1927 in Wales

Centuries:	18th; 19th; 20th; 21st; ;
Decades:	1900s; 1910s; 1920s; 1930s; 1940s;
See also:	List of years in Wales; Timeline of Welsh history 1927 in The United Kingdom Scotland Elsewhere

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1927 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

Archbishop of Wales – Alfred George Edwards, Bishop of St Asaph^[1]
Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Elfed^[2]

Events

January - The British cargo ship Swiftsure collides with another vessel in the Bristol Channel and is beached at Cardiff.^[3]
27 January - Three men are killed in an explosion at the Dowlais Works, East Moors, Cardiff.
4 February - At Pendine Sands, Sir Malcolm Campbell sets a new world land speed record of 174.88 mph (281.44 km/h).
5 February - The first ever radio sports commentary from Wales covers the Wales v Scotland rugby union match at Cardiff Arms Park.
1 March - In a mining accident at Marine Colliery, Ebbw Vale, 52 miners are killed.^[4]
3 March - J. G. Parry-Thomas is killed at Pendine, attempting to break Campbell's record (set on 4 February).^[5]
24 March - The Norwegian cargo ship Verdande leaves Cardiff, bound for Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Five bodies and two lifebelts and some lifeboats would later be washed ashore at Boscastle and Bude, Cornwall, leading to the conclusion that the ship had foundered with the loss of all hands.^[6]
30 March - The Cardiff trawler Moira is wrecked on the north Cornish coast, drowning seven members of the crew of 12.
21 April - King George V opens the first stage of the National Museum of Wales in Cathays Park, Cardiff.^[7]
23 April - Cardiff City win the FA Cup beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium and taking the trophy out of England for the first time.^[8]
29 June - A total eclipse of the sun is 98% visible in Cardiff despite clouds.
21 July - Pontsticill Reservoir is opened by Lord Buckland.^[9]
c. September - The highest railway in the British Isles is constructed at the Grwyne Fawr reservoir in Powys.
3 September - Coleg Harlech, founded by Thomas Jones (T. J.), opens. Its aims resemble those of a modern community college.
5 September - Kathleen Thomas becomes the first person to swim the Bristol Channel, swimming from her home town of Penarth to Weston-super-Mare in a time of 7 hours 20 minutes.^[10]
18 September - The 'Red Sunday in Rhondda Valley' demonstration calls for a protest march on London.^[11]
October - A storm severely and permanently damages a long section of the track of the Pwllheli and Llanbedrog Tramway, the last horse-drawn tram service in Great Britain.
8 November - 270 South Wales people join a hunger march in protest against the Ministry of Health who refused and limited the relief notes given to unemployed miners and their families.^[12]
25 December - A Christmas Day blizzard affects Cardiff and much of South Wales.

Arts and literature

John Dyfnallt Owen becomes editor of Y Tyst.

Awards

National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Holyhead)
National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld^[13]
National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Caradog Prichard^[14]

New books

Edward Tegla Davies - Hen Ffrindiau
Rhys Davies - The Withered Root
William Meloch Hughes - Ar Lannau’n Camwy (posthumously published)
Wil Ifan - O Ddydd i Ddydd
Moelona - Cwrs y Lli

Drama

Idwal Jones - Pobl yr Ymylon

Music

Henry Walford Davies becomes organist at St George's Chapel, Windsor.
Mai Jones - "Wondering if you remember" (song)

Film

Ivor Novello appears in the Hitchcock films, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog and Downhill.

Broadcasting

15 January - The first-ever radio commentary on a team game in the UK is given during the England v Wales rugby union international at Twickenham.^[15]

Sport

The Welsh Baseball Union is founded.
Boxing
- 24 April - Gipsy Daniels wins the British light-heavyweight championship.
- 9 July - Tosh Powell beats Johnny Edmunds to become the new Welsh bantamweight champion.
- Frank Moody wins the British lightweight and middleweight titles.
Football
- 23 April - For the only time in its history, the FA Cup is won by a non-English team – Cardiff City F.C., who defeat Arsenal 1-0 in the first broadcast final.
- Abergavenny Thursdays F.C. is formed.
Recreational swimming
- Pontypridd Outdoor Lido is opened in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park.^[16]

Births

12 January - Richard Bebb, actor (d. 2006)^[17]
8 February - Sir Stanley Baker, actor (d. 1976)^[18]
2 March - Ray Prosser, Wales and British Lion rugby player^[19]
25 April – Ernest Zobole, artist (d. 1999)^[20]
3 May – Stanley Saunders, educator and musician
11 May – Bernard Fox, actor (d. 2016)^[21]
5 June - Tommy Harris, rugby player (d. 2006)
14 June - Elaine Hugh-Jones, pianist and composer
22 July - John Tripp, poet (d. 1986)^[22]
4 July – Patricia Kern, mezzo-soprano (d. 2015)^[23]
15 July - Caerwyn Roderick, Labour politician (d. 2011)^[24]
30 July - Jocelyn Hay, née Board, broadcasting campaigner (d. 2014)^[25]
24 August - Glyn Davies, Wales international rugby union player (d. 1976)
20 September - Rachel Roberts, actress (d. 1980)
7 November - Ivor Emmanuel, singer and actor (d. 2007)^[26]
19 November - Cliff Curvis, British and Commonwealth boxing champion (d. 2009)
2 December - Jimmy Sangster, screenwriter (d. 2011)^[27]
7 December - Helen Watts, opera singer (d. 2009)^[28]

Deaths

14 February (in Paris) - Isambard Owen, educationist, 76^[29]
5 February - Frances Hoggan, first registered woman doctor in Wales, 83^[30]
10 February - Walter Jenkin Evans, academic, 70^[31]
3 March - J. G. Parry-Thomas, engineer and racing driver, 42 (accident)^[32]
20 April - Frank Hill, Wales international rugby captain, 61
10 May - Francis Edwards, politician, 75^[33]
22 June - Ralph Champneys Williams, colonial governor (b. 1848)^[34]
8 July - George Frederick Harding, Wales international rugby player (b. 1858)
29 July - Freddie Welsh (Frederick Hall Thomas), boxer (b. 1886)^[35]
13 August - Tom Williams, rugby union player, 39/40
22 August - Edward Douglas-Pennant, 3rd Baron Penrhyn, politician, 63^[36]
1 September - William John Parry, author and political activist, 84^[37]
10 September - William Thelwall Thomas, surgeon,^[38]
18 September - Joe Johns, Welsh lightweight boxing champion, 35^[39]
29 September - Thomas Charles Williams, minister, 59^[40]
10 October - Harland Bowden, engineer and politician, 54^[41]
16 October - Evan Roberts, Wales international rugby player, 66
4 November - Beriah Gwynfe Evans, author, 79^[42]
14 December - Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd, 87^[43]
26 December - Jack Whitfield, Wales rugby union captain, 35

References

^ Who was Who 1897–2007, 1991, ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7
^ Emlyn Glasnant Jenkins (2001). "Lewis, Howell Elvet ('Elfed'; 1860–1953), Independent minister, hymn-writer, poet". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
^ "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 44480. London. 15 January 1927. col B, p. 18.
^ Thomas-Symonds, Nicklaus (30 October 2014). Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan. I.B. Tauris. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-78076-209-8.
^ Motor Sport. 1968.
^ "Fears for a French steamer". The Times. No. 44545. London. 1 April 1927. col G, p. 25.
^ Simon Knell; Peter Aronsson; Arne Bugge Amundsen (22 May 2014). National Museums: New Studies from Around the World. Routledge. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-317-72314-1.
^ Judith Miller (21 September 2017). Miller's Antiques Handbook & Price Guide 2018-2019. Octopus. p. 417. ISBN 978-1-78472-267-8.
^ The Illustrated London News. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. 1927. p. 199.
^ "Bristol Channel: Call for Penarth swimmers commemoration". BBC News. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
^ "Hunger Marches". agor.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
^ James Vernon (2007). Hunger: A Modern History. Harvard University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-674-02678-0.
^ "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.
^ "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.
^ Alex Waite (5 June 2019). "Sport Commentary on Radio in Britain: How England v Wales (1927) Paved the Way for Public Access to Sport". The Cultural Me. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
^ Powell, Dean (2007). Pontypridd Revisited. Images of Wales. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. p. 112.
^ Strachan, Alan. "Obituary". The Independent Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
^ James Monaco (1991). The Encyclopedia of Film. Perigee Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-399-51604-7.
^ Peter Jackson (1998). Lions of Wales: A Celebration of Welsh Rugby Legends. Mainstream. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-84018-026-8.
^ Meic Stephens (7 December 1999). "Obituary: Ernest Zobole". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
^ Editors of Chase's Calendar of Events (18 October 2010). Chase's Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-07-174027-2.
^ Nigel Jenkins (1989). John Tripp. University of Wales Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780708310526.
^ Alasdair Stevens (23 October 2015). "Obituary: Patricia Kern, mezzo soprano". The Scotsman. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
^ Andrew Roth (7 December 2011). "Caerwyn Roderick obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
^ Brown, Maggie. "Jocelyn Hay obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^ Stephens, Meic. "Ivor Emmanuel: Baritone of effortless voice", The Independent, obituary, 24 July 2007. Archived 22 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ R. Reginald; Mary A. Burgess; Douglas Menville (1 September 2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature Vol 2. Wildside Press LLC. p. 1063. ISBN 978-0-941028-78-3.
^ "Helen Watts obituary". Daily Telegraph. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
^ Cyril Gibson; J. H. Bettey; Keith Ramsey (2001). Bristol 1901-1913. Bristol Branch of the Historical Association.
^ The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society. 2003. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-9541626-0-3.
^ Thomas Oswald Williams. "Evans, Walter Jenkin (1856-1927), principal of Carmarthen Presbyterian College". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
^ Robert J. Neal (5 January 2009). Liberty Engine: A Technical & Operational History. Specialty Press. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-58007-149-9.
^ Cymmrodorion Society; Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (London, England). (1928). The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society. p. 200.
^ The New International Year Book. Dodd, Mead and Company. 1928. p. 815.
^ Morgannwg: Transactions of the Glamorgan History Society. 2001. p. 93.
^ George Edward Cokayne (1945). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: extant, extinct, or dormant. St. Catherine Press, Ltd. p. 433.
^ "Parry, William John (1842-1927), Labour leader, and author". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. 1959. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
^ Emyr Wyn Jones. "Thomas, William Thelwall (1865-1927), surgeon". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
^ Jones, Gareth (2011). The Boxers of Wales: Merthyr, Aberdare & Pontypridd. Cardiff: St David's Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-902719-29-0.
^ John Edward Hughes (1959). "Williams, Thomas Charles (1868-1927), Calvinistic Methodist minister". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
^ "1927 Obituary". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
^ Hywel Teifi Edwards (26 June 2000). A Guide to Welsh Literature: c. 1800-1900. University of Wales Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-7083-1605-4.
^ Benjamin George Owens (1959). "Thomas, Alfred, baron Pontypridd (1840-1927), of Bronwydd, Cardiff". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 September 2019.

[1] Who was Who 1897–2007, 1991, ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7

[2] Emlyn Glasnant Jenkins (2001). "Lewis, Howell Elvet ('Elfed'; 1860–1953), Independent minister, hymn-writer, poet". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 April 2022.

[3] "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 44480. London. 15 January 1927. col B, p. 18.

[4] Thomas-Symonds, Nicklaus (30 October 2014). Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan. I.B. Tauris. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-78076-209-8.

[5] Motor Sport. 1968.

[6] "Fears for a French steamer". The Times. No. 44545. London. 1 April 1927. col G, p. 25.

[7] Simon Knell; Peter Aronsson; Arne Bugge Amundsen (22 May 2014). National Museums: New Studies from Around the World. Routledge. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-317-72314-1.

[8] Judith Miller (21 September 2017). Miller's Antiques Handbook & Price Guide 2018-2019. Octopus. p. 417. ISBN 978-1-78472-267-8.

[9] The Illustrated London News. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited. 1927. p. 199.

[10] "Bristol Channel: Call for Penarth swimmers commemoration". BBC News. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

[11] "Hunger Marches". agor.org.uk. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

[12] James Vernon (2007). Hunger: A Modern History. Harvard University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-674-02678-0.

[13] "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.

[14] "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.

[15] Alex Waite (5 June 2019). "Sport Commentary on Radio in Britain: How England v Wales (1927) Paved the Way for Public Access to Sport". The Cultural Me. Retrieved 18 November 2022.

[16] Powell, Dean (2007). Pontypridd Revisited. Images of Wales. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. p. 112.

[17] Strachan, Alan. "Obituary". The Independent Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

[18] James Monaco (1991). The Encyclopedia of Film. Perigee Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-399-51604-7.

[19] Peter Jackson (1998). Lions of Wales: A Celebration of Welsh Rugby Legends. Mainstream. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-84018-026-8.

[20] Meic Stephens (7 December 1999). "Obituary: Ernest Zobole". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2010-04-02.

[21] Editors of Chase's Calendar of Events (18 October 2010). Chase's Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 465. ISBN 978-0-07-174027-2.

[22] Nigel Jenkins (1989). John Tripp. University of Wales Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780708310526.

[23] Alasdair Stevens (23 October 2015). "Obituary: Patricia Kern, mezzo soprano". The Scotsman. Retrieved 11 July 2019.

[24] Andrew Roth (7 December 2011). "Caerwyn Roderick obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 December 2011.

[25] Brown, Maggie. "Jocelyn Hay obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2014.

[26] Stephens, Meic. "Ivor Emmanuel: Baritone of effortless voice", The Independent, obituary, 24 July 2007. Archived 22 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine

[27] R. Reginald; Mary A. Burgess; Douglas Menville (1 September 2010). Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature Vol 2. Wildside Press LLC. p. 1063. ISBN 978-0-941028-78-3.

[28] "Helen Watts obituary". Daily Telegraph. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2009.

[29] Cyril Gibson; J. H. Bettey; Keith Ramsey (2001). Bristol 1901-1913. Bristol Branch of the Historical Association.

[30] The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society. 2003. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-9541626-0-3.

[31] Thomas Oswald Williams. "Evans, Walter Jenkin (1856-1927), principal of Carmarthen Presbyterian College". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

[32] Robert J. Neal (5 January 2009). Liberty Engine: A Technical & Operational History. Specialty Press. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-58007-149-9.

[33] Cymmrodorion Society; Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (London, England). (1928). The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society. p. 200.

[34] The New International Year Book. Dodd, Mead and Company. 1928. p. 815.

[35] Morgannwg: Transactions of the Glamorgan History Society. 2001. p. 93.

[36] George Edward Cokayne (1945). The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: extant, extinct, or dormant. St. Catherine Press, Ltd. p. 433.

[37] "Parry, William John (1842-1927), Labour leader, and author". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. 1959. Retrieved 12 September 2019.

[38] Emyr Wyn Jones. "Thomas, William Thelwall (1865-1927), surgeon". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

[39] Jones, Gareth (2011). The Boxers of Wales: Merthyr, Aberdare & Pontypridd. Cardiff: St David's Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-902719-29-0.

[40] John Edward Hughes (1959). "Williams, Thomas Charles (1868-1927), Calvinistic Methodist minister". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

[41] "1927 Obituary". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 24 September 2019.

[42] Hywel Teifi Edwards (26 June 2000). A Guide to Welsh Literature: c. 1800-1900. University of Wales Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-7083-1605-4.

[43] Benjamin George Owens (1959). "Thomas, Alfred, baron Pontypridd (1840-1927), of Bronwydd, Cardiff". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 12 September 2019.

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1927 in Wales

Incumbents

Events

Arts and literature

Awards

New books

Drama

Music

Film

Broadcasting

Sport

Births

Deaths

See also

References