1999 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1999 to Wales and its people.

← 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1999 in Wales → 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	List of years in Wales 1999 in The United Kingdom England Scotland

Incumbents

• First Secretary - Alun Michael (from 12 May)
• Secretary of State for Wales
  • Alun Michael (until 28 July)
  • Paul Murphy
• Archbishop of Wales
  • Alwyn Rice Jones, Bishop of St Asaph (retired)
  • Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth (elected)
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • Dafydd Rowlands (outgoing)
  • Meirion Evans (incoming)

Events

• January
  • Protesting farmers blockade the north Wales headquarters of supermarket chain Iceland.
  • Opening of the St David's Hotel in Cardiff Bay, Wales's first 5-star hotel.^[1]
• February - Outbreak of meningitis in the Pontypridd area.
• March - West Wales and the Valleys is designated an Objective 1 region within the European Community.
• 6 May - 1999 National Assembly for Wales election, the first to be held.^[2]
• 10 May - The Queen attends a gala concert in Cardiff Bay to celebrate the opening of the Welsh Assembly.^[3]
• 12 May - The National Assembly for Wales meets in Cardiff for its first session.^[4]
• 19 May - 'Robbie', probably the last pit pony to work in the U.K. is retired at Pant y Gasseg drift mine, near Pontypool in the South Wales coalfield.^[5]
• June - Eight children in north Wales are taken ill with E. coli poisoning.
• 27 June - The Clydach murders: four members of the same family are found bludgeoned to death.^[6]
• July - Bryncelyn Brewery begins brewing.
• December - Hyder cuts 1000 jobs after being forced to make cuts in their charges for electricity and water.
• 19 December - Charlotte Church makes her debut as a television actress in Heartbeat.
• Main construction work on Cardiff Bay Barrage completed.

Arts and literature

• Cysgod y Cryman by Islwyn Ffowc Elis (1953) is voted the most significant Welsh language book of the 20th century.
• Sir Harry Secombe suffers a second stroke, which forces him to give up his television career.
• Mary Hopkin joins The Chieftains on their UK tour.
• Dick Francis: A Racing Life, an unauthorised biography, suggests that his books were substantially written by his wife Mary.
• Painter Kyffin Williams is knighted for his services to the arts.
• September - Swansea Grand Theatre becomes the base for the Ballet Russe company.

Awards

• Cardiff Singer of the World - Anja Harteros
• Glyndŵr Award - Gillian Clarke
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Gwenallt Lloyd Ifan
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Ifor ap Glyn
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Sonia Edwards
• Wales Book of the Year:
  • English language: Emyr Humphreys - The Gift of a Daughter
  • Welsh language: R. M. Jones - Ysbryd y Cwlwm: Delwedd y Genedl yn ein Llenyddiaeth
• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen - Ann Pierce Jones - Fflamio

New books

English language

• Richard Booth - My Kingdom of Books
• John Davies - The Making of Wales^[7]
• Paul Ferris - Infidelity
• Patrick Hannan - The Welsh Illusion
• Craig Thomas - Slipping into Shadow

Welsh language

• Grahame Davies - Sefyll yn y Bwlch^[8]
• Mair Wynn Hughes - Hen Ŵr y Môr

New drama

• Greg Cullen - Paul Robeson Knew My Father (play)^[9]

Music

• Gillian Elisa - Haul ar Nos Hir (album)
• Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Spanish Dance Troupe (album)
• Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace

Film

• Catherine Zeta-Jones co-stars in Entrapment.

Welsh-language films

• Cymer Dy Siâr
• Porc Pei (Pork Pie)
• Solomon a Gaenor, starring Ioan Gruffudd

Broadcasting

• May - Huw Edwards begins presenting the BBC Six O'Clock News.

Welsh-language television

• Y Palmant Aur (drama)
• Yno o hyd (documentary)
• Tri Tenor - Gala concert with performances by Welsh tenors Gwyn Hughes Jones, Rhys Meirion and Timothy Richards
• Catrin Finch (documentary)
• Ponteifi (sitcom)

English-language television

• Sea of Troubles (documentary)
• House of the Future (documentary by Malcolm Parry)
• Barry Welsh is Coming (winner of the BAFTA Wales Award for Light Entertainment)
• Belonging (BBC Wales)
• The Big Picture (presented by Peter Lord)

Sport

• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Colin Jackson^[10]
• Football
  • UWIC Inter Cardiff are Welsh Cup winners after beating Carmarthen Town on penalties.
  • Barry Town win their fourth successive League of Wales title.
  • Winners of the three divisions in the Welsh Football League are: Ton Pentre (Division 1), Penrhiwceiber Rangers (Division 2) & Caerleon (Division 3).
  • Flexsys Cefn Druids are champions of the Cymru Alliance.
  • AFC Llwydcoed and Garden Village are promoted to the Welsh Football League.
• Rugby
  • The Rugby Union World Cup is hosted by Wales, with the final being held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, on 6 November. The winning team is Australia.
• Snooker
  • Mark Williams wins the Welsh Open tournament in Cardiff.^[11]
  • Mark Williams wins the UK Championship for the first time, defeating Matthew Stevens in an all-Welsh final.^[12]

Births

• 12 January - Tyler Roberts, footballer
• 23 June - Cai Evans, rugby player
• 15 October - Ben Woodburn, footballer^[13]

Deaths

• 3 February (in London) - Alfred Janes, artist, 87^[14]
• 8 February - Meredith Edwards, actor, 81^[15]
• 16 February - Don Hayward, Wales and British Lions international rugby player, 73
• 17 February - John Lansdown, computer graphics pioneer, 70^[16]
• 4 April - Raymond Davies Hughes, RAF airman and broadcaster, 75
• 11 April - Alan Evans, darts player, 49
• 6 May - Johnny Morris, television presenter, 82^[17]
• 11 May - Robert Thomas, sculptor, 72^[18]
• 12 July - Guy Griffiths, pilot, 84
• 16 July - Barri Jones, classical scholar and archaeologist, 63^[19]
• 5 September - Ivor Roberts, former TWW presenter, 74
• 22 September - Clive Jenkins, trade union leader, 73^[20]
• 24 October - Howard Griffiths, screenwriter, 64
• 15 November - Sir Harry Llewellyn, equestrian champion, 88^[21]
• 27 November - Ernest Zobole, artist, 72^[22]
• 6 December - Gwyn Jones, writer, 92^[23]
• 19 December - Desmond Llewelyn, actor, 85 (car accident)^[24]
• 23 December - Eirene White, politician, 90^[25]

See also

• 1999 in Northern Ireland

References

1. HotelBusiness. ICD Publications. July 2000. p. 106.
2. Vacher's Parliamentary Companion. A.S. Kerswill. 1999. pp. 195–6.
3. "1999 - the year of Cool Cymru". BBC News Wales. 25 December 1999. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
4. Michael Connolly; Stephen Prosser; Rod Hough; Kathryn Potter (2 November 2015). Making it Happen in Public Service: Devolution in Wales as a Case Study. Andrews UK Limited. p. 49. ISBN 978-1-84540-478-9.
5. Jackson, Paul (September 2018). "Pantygasseg Colliery". Archive. 99: 18–47.
6. "Morris guilty of Clydach murders". BBC News. 17 August 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
7. Russell Davies (25 February 2015). "John Davies obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
8. "Grahame Davies". Writers of Wales. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
9. Val Hill (2006). Hijinx. Parthian. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-902638-77-5.
10. "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
11. "Welsh Open 1999". snooker.org. 4 February 2008.
12. "Liverpool Victoria UK Championship 1999". snooker.org. 26 November 2014.
13. "Ben Woodburn: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
14. George Melly (15 February 1999). "Alfred Janes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
15. . BFI. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
16. Huw Jones (3 March 1999). "John Lansdown obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
17. Tim Bullamore and Desmond Hawkins (8 May 1999). "Obituary: Johnny Morris". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
18. Meic Stephens (2008). Necrologies: A Book of Welsh Obituaries. Seren. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-85411-476-1.
19. Obituary by Anthony Birley Friday July 23, 1999 in The Guardian
20. Keith Harper (23 September 1999). "Clive Jenkins". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
21. Judith Draper (17 November 1999). "Sir Harry Llewellyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
22. Peter Wakelin (23 December 1999). "Ernest Zobole". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
23. Slay, Desmond (21 December 1999). "Gwyn Jones". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
24. "Bond actor killed in crash". BBC News. 19 December 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
25. Lena Jeger (27 December 1999). "Baroness White of Rhymney". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2019.