1981 in Wales
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| See also: | List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history
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This article is about the particular significance of the year 1981 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents[edit]
- Secretary of State for Wales – Nicholas Edwards[1]
- Archbishop of Wales – Gwilym Williams, Bishop of Bangor[2]
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
- Geraint (outgoing)[3]
- Jâms Nicholas (incoming)[4]
Events[edit]
- January - First phase of St. David's Shopping Centre, Cardiff, opens to the public.[5]
- 26 March - Roy Jenkins co-founds the Social Democratic Party (UK) in London. Welsh Labour MPs defecting to the new party are: Tom Ellis (Wrexham), Ednyfed Hudson Davies (Caerphilly) and Jeffrey Thomas (Abertillery).
- 24 February - Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer.[6]
- 5 April - UK census: Results reveal that the percentage of Welsh language speakers has fallen to an all-time low of 18.9% of the Welsh population and Gwynedd is the only Welsh county with a Welsh-speaking majority.[7]
- 11 June - Britain's first Urban Enterprise Zone is created in Lower Swansea Valley.[8]
- 29 July - Wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
- November - Joan Ruddock becomes Chair of CND.[9]
- Independent film company Teliesyn begins producing programmes for S4C, BBC Wales and HTV.[10]
Arts and literature[edit]
- 6 June - The Alarm play their first gig under their new name, at the Victoria Hotel, Prestatyn.[11]
- Theatre Wales is established.
- Harry Secombe receives a knighthood.
Awards[edit]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Machynlleth)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - John Gwilym Jones, "Y Frwydr"[12]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Siôn Aled, "Wynebau"[13]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - John Griffith Jones, "Cysgodion ar y Pared"[14]
New books[edit]
English language[edit]
- Clive Jenkins & Barrie Sherman - The Leisure Shock[15]
- Eiluned Lewis - The Old Home
- Kenneth O. Morgan - Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980[16]
- R. S. Thomas - Between Here and Now
Welsh language[edit]
- Irma Chilton - Y Cwlwm Gwaed[17]
- Eigra Lewis Roberts - Merch yr oriau mawr
Drama[edit]
- J. R. Evans - Brawd am Byth
Music[edit]
- Dafydd Iwan - "Yma o Hyd"
- Daniel Jones - Symphony no. 10
- William Mathias - Let the people praise Thee, O God
Film[edit]
English-language films[edit]
- The Mouse and the Woman, starring Huw Ceredig.
- Dragonslayer, with exterior scenes filmed in Wales.
Welsh-language films[edit]
Broadcasting[edit]
English-language television[edit]
- 4 March–29 April – The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, written by Elaine Morgan and starring Philip Madoc (BBC Wales)
- 24 September–18 December – Taff Acre (Harlech Television)
Welsh-language television[edit]
- Croeso i S4C, presented by Owen Edwards[18]
Sport[edit]
- BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – John Toshack[19]
- Boxing - Neville Meade becomes British heavyweight champion.
- Football - Neville Southall joins Everton F.C.
Births[edit]
- 12 January – Sarah Thomas, field hockey player
- 13 March – Ryan Jones, rugby player
- 17 March - Leigh De-Vulgt, footballer
- 28 March – Gareth David-Lloyd, actor
- 6 April – Robert Earnshaw, footballer
- 23 May – Gwenno Saunders, singer
- 24 May – Darren Moss, footballer
- 25 May – Huw Stephens, radio and TV presenter
- 18 November – Sian Reese-Williams, actress[20]
- 19 November – Mark Wallace, cricketer
- 16 December – Gareth Williams Scottish-Welsh footballer
Deaths[edit]
- January - Leslie Jones, footballer, 69
- March - Dai Francis, miners' leader[21]
- 1 March - Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones, theologian, 81[22]
- 8 March - Nigel Birch, Baron Rhyl, politician, 74[23]
- 3 April - Will Owen, miner and politician, 80
- 13 April - Gwyn Thomas, author, 67[24]
- 15 May - J. E. Meredith, Presbyterian minister and writer, 76[25]
- 16 June - Billy Hughes, footballer, 63[26]
- 17 June - Ike Fowler, dual-code international rugby union player, 86
- 23 July - Goronwy Roberts, Baron Goronwy-Roberts, politician, 67[27]
- 6 August - George Lewis, footballer, 67
- 18 September - Brinley Richards, poet, author and archdruid[28]
- 30 September - Roy John, Wales and British Lions international rugby union player, 55
- 25 December - Tom Griffiths, Welsh international footballer, 75[29]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Stephen Bates (19 March 2018). "Lord Crickhowell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Gerald Parsons (20 June 2013). The Growth of Religious Diversity - Vol 2: Britain From 1945 Volume 2: Controversies. Routledge. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-136-13628-3.
- ^ NA NA (25 December 2015). The Macmillan Guide to the United Kingdom 1978-79. Springer. p. 875. ISBN 978-1-349-81511-1.
- ^ Stephens, Meic (17 October 2013). "James Nicholas: Poet, teacher and Archdruid of Wales". The Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ^ Thomas Deacon (18 March 2021). "A look back at Cardiff's St David's Shopping Centre after 40 years". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ John Baselmans (6 December 2016). Drugs. Lulu.com. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-326-84325-0.
- ^ J. W. Aitchison; H. Carter; C. H. Williams. "The Welsh Language at the 1981 Census". Area. 17 (1). Royal Geographical Society: 11–17.
- ^ "IBA: enterprise zones: list of enterprise zones". Capital Allowances Manual. HM Revenue & Customs. 2006. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
- ^ Soviet Analyst. World Reports Limited. 1981. p. 59.
- ^ Ieuan Franklin; Hugh Chignell; Kristin Skoog (15 September 2015). Regional Aesthetics: Mapping UK Media Cultures. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-137-53283-1.
- ^ Graham Betts (2004). Collins Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004. Collins. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-00-717931-2.
- ^ "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Winners of the Prose Medal". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ Rosemary Deem (2002). Work, Unemployment and Leisure. Taylor & Francis. p. 117. ISBN 9781134985081.
- ^ Kenneth O. Morgan (1981). Rebirth of a Nation: Wales, 1880-1980. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-821736-7.
- ^ Mair Rees (2014). Y Llawes Goch a'r Faneg Wen: Y Corff Benywaidd a'i Symbolaeth mewn Ffuglen Gymraeg gan Fenywod (in Welsh). University of Wales Press. p. 237. ISBN 9781783161256.
- ^ Tony Currie (2004). A Concise History of British Television, 1930-2000. Kelly Publications. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-903053-17-1.
- ^ "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "BBC Mid Wales Showbiz". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ^ Evan Smith; Matthew Worley (28 February 2018). Waiting for the Revolution: The British Far Left from 1956. Manchester University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-5261-1368-9.
- ^ "Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Papers". Archives Wales. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ Who was who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died. A. & C. Black. 1981. p. 636. ISBN 978-0-7136-3336-8.
- ^ Janet Podell (May 1982). Annual Obituary, 1981. Thomson Gale. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-912289-51-9.
- ^ D. Ben Rees. "Meredith, John Ellis (1904-1981), minister (Presbyterian Church of Wales) and author". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ Matthews, Tony (October 2000). The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875~2000. Cradley Heath: Britespot. p. 116. ISBN 0-9539288-0-2.
- ^ Jones, John Graham. "Goronwy Owen Roberts, Baron Goronwy-Roberts". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ Llafur. Society for the Study of Welsh Labour History. 1980. p. 100.
- ^ Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. p. 75. ISBN 1-872424-11-2.