1996 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 1996 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents[edit]
- 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[edit]
- 1 January - Michael German is awarded the OBE for his public and political service.[1]
- 15 February - The Sea Empress, an oil tanker, runs aground off Milford Haven, causing devastation to the west Wales coastline.[2]
- 1 April - The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 comes into force, creating 22 unitary authorities.[3]
- 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.[4]
- 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.[5]
- 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[edit]
- 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[edit]
- Glyndŵr Award - Jan Morris
- National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Ffairfach, near Llandeilo)
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - R. O. Williams[6]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - David John Pritchard[7]
- 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[edit]
- 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[edit]
- Prince Valiant filmed at Gwrych Castle.
Welsh-language films[edit]
Music[edit]
- 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[edit]
- The Broadcasting Act 1996 changes the funding formula for S4C.
Welsh-language television[edit]
- Heno (Welsh-language news programme, broadcast until 2001 and returned in 2012).
English-language television[edit]
- Barry Welsh is Coming
- In the Blood, presented by Steve Jones
Sport[edit]
- BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year – Ryan Giggs[8]
- 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.[9]
Births[edit]
- 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[edit]
- 16 January - Dai Ward, footballer, 61
- 7 March - Aled Eames, historian, 74[10]
- 11 March - Sir Granville Beynon, physicist, 81[11]
- 14 March - Dewi Bebb, Wales rugby union player, 57[12]
- 16 March - Harry Peacock, Wales rugby union player, 87
- 14 April - Mervyn Levy, artist and critic, 81[13]
- 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[14]
- 10 November - Dafydd Orwig, politician and academic, 68[15]
- 9 December
- Diana Morgan, playwright and screenwriter, 86
- Ivor Roberts-Jones, sculptor, 83[16]
- 29 December - Pennar Davies, poet and theologian, 85
- date unknown
- Thomas Nathaniel Davies, artist and teacher[17]
- Thomas David Frank Evans, WWII prisoner-of-war
- Harry Hanford, footballer, 88
- Thyrza Anne Leyshon, painter, 103
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "No. 54255". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1995. p. 11.
- ^ "In detail: The Sea Empress disaster". BBC News. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ Neil Hawke (17 October 2013). Introduction to Administrative Law. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-135-35177-9.
- ^ Geoffrey Giuliano (2002). Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-8154-1070-6.
- ^ "Life for child murderer". Financial Times. London. 19 July 1996. p. 1. ProQuest 248284536. (subscription required)
- ^ BBC - Eisteddfod Chair Winners. Accessed 26 August 2013
- ^ BBC - Eisteddfod Crown Winners. Accessed 26 August 2013
- ^ "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Regal Welsh". snooker.org. 21 April 2012.
- ^ Basil Greenhill (15 March 1996). "Obituary:Aled Eames". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ John Meurig Thomas (16 March 1996). "Obituary:Professor Sir Granville Beynon". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ Robert Cole (15 March 1996). "Obituary:Dewi Bebb". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ Ceri Levy (17 May 1996). "Obituary:Mervyn Levy". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ Knibb, Michael (2 December 1996). "Obituary: The Rev Professor Huw Parri Owen". The Independent. findarticles.com. Retrieved 5 March 2009. [dead link]
- ^ D. Ben Rees (21 November 1996). "Obituary:Dafydd Orwig". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ Who was who. St. Martin's Press. 1996. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-312-29366-6.
- ^ Philip Vann (2004). Face to Face: British Self-portraits in the Twentieth Century. Sansom. p. 143.