1955 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1955 to Wales and its people.

← 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1955 in Wales → 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1955 in The United Kingdom Scotland

Incumbents

• Archbishop of Wales – John Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Dyfnallt

Events

• 17 March – In the Wrexham by-election, brought about by the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Richards, who had held the seat since 1935, James Idwal Jones holds the seat for Labour with a majority of nearly 11,000 votes.^[1]
• 18 April–28 May – Charles Evans leads the mountaineering expedition that conquers Kanchenjunga.^[2]
• 6 August – Usk Reservoir completed for Swansea water supply.
• 31 October – The A48 road bridges over the River Neath at Briton Ferry (six years in the building) are officially opened by the Minister of Transport.
• 3 December – The Farmers Union of Wales breaks away from the National Farmers Union.^[3][4]
• 20 December – Cardiff becomes the official capital of Wales.^[5]

Arts and literature

• The Gold Medal for Architecture is introduced to the National Eisteddfod.^[6]
• Bertrand Russell retires to Plas Penrhyn, Penrhyndeudraeth.
• The Guild for the Promotion of Welsh Music is founded.^[7]

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Pwllheli)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Gwilym Ceri Jones, "Gwrtheyrn"^[8]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – W. J. Gruffydd, "Ffenestri"^[9]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – M. Selyf Roberts, Deg o'r Diwedd^[10]
• Emyr Humphreys wins the Somerset Maugham Award for Hear and Forgive.

New books

English language

• Kingsley Amis – That Uncertain Feeling^[11]
• (Edwin) Stuart Evans – Elegy for the Death of a Clown (poem)
• Elisabeth Inglis-Jones – The Story of Wales
• T. E. Lawrence – The Mint (posthumously published)^[12]
• Dylan Thomas – A Child's Christmas in Wales (posthumously published)^[13]
• R. S. Thomas – Song at the Year's Turning (poems)^[14]
• Richard Vaughan – Son of Justin

Welsh language

• Gwilym Thomas Hughes – Ei Seren tan Gwmwl
• Robert Lloyd – Y Pethe^[15]
• Louie Myfanwy Thomas writing as Jane Ann Jones – Plant y Foty^[16]

New drama

• Saunders Lewis – Siwan

Music

• Grace Williams – Penillion

Film

• Stanley Baker plays Richmond in Laurence Olivier's film of Richard III.
• The Constant Husband, starring Rex Harrison, with opening scenes filmed on location at New Quay and Aberaeron in 1954, includes some Welsh dialogue.

Broadcasting

• The Welsh Home Service becomes available on VHF from Wenvoe

Welsh-language television

• January – First televised Welsh-language play, Cap Wil Tomos

English-language television

Sport

• Cricket – Wilf Wooller becomes an England Test selector.
• Rugby Union
  • 22 January – Ken Jones becomes Wales's most capped player (36) in a game against England.
  • 12 March – Wales beat Ireland 21–3 at the National Stadium, Cardiff.
  • 26 March – Wales win the Five Nations Championship for the fourth time this decade.
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – John Disley^[17]

Births

• 22 January – Clive Griffiths, footballer (died 2022)
• 30 January – Ian Edwards, footballer
• 23 February – Howard Jones, English-born musician of Welsh parentage^[18]
• 4 March – Joey Jones, footballer^[19]
• 17 March – John David Lewis, political scientist and historian
• 2 May – Peter Sayer, footballer
• 17 May – Nicola Heywood-Thomas, broadcaster and journalist (died 2023)
• 22 May – Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, politician
• 9 June – Alun Pugh, politician^[20]
• 21 June (in Sunderland) – Janet Ryder, politician^[21]
• 22 June – Green Gartside (Paul Julian Strohmeyer), musician
• 2 August – Alun Davies, biologist
• 3 August – Gordon Davies, footballer
• 4 August – Steve Jones, marathon runner
• 3 September – Eirian Williams, snooker referee
• 29 September – Gareth Davies, rugby player
• 12 October – Brian Flynn, footballer and manager^[22]
• 17 November – Amanda Levete, architect
• 7 December – Mihangel Morgan, author and academic^[23]
• date unknown
  • Aled Gruffydd Jones, social historian, Librarian of National Library of Wales
  • Martyn Jones, painter^[24]

Deaths

• 5 January – Douglas Marsden-Jones, Wales and British Lions rugby player, 61
• 25 January – Robert Dewi Williams, teacher, clergyman and author, 84
• 26 January – Gwilym Davies, Baptist minister, 75
• 29 January – Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams, politician, 89
• 19 March – Tom Evans, Wales international rugby player, 72
• 2 April – Billy O'Neill, Welsh international rugby player, 76
• 27 April – Ambrose Bebb, author, 60^[25]
• 19 May – Percy Bush, Wales international rugby union player, 75
• 21 June – Eric Evans, rugby union player and administrator, 61^[26]
• 13 July – Ruth Ellis, murderer, 28 (hanged)^[27]
• 28 August – Sir Lewis Lougher, businessman and politician, 83^[28]
• 28 September – Lionel Rees, airman, Victoria Cross recipient, 71
• 14 October – Harry Parr Davies, songwriter, 41^[29]
• 15 October – Thomas Jones (T. J.), founder of Coleg Harlech, 85^[30]
• 30 October – Bert Dauncey, Wales international rugby player, 83
• 1 November – Ronw Moelwyn Hughes, politician, 58
• 15 December – V. E. Nash-Williams, archaeologist, 58^[31]
• date unknown – Melbourne Johns, munitions worker and wartime secret agent, 55

See also

• 1955 in Northern Ireland

References

1. . Web Cite. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
2. American Alpine Club (31 October 1997). American Alpine Journal, 1979. The Mountaineers Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-930410-75-9.
3. "From humble beginnings... a history of the FUW". North Wales Daily Post. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
4. Peter Self; Herbert J. Storing (1963). The State and the Farmer. University of California Press. pp. 57. GGKEY:Z0JQUCL5Z4C.
5. David Williams (2005). About Cardiff. Graffeg. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-9544334-2-0.
6. Time & Tide. Time and Tide Publishing Company. July 1955.
7. John Davies; Nigel Jenkins; Menna Baines (2008). The Welsh Academy encyclopaedia of Wales. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
8. "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
9. "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
10. "Winners of the Prose Medal". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
11. Nick Bentley (2007). Radical Fictions: The English Novel in the 1950s. Peter Lang. p. 303. ISBN 978-3-03910-934-0.
12. John Pateman (2012). T.E. Lawrence in Lincolnshire. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-4717-6243-7.
13. "Dylan Thomas: A Child's Christmas in Wales". BBC Wales. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
14. W. Moelwyn Merchant (1979). R.S. Thomas. University of Arkansas Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-61075-333-3.
15. Geraldine Lublin (15 May 2017). Memoir and Identity in Welsh Patagonia: Voices from a Settler Community in Argentina. University of Wales Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-78316-968-9.
16. Meic Stephens (23 September 1998). The new companion to the literature of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 719. ISBN 978-0-7083-1383-1.
17. "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
18. "Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
19. "Liverpool career stats for Joey Jones". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
20. "Pugh, Alun John". Who's Who. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
21. "People in the Assembly". BBC News. 1 September 1999. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
22. "Brian Flynn". Port Talbot Magnet. Retrieved 18 March 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
23. International Who's who of Authors and Writers. Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group. 2008. p. 518.
24. Moore, David (2012). A Taste of the Avant-garde: 56 Group Wales. Brecon, Powys: Crooked Window. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-9563602-1-2.
25. Thomas Parry. "Bebb, William Ambrose". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
26. Owen, O.L., ed. (1956). Playfair Rugby Football Annual 1955–56. London: Playfair Books Ltd.
27. "Autopsy Report of Ruth Ellis". Retrieved 17 March 2019.
28. "Obituary: Sir L. Lougher, Cardiff Shipowner". The Times. 30 August 1955. p. 11.
29. "The Final Curtain". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 22 October 1955. p. 48.
30. Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (London, England) (1992). Trafodion Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas Y Cymmrodorion. The Society. p. 196.
31. George Counsell Boon. "NASH-WILLIAMS, VICTOR ERLE". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 17 March 2019.