1950 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1950 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

*Prince of Wales - "vacant"
*Princess of Wales - "vacant"
*Archbishop of Wales - John Morgan
*Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Cynan

Events

*February - Dylan Thomas makes his first visit to America.
*23 February - For the first time ever, the Labour Party contests all Parliamentary seats in Wales. Following the General Election, Wales has 27 Labour MPs, 4 Liberals, 3 Conservatives and one National Liberal/Conservative.
**University of Wales seat is abolished.
**Roderic Bowen is re-elected for Cardiganshire, with the largest Liberal majority in the country.
**David Ormsby-Gore, the future Lord Harlech, becomes MP for Oswestry.
**Abertillery's Labour MP, George Daggar, dies later in the year, to be replaced by Llywelyn Williams.
**Lynn Ungoed-Thomas, following the abolition of his Llandaff and Barry constituency, is elected MP for Leicester North East.
**Roy Jenkins, whose Southwark seat has been abolished, is elected for Birmingham Stechford.
**Elwyn Jones becomes MP for West Ham South.
**Following the election, Ness Edwards becomes Postmaster-General. During his time in the role, he introduces the greetings telegram.
*12 March - 80 of the 83 people on board an Avro Tudor V aircraft are killed when it crashes at Llandow in Glamorgan, making it the world's worst air disaster for the time.
*27 August - Six people are killed in a rail collision at Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd.
*2 October - The Welsh Air Service, the world's first scheduled helicopter service operates between Cardiff, Wrexham and Liverpool.
*In Swansea, three houses collapse, killing seven people.
*Glanllyn is acquired as a permanent site for meetings of Urdd Gobaith Cymru.
*In the Honours lists
**Physicist Ezer Griffiths is awarded the O.B.E.
**Agriculturist Thomas James Jenkin is awarded the C.B.E.
**Industrialist Herbert Henry Merrett is knighted.
*William Thomas Havard becomes Bishop of St David's.
*Margaret Haig Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda, becomes President of University College, Cardiff.

Arts and literature

*The first Welsh Drama Festival is held.
*American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith visits the UK to take photographs of working-class; three of those published are of the South Wales valleys.

Awards

*National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Caerphilly) (first "all-Welsh" Eisteddfod)

*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Gwilym Tilsley
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Euros Bowen
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - "withheld"

New books

*Ambrose Bebb - "Machlud yr Oesoedd Canol"
*Aneirin Talfan Davies - "Blodeugerdd o englynion"
*Sir Leonard Twiston Davies - "Welsh furniture: an introduction"
*Kathleen Freeman - "Greek City States"
*Edward Morgan Humphreys - "Gwŷr enwog gynt"
*Richard Llewellyn - "A Few Flowers for Shiner"
*Victor Nash-Williams - "Early Christian Monuments of Wales"
*Edgar Phillips - "Caniadau Trefîn"
*Harold Henry Rowley - "The Growth of the Old Testament"
*Bertrand Russell - "Unpopular Essays"
*Arthur Wade-Evans - "Coll Prydain"
*David Pryse Williams - "Canmlwyddiant Libanus ... braslun o'r hanes"
*Raymond Williams - "Reading and Criticism"
*William Crwys Williams - "Pedair Pennod"

Music

*Harry Parr Davies - "Dear Miss Phoebe" (musical)
*Arwel Hughes - "Dewi Sant (Saint David)" (oratorio)
*Grace Williams - "Three Traditional Ballads"
*W. S. Gwynn Williams - "Breuddwyd Glyndwr"

Film

*Glyn Houston makes his film debut in "The Blue Lamp", which also stars Meredith Edwards.
*Ray Milland stars in "Copper Canyon" and "A Woman of Distinction".
*Tessie O'Shea guest stars in "The Blue Lamp".

Broadcasting

*

ports

*Rugby union - Wales win their fourth Grand Slam.

Births

*7 February - Dai Havard MP, politician
*16 February - Peter Hain MP, politician
*18 March - Lorraine Barrett AM, politician
*27 March - Terry Yorath, footballer and football manager
*3 May - Mary Hopkin, singer
*2 June - Jonathan Evans MEP, politician
*14 June - Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
*25 August (in Sligo) - Brian Gibbons AM, politician
*"date unknown"
**Myron Evans, chemist
**Robert Pugh, actor
**Sheenagh Pugh, poet and novelist

Deaths

*13 February - Rees Howells, missionary and founder of the Bible College at Swansea.
*9 March - Timothy Evans, wrongly executed for murder
*15 March - Sir Wilfrid Hubert Poyer Lewis, judge
*23 June - Joseph Harry, minister and poet
*2 July - Henry Haydn Jones MP, politician
*14 October - George Daggar MP, politician
*28 October - Alis Mallt Williams, novelist
*21 November - Hugh Emyr Davies, poet