1960 in Wales

1960 in Wales

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1960 in: The United Kingdom • Ireland

Other events of 1960

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1960 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales - Charles, Prince of Wales
• Princess of Wales - vacant
• Archbishop of Wales - Edwin Morris
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Trefin

Events

• 5 January - Closure of the Swansea and Mumbles Railway (which by this date is operated by double-deck electric trams).
• 12 April - Nine miners are killed in a mining accident at Tower Colliery, Hirwaun.
• 28 June - Forty-five miners are killed in an accident at Six Bells Colliery, Monmouthshire.
• 25 October - Five people are killed when two barges carrying oil and petrol strike the Severn Railway Bridge in fog and part of the bridge collapses on top of them.
• Esso opens the first oil refinery at Milford Haven.
• Poet and peace campaigner Waldo Williams is imprisoned for six weeks for non-payment of income tax.

Arts and literature

• Sian Phillips marries Peter O'Toole.
• Ricky Valance is the first male Welsh singer to hit number one in the charts, with his cover version of Tell Laura I Love Her.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Cardiff)

• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - W. J. Gruffydd
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Rhiannon Davies Jones

New books

• Thomas Glynne Davies - Haf Creulon
• Menna Gallie - Man's Desiring
• Dic Jones - Agor Grwn
• Kate Roberts - Y Lôn Wen
• Bernice Rubens - Set on Edge
• Raymond Williams - Border Country

New drama

• Saunders Lewis - Esther

Music

• Alun Hoddinott - Concerto no. 2
• Arwel Hughes - Serch yw’r Doctor (opera)

Film

• Glynis Johns stars in The Sundowners.
• Rachel Roberts stars in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, becoming the first Welsh actress to win a BAFTA for Best British Actress.
• Keith Baxter appears alongside Orson Welles in Chimes at Midnight.

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Colegau Cerdd
• Her Yr Ifanc

English-language television

• 1 January - Broadcast of the first weekly episode of an eight-part serialization by BBC Wales of How Green Was My Valley
• Johnny Morris narrates the imported children's TV series Tales of the Riverbank.

Sport

• Boxing - Dick Richardson wins the European Heavyweight title. Brian Curvis wins the British and Commonwealth welterweight titles.
• Summer Olympics - David Broome wins a bronze medal on Sunsalve in the individual show jumping event.
• Tennis - Mike Davies wins the British hard court title.
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year - Brian Curvis

Births

• 30 January - Peter Black AM, politician
• 6 February - Jeremy Bowen, journalist and television presenter
• 3 May - Geraint Davies, politician
• 29 June - Helen Mary Jones, politician (in Colchester)
• 18 September - Ian Lucas, politician
• date unknown
  • Ricky Evans, rugby union player
  • Lesley Griffiths, politician
  • Gareth Jones, orchestral and choral conductor
  • Malcolm Pryce, novelist (in Shrewsbury)

Deaths

• 2 January - Leila Megane, opera singer
• 13 January - Reginald Herbert, 15th Earl of Pembroke, 79
• 17 January - E. Llwyd Williams, minister and poet, 53
• 27 January - Joseph Jones, dual-code rugby international, 60
• 2 February - Joseph "Joe" Jones, rugby league player, 60
• 30 March - Edward Evan, politician, 77
• 11 April - William Llewellyn Morgan, Wales international rugby union player , 76
• 7 May - Mai Jones, songwriter, 61
• 23 May - John Edwards, politician), 77
• 27 June - Harry Pollitt, politician, 69
• 6 July - Aneurin Bevan, politician, 62
• 9 July - John Dyke, Wales international rugby union player, 76
• 24 August - Dai Edwards, Wales dual-code rugby international, 64
• 25 August - Tommy Jones-Davies, Wales international rugby player, 54
• 27 September - George Morgan Trefgarne, 1st Baron Trefgarne, politician, 66
• 29 October- Horace Williams, footballer
• 20 December - Harry Uzzell, Wales international rugby union captain, 77