1996 in Wales

Incumbents

• Secretary of State for Wales – William Hague
• Archbishop of Wales – Alwyn Rice Jones, Bishop of St Asaph
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • John Gwilym Jones (outgoing)
  • Dafydd Rowlands (incoming)

Events

• 1 January - Michael German is awarded the OBE for his public and political service.
• 15 February - The Sea Empress, an oil tanker, runs aground off Milford Haven, causing devastation to the west Wales coastline.
• 1 April - The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 comes into force, creating 22 unitary authorities.
• 3 April - The first EuroHowl is held in Aberystwyth, Wales.
• 29 June - The Prince's Trust concert in Hyde Park, London is attended by 150,000 people.
• 18 July - Howard Hughes is sentenced to life imprisonment at Chester Crown Court for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Sophie Hook at Llandudno 12 months previously. The trial judge recommends that Hughes, 31, should never be released.
• 28 August - The Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced at the High Court of Justice in London, the first time in history that a Prince of Wales has successfully gone through a divorce. By negotiation, Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled, Diana, Princess of Wales.
• November - The Owain Glyndŵr Society is founded.
• date unknown
  • The Church in Wales ordains its first women priests.
  • South Wales Constabulary changes its name to South Wales Police.

Arts and literature

• Sir Anthony Hopkins opens the Cliff Tucker Theatre at the University of Wales, Lampeter.
• Alice Thomas Ellis is dismissed as a columnist on the Catholic Herald newspaper because of her attack on the reputation of the late Archbishop Derek Worlock.
• Steve Balsamo stars in a West End revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Awards

• Glyndŵr Award - Jan Morris
• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Ffairfach, near Llandeilo)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - R. O. Williams
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - David John Pritchard
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - withheld
• Wales Book of the Year:
  • English language: Nigel Jenkins, Gwalia in Khasia
  • Welsh language:
• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen - Eirug Wyn, Smoc Gron Bach

New books

• Ron Berry - This Bygone
• Ruth Bidgood - The Fluent Moment
• Gillian Clarke - The Whispering Room
• Keith Kissack - The Lordship, Parish and Borough of Monmouth
• Howard Marks - Mr Nice
• Kenneth Morris - The Dragon Path
• Tim Rishton - Liturgisk orgelspill

Film

• Prince Valiant filmed at Gwrych Castle.

Welsh-language films

Music

• John Cale - Walking on Locusts
• Peter Maxwell Davies - The Doctor of Myddfai (opera)
• Gillian Elisa - Rhywbeth yn y Glas.
• Karl Jenkins - Diamond Music
• Donna Lewis - Now in a Minute
• Super Furry Animals - Fuzzy Logic.

Broadcasting

• The Broadcasting Act 1996 changes the funding formula for S4C.

Welsh-language television

• Heno (Welsh-language news programme, broadcast until 2001 and returned in 2012).

English-language television

• Barry Welsh is Coming
• In the Blood, presented by Steve Jones

Sport

• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Ryan Giggs
• Football
  • The Welsh Football Trust is founded.
  • Llansantffraid F.C. win the Welsh Cup and are offered sponsorship by Total Network Solutions.
• Snooker
  • Mark Williams wins the Welsh Open tournament in Cardiff.

Births

• 25 February - Laura Halford, rhythmic gymnast
• 25 April - Kizzy Crawford, Bajan-Welsh folk-pop crossover singer-songwriter
• 17 May - Seb Davies, rugby player
• 25 July - Jarrod Evans, rugby player
• 1 August - Gemma Evans, footballer
• 14 September - Shaun Evans, rugby player
• 2 October - Keston Davies, footballer
• 28 November - Owen Evans, footballer

Deaths

• 16 January - Dai Ward, footballer, 61
• 7 March - Aled Eames, historian, 74
• 11 March - Sir Granville Beynon, physicist, 81
• 14 March - Dewi Bebb, Wales rugby union player, 57
• 16 March - Harry Peacock, Wales rugby union player, 87
• 14 April - Mervyn Levy, artist and critic, 81
• 7 May - Taffy Williams, soldier, 62
• 27 July - Billy Rees, footballer, 72
• 29 August - Dillwyn Thomas, cricketer, 91
• 5 September - Clem Thomas, rugby player, 67
• 24 September - I. E. S. Edwards, Egyptologist, 87
• 26 October - Huw Owen, theologian and academic, 69
• 10 November - Dafydd Orwig, politician and academic, 68
• 9 December
  • Diana Morgan, playwright and screenwriter, 86
  • Ivor Roberts-Jones, sculptor, 83
• 29 December - Pennar Davies, poet and theologian, 85
• date unknown
  • Thomas Nathaniel Davies, artist and teacher
  • Thomas David Frank Evans, WWII prisoner-of-war
  • Harry Hanford, footballer, 88
  • Thyrza Anne Leyshon, painter, 103

References

References

1. {{London Gazette. (30 December 1995)
2. "In detail: The Sea Empress disaster".
3. Neil Hawke. (17 October 2013). "Introduction to Administrative Law". Routledge.
4. Geoffrey Giuliano. (2002). "Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend". Rowman & Littlefield.
5. (19 July 1996). "Life for child murderer". [[Financial Times]].
6. [https://archive.today/20130826071905/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/eisteddfod/2011/sites/guide/history/pages/past_chair.shtml BBC - Eisteddfod Chair Winners]. Accessed 26 August 2013
7. [https://archive.today/20130826071854/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/eisteddfod/2011/sites/guide/history/pages/past_crown.shtml BBC - Eisteddfod Crown Winners]. Accessed 26 August 2013
8. "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners".
9. (21 April 2012). "Regal Welsh".
10. Basil Greenhill. (15 March 1996). "Obituary:Aled Eames".
11. John Meurig Thomas. (16 March 1996). "Obituary:Professor Sir Granville Beynon".
12. Robert Cole. (15 March 1996). "Obituary:Dewi Bebb".
13. Ceri Levy. (17 May 1996). "Obituary:Mervyn Levy".
14. Knibb, Michael. (2 December 1996). "Obituary: The Rev Professor Huw Parri Owen". findarticles.com}} {{Dead link.
15. D. Ben Rees. (21 November 1996). "Obituary:Dafydd Orwig".
16. (1996). "Who was who". St. Martin's Press.
17. Philip Vann. (2004). "Face to Face: British Self-portraits in the Twentieth Century". Sansom.