1920 in Wales
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1920 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales â Dyfed[1]
- Lord Lieutenant of Anglesey â Sir Richard Henry Williams-Bulkeley, 12th Baronet
- Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire â Joseph Bailey, 2nd Baron Glanusk[2]
- Lord Lieutenant of Caernarvonshire â John Ernest Greaves[3]
- Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire â Herbert Davies-Evans[4]
- Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire â John Hinds
- Lord Lieutenant of Denbighshire â Lloyd Tyrell-Kenyon, 4th Baron Kenyon
- Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire â Henry Gladstone, later Baron Gladstone[5]
- Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan â Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth
- Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire â Sir Osmond Williams, 1st Baronet[6]
- Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire â Ivor Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen
- Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire â Sir Herbert Williams-Wynn, 7th Baronet
- Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire â John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids
- Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire â Arthur Walsh, 3rd Baron Ormathwaite[7]
- Archbishop of Wales â Alfred George Edwards, Bishop of St Asaph[8] (elected 7 April 1920)[9]
Events
- 22 January - Grant of the royal charter founding the University of Wales, Swansea.[10]
- 31 March - The Welsh Church Act 1914 and Welsh Church (Temporalities) Act 1919 come into force, resulting in the creation of the Church in Wales[11] after disestablishment, and appointment of the first Archbishop of Wales. The new Diocese of Monmouth is created.
- September - Report of the departmental committee on the organisation of secondary education in Wales, chaired by William Napier Bruce.
- 9 November - In a notorious murder trial at Carmarthen, solicitor Harold Greenwood is found not guilty of poisoning his wife.[12]
- 3 December - Five crew members from the Rhoscolyn lifeboat are lost off Llanddwyn, Anglesey.[13]
- 21 December - 1920 Rhondda West by-election: William John retains the seat for Labour after the resignation of William Abraham.
- Mortimer Wheeler becomes Director of the National Museum of Wales.
- More people are employed in the coal industry in Wales in this year than ever before or since.
- Opening of the Queen's Dock at Swansea Docks.[14]
- Explorer Edgeworth David and civil servant George Lewis Barstow are knighted.
- Hugh Evan-Thomas becomes an admiral.
- Sale of the Downing Hall estate at Whitford, the former home of Thomas Pennant.
Arts and literature
- January - Y Winllan is launched, with Edward Tegla Davies as editor.[15]
- Ifan ab Owen Edwards becomes editor of the childrenâs paper, Cymruâr Plant, originally launched by his father Owen Morgan Edwards.
- Controversy arises when T. H. Parry-Williams is appointed to the new Chair of Welsh Language at the University of Wales, because of his history of pacifism.[16]
- Margaret Haig Thomas launches the periodical Time and Tide.[17]
Awards
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Barry)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld[18]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - James Evans
New books
- Caradoc Evans - My Neighbours[19]
- John Jenkins (Gwili) - Poems[20]
- Thomas Mardy Rees - Difyrwch Gwyr Morgannwg[21]
- Thomas Frederick Tout - The Captivity and Death of Edward of Caernarvon[22]
Music
- Evan Thomas Davies becomes the first director of music at University of Wales, Bangor.
- Margaret Hughes sings at the Aeolian Hall under her stage name of "Leila Megane".
Film
- Ivor Novello appears in Miarka: The Daughter of the Bear[23]
Broadcasting
- 22 March - A full duplex commercial service begins operating from the Towyn radio receiving station, and C. S. Franklin develops an improved anti-interference antenna design.
Sport
- Rugby Union
- 17 January - In a 19-5 win over England, Jerry Shea achieves the first international scoring "Full House"; try, penalty goal, conversion and drop goal. A feat not repeated until 1950.[24]
- 17 February - Wales beat France 6â5 at the Stade Colombes in Paris
Births
- 16 January â Walley Barnes, footballer (d. 1975)
- 23 February â Ron Berry, writer (d. 1997)[25]
- 25 March â Arthur Lever, international footballer (d. 2004)
- 12 April â The Cox Twins, music hall entertainers (d. (Frank) 2007 and (Fred) 2013)
- 5 May â Sir Glanmor Williams, historian (d. 2006)[26]
- 7 May â Tommy Davies, middleweight boxer (d. 1998)
- 13 May â Gareth Morris, flautist, brother of Jan Morris (d. 2007)[27][28]
- 12 July â Howell Witt, bishop in Australia (d. 1998)
- 6 September â Trevor Morris, football player and manager (d. 2003)
- 7 September â Harri Webb, poet (d. 1994)[29]
- 24 September â Gweneth Lilly, writer and teacher (d. 2004)[30]
- 8 October â Frank Herbert, science fiction novelist of Welsh ancestry (d. 1986)
- 31 October â Dick Francis, jockey and crime novelist (d. 2010)[31]
- 10 November â Peter Philp, antiques expert and dramatist (d. 2006)
- 11 November â Roy Jenkins, politician (d. 2003)[32]
- 20 November â Len Blyth, Wales international rugby player (d. 1995)
- 2 December â George Edwards, international footballer (d. 2008)
- 23 December â Tommy Best, footballer (d. 2018)
- 18 December â Merlyn Rees, politician (d. 2006)[33]
Deaths
- 11 January â Pryce Pryce-Jones, entrepreneur, 85[34]
- 16 January â Evan Rowland Jones, politician, 79[35]
- 21 February â Anna Thomas (Morfudd Eryri), poet and campaigner for the Eisteddfod, 81
- March â John Thomas, footballer, age unknown[36]
- 11 March â Daniel James (Gwyrosydd), poet, 73[37]
- 14 March â Owen Owen, educationist, 69/70[38]
- 5 May â Robert Bryan, poet and composer, 61
- 15 May â Owen Morgan Edwards, historian and educationist, 61[39]
- 5 June â Rhoda Broughton, novelist, 79[40]
- 7 June â Hugh Ellis-Nanney, politician, 75[41]
- 9 August â Samuel Walker Griffith, prime minister of Queensland, 75
- 1 September â Frederick Rutherfoord Harris, politician, 64[42]
- 30 November â John Meredith, Wales national rugby player, 57