people travelling from all over Wales and England to see her lying in her bed surrounded by flowers and reading the Bible.  They considered themselves to be witnessing a miracle and were encouraged to give gifts and money to Sarah. 
Some people, however, were obviously sceptical and Dr Phillips of Guy's Hospital decided to arrange for six nurses to carry out a 24 hour vigil, in which they would observe, but offer no treatment or help unless Sarah asked for food.  This Sarah did not do and she slowly lapsed into semi-consciousness, before dying on 17th December 1869.   An autopsy later found food in Sarah's stomach and tragically groove marks on her toes, where it was supposed she had been tried to open a stone water bottle in a desperate attempt to get water. 
People were outraged when news of the cruel experiment and Sarah's death became public and her parents were imprisoned for manslaughter, however, none of the doctors or nurses were ever prosecuted.   


 
The Royal mint at Llantrisant was opened on 17th December 1968 in readiness for the introduction of the decimal coinage.  It now mints all of the UK's coinage, as well as those of many other countries.   


 
William Floyd born on Long Island on December 17, 1734, was an American politician from New York, and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. His family from Breconshire had emigrated to America in 1654 and become wealthy through farming.
Floyd's father died when he was in his teens and he was required to take over the family farm. He joined the Suffolk County Militia during the American War of Independence from Britain, attaining the rank of major general and in 1774, was chosen to represent New York in the first Continental Congress.  


     
Born on this day 1987 in Crescent, Oklahoma, U.S.
Bradley Edward Manning, now known as Chelsea Manning
Manning is a United States Army soldier who received a 35 year prison sentence in July 2013 for violations of the Espionage Act, after making public, the largest set of classified documents ever leaked.
Bradley's mother, Susan Fox, was from Haverfordwest and met his American serviceman father while he was stationed at the nearby Cawdor Barracks. Bradley returned to Wales with his mother, after his parents were divorced and attended the Tasker Millward secondary school in Haverfordwest.
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In  1800 at the age of 15, Mary Jones (16 December 1784 – 28 December 1864)  from Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, walked for 25 miles, barefoot over rugged land and mountains to purchase a Bible in Bala. 
Mary came from a very religious family and from a young age, had been educated in a Circulating School, in which the Bible was used as central part of learning, she was therefore  very keen to obtain her own copy and reportedly saved for nearly six years to have enough money to buy one.
One of the only people in North Wales, who had copies of the bible at that time, was the Calvinistic Methodist  clergyman Thomas Charles from Bala, so Mary set out on the 25 miles walk to get one.  However, on her arrival, she discovered that Charles had sold out of copies he had, but impressed with her determination, he found somewhere for her stay for the two days, before new supplies arrived and then sold her three copies for the price of one.



WALES 3 - NEW ZEALAND 0
Wales defeated New Zealand at rugby union for the first time on 16th December 1905. 
The New Zealand team arrived in Cardiff for the last game of their tour of Britain and Ireland, unbeaten to face Wales, who had just won the triple crown.  The only score of a hard, fast and uncompromising match was a try by Welsh winger, Teddy Morgan, however later in the game, Welsh centre Rhys Gabe prevented an almost certain score by New Zealander Bob Deans.   
Interestingly, during the scrums, Wales used four men in the front row, against New Zealand's three, ensuring  that they won the ball at every scrum and the. match is also notable for being the first time a nations national anthem was sung before a sporting event, when the Welsh team responded to the traditional New Zealand Haka, by singing  ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’.   


     
  A national anthem was sung for the first time before a sporting fixture on 16th December 1905 when Wales faced New Zealand at Cardiff Arms Park.
After the All Blacks had performed their customary haka, the Welsh team in a pre planned response, started to sing the national anthem.  The home supporters soon joined in, with the result that "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" echoed around the stadium in one of the greatest emotional moments in sport. 


 
The Imperial Copyright Act of 1911, ratified on 16th December of that year, enabled the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, to acquire free copies of all works published in the United Kingdom.


 
Born on this day 1960 in Briton Ferry
David Pickering - former Wales rugby union international and captain.  After retiring from playing, Pickering coached Neath, before becoming Wales team manager and Chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union.
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Born on this day 1880 in Cardiff.
James "Jim" Driscoll - much loved and respected boxer who fought his way fight his way from a humble upbringing to become British featherweight champion and winner of a Lonsdale belt. 
 After winning the British and Commonwealth titles, Driscoll went to America where he fought World champion Abe Attell in 1910 and although he gave what is generally regarded as one of the greatest exhibitions of boxing ever seen, he was not able to knock out Attely.  At the time, a bout could not be won on points,  so the outcome was "no decision" which resulted in Attell holding on to the title.  However the American public were so impressed with Driscoll's skill and craft that they named him  'Peerless Jim.'  
Driscoll then turned down the chance of a rematch, because he had committed himself to a fund raising exhibition for the St. Nazareth House orphanage in Cardiff.  After the interruption to his career of  World War I, he continued to fight, even though his health was failing and he died of consumption  in 1925.  
At his funeral, the people of Wales, showed the high esteem in which he was held, with 100,000 people lining the streets of Cardiff.  To this day fresh daffodils are laid at his grave at Cathays Cemetary and a statue of him was erected in Cardiff in 1997. 


     
Sir Thomas Parry (c. 1515 – 15 December 1560) was a Comptroller to the Household of Queen Elizabeth I, responsible for auditing the accounts of the Royal Household and making arrangements for royal travel. 
Parry was brought up at Tretower Court, Breconshire and was a family friend of William Cecil, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I.  He first appears as being on the staff of Thomas Cromwell in 1536, carrying out tasks relating to the dissolution of the monasteries.  Later when Elizabeth was confined to Hatfield House by Queen Mary, Parry was one of the few Protestants who visited her and his loyalty was rewarded by Elizabeth when she became Queen, by receiving a knighthood and lands in Berkshire.
It seems however that he was not popular at the royal court, as when he died, it was said by some of his contemporaries that his death was caused by ill-humour.


     
In December 2012, The BBC announced that its hugely popular fantasy drama Merlin, based on the Arthurian legends, which had run since 2008, was to come to a natural end with a two-part finale, concluding with the battle for Camelot.   


 
Born on this day 1938 in Neath
Michael Bogdanov - multiple award winning Shakespearean director, who has produced, written and directed Many works for the BBC and the Irish broadcaster RTE.  


 
Born on this day 1932 in Llanelli
Sir John Meurig Thomas - a prominent chemist, who the mineral meurigite is named after.  He is is a leading authority in the field of catalysts.  


 
Swansea was officially granted City status on 15th December 1969.


]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:13:45 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3837/14th-december http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3837

Alfred "Fred" Bestall was born on 14th December 1892.  He is remembered as the writer and illustrator of the Rupert Bear stories in the Daily Express, from 1935 to 1965. 
Most of the landscapes that Bestall used in his illustrations were inspired by his childhood holidays in Snowdonia, an area he revisited regularly as an adult, settling in a cottage on Mynydd Sygun, in Beddgelert in 1956.   


 
Born on 14th December 1908 in Garnant.
Claude Davey - former Welsh rugby international and captain.
He is best remembered as being the captain of the Welsh side that beat New Zealand 13 -12 in 1935.


 
Born on this day 1831 in Swansea.
Griffith John - evangelist and first translator of the Bible into Chinese. 
After becoming ordained as a Congregational minister, John took a missionary appointment to China in 1855, based initially in Shanghai, before moving to Hankow in 1861.  John embraced the challenge by learning fluent Chinese and travelling vast distances to preach and to help him, he translated the  New Testament into the Mandarin and Wen-li languages, which were published in 1885.
John returned to Wales in January 1912, which was towards the end of his life, as he died in July of that year and was buried in Swansea.   


 
Margaret Davies, born 14th December 1884 in Llandinam, in Powys and her sister Gwendoline were social philanthropists, who compiled one of the largest art collections in the UK.
The sisters, who were brought up as strict Sabbatarians, were left a fortune from their grandfather, David Davies of Llandinam, the industrialist and founder of Barry Docks. They were both devout teetotallers and neither ever married, so they were able to use their money to travel widely across Europe and indulge in their passion for art, collecting pieces from Turner, Carrière, Monet and Rodin.
Margaret and Gwendoline settled at Gregynog Hall, near Newtown, where they housed their collection and established the famous Gregynog Music festival, which attracted the composers, Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Holst and the Gregynog Press, which produced limited edition books.
They also ran Gregynog as a troop canteen during World War One and as a convalescent home for injured soldiers during World War Two. Gregynog was gifted to the University of Wales in 1960 and many of the art pieces were given to the National Museum and Art Galleries around Wales. Gwendoline died in 1951 and Margaret in 1963.



At the General Election held on 14th December 1918, Millicent Mackenzie was the first woman to stand for parliament in Wales.
Millicent Mackenzie was born in Bristol and became the professor of education at Cardiff University in 1908. She was a founder member of the Cardiff branch of the suffragette movement in 1912 and unsuccessfully stood for parliament in 1918, representing the Labour Party for the University of Wales. She was also the author of many books on teacher training.
 
]]> Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:11:48 +0000 http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3834/13th-december http://americymrunet.jamroomhosting.com/huw-llywelyn-rees/blog/3834

On 13th December 2012, the rights to the 1972 film version of Under Milk Wood were gifted to Wales by its director, Andrew Sinclair.
The film, shot primarily on location in Fishguard, was based on the 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas set in the fictional village of Llareggub ("bugger all"  backwards)  The cast included Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Elizabeth Taylor, Siân Phillips, David Jason, Glynis Johns, Victor Spinetti, Ruth Madoc and Angharad Rees.  




Llandovery College was founded by surgeon Thomas Phillips in 1847, to cultivate the learning of Welsh literature and history, through the medium of Welsh.  The foundation stone of the current college building was laid on 13th December 1849. 
*  The first girls were admitted during the late 1960s.
*  The school building is designated by Cadw as a Grade II listed building.
*  All pupils in the preparatory school and up to Year 9 are required to learn Welsh.
*  Llandovery College was one of the very first teams in Wales to play rugby and were one of the founder clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881.  Two of its players played in Wales' first international game and Charles Lewis, from the college was the second person to captain Wales.  Over the years, many well known internationals attended the college, including; Cliff Jones, George North and Alun Wyn Jones.




There are three bridges which cross the Conwy estuary to Conwy Castle:
*  Conwy Suspension Bridge, which was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826. It replaced the ferry, which was previously the only means of crossing the river.
*  Conwy Tubular Bridge, which was built by Robert Stephenson to carry the railway, was officially opened in 1849.
*  Conwy Road Bridge, which was opened 13th December 1958
  Conwy castle was built by Master James of St George, King Edward I's mason-architect.  Construction work began in 1283 and the castle was completed in 1287.    




Born on this day 1968 in Cardiff
Steve Robinson (Cinderella Man)- former boxing World Champion.
Robinson's story is a remarkable one.  On a Thursday night, he was eating pie and chips at his mother-in-law’s  house, having just returned home from working as a storeman with Debenhams, earning £52 per week.  But by the Saturday night Wales’ first boxing World Champion for 25 years.
In April 1993, the defending WBO Featherweight Champion, Ruben Palacios, the tough Columbian fighter, was stripped of the title, for failing an HIV test before his fight with Englishman, John Davison.   The promoters had only two days to find another opponent and Steve Robinson accepted the challenge.  Against all the odds, Robinson won the bout and the title by a points decision and went on to make 7 successful defences of his title.   



Born on this day 1983 in Neath.
Richard Hibbard - Wales and Lions rugby international.
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