Tagged with: 20th century
Posts (66)
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The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero
James Roberts
Monday 5 March is the 35th anniversary of the death of Welsh Formula One driver Tom Pryce. The man from Nantglyn near Ruthin was tipped for F1 championship glory by many of his contemporaries, but at the age of just 27 his life and career were cut short in one of the most bizarre, tragic acciden...
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Saunders Lewis and The Fate of the Language
Phil Carradice
Perhaps not many people - certainly not those outside the country - are fully aware of the fact but Monday 13 February 2012 marks an important moment in the history of Wales and the Welsh language. Saunders Lewis It was exactly 50 years ago this year, on 13 February 1962, that the wr...
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Mady Gerrard: holocaust survivor
成人论坛 Wales History
As National Holocaust Memorial Day approaches on Friday 27 January 2012, 成人论坛 Wales continues One Of Hitler's Mistakes, its compelling two-part documentary on the incredible life of Mady Gerrard. An award-winning fashion designer to the rich and famous, including stars such as Shirley Bassey a...
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The execution of Timothy Evans
Phil Carradice
There have undoubtedly been many miscarriages of justice in our legal system over the years. But none of them is quite as tragic and haunting as the conviction of Welshman Timothy Evans and his subsequent execution in March 1950 for a crime he did not commit. Timothy Evans was born in Merthyr...
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Buffalo Bill in Wales
Phil Carradice
Imagine the scene. It's 1903 and the streets of Ebbw Vale or Aberdare or Bangor are filled, not with steel workers, coal miners or farmers wives out to do their weekly shopping, but with whooping cowboys and shrieking Indians, gaily but terrifyingly daubed in their war paint. There is a smell...
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Museum celebrates 100th anniversary of Captain Scott's arrival at South Pole
成人论坛 Wales History
A new exhibition at National Museum in Cardiff is set to open this month to mark the centenary of the arrival of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's expedition party at the South Pole on 17 January 1912. Inside Scott's hut, Cape Evans, Ross Island, Antarctica (Photo:Tom Sharpe) Scott's hut, Cape Evans, Ross Island, Antarctica (Photo:Tom Sharpe) Scott's expedition is best remembered for the tragedy which befell Scott and his four companions on the return journey but this new exhibition shows that there was much more to Captain Scott's 1910-13 British Antarctic Expedition than an attempt on the South Pole. Captain Robert Falcon Scott 1905 (National Museum Wales) In this exhibition called 'Scott: South for Science', visitors can see a selection of specimens collected during the expedition as well as some of the iconic images of Antarctic exploration through the watercolours of Edward Wilson (1872-1912) and the photographs of Herbert Ponting (1870-1935). Some of the specimens on display from the museum's own collections include a Welsh flag flown on Scott's expedition ship, the Terra Nova, as well as displaying the ship's figurehead. The Scott Polar Research Institute, the British Antarctic Survey, and the Natural History Museum have also lent specimens to form part of the exhibition. Poignantly, these exhibits include some of the rock samples collected by Scott on his way back from the South Pole and discovered with their frozen bodies in November 1912. Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales geology curator Tom Sharpe, who has himself just returned from a visit to Captain Scott's expedition base hut in Antarctica, said about the forthcoming exhibition: "In 2010 we put on a successful exhibition here to mark the centenary of the departure of Scott's expedition from Cardiff. In 2012 we return to Scott's expedition, commemorating its achievements by focusing on its scientific work. "The expedition really laid the foundations of modern Antarctic science and we're delighted to be able to show some wonderful specimens and images from this famous expedition". Scott's ship Terra Nova leaves Cardiff for Antarctica 15 June 1910 (National Museum Wales) Captain Scott: South For Science opens on Saturday 14 January 2012 and runs until Sunday 13 May 2012 at the National Museum Cardiff. It is supported by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. Find out more about the exhibition on the National Museum Cardiff website. The museum's geology curator, Tom Sharpe has written an Antarctica diary about his visit to the continent and to Scott's hut. You can read Tom's diary on the museum's website. Phil Carradice has written a blog 'Captain Scott and the Cardiff connection'. Read his blog on the Wales History website.
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Harry Houdini in south Wales
Martha Owen
When legendary magician and escape artiste Harry Houdini visited Newport in 1905, he was already a star on both sides of the Atlantic.
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The greatest rugby game ever played?
Phil Carradice
The Welsh rugby team has been involved in some magnificent matches over the years and the performance of the side in the recent 2011 Rugby World Cup gave heart to supporters and enthusiasts everywhere. But no game has ever quite been able to match the 1905 clash with the All Blacks of New Zealan...
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The Flat Holm lighthouse
Phil Carradice
The two islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm are well-known to residents of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Standing like sentinels guarding the eastern reaches of the Bristol Channel, Flat Holm, in particular, has a rich and varied history. Flat Holm Island (photo: Gale's Photo) Th...
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Neil Kinnock on Coming Home: "I came from hard workers and fighters"
成人论坛 Wales History
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock once famously declared he was the first in his family for "a thousand generations" to attend university and is proud of his modest beginnings. Neil Kinnock was born in 1942 in the coal mining town of Tredegar and later gained a degree in industrial relations and history at Cardiff. Lord Kinnock made the remarks about his background at a Welsh Labour party conference just before the 1987 general election, saying it was not the lack of talent or strength which held people back, but opportunity. But now, in a new series of the family history programme Coming Home that begins tonight on 成人论坛 One Wales, Lord Kinnock learned that a great-uncle of his had a very privileged start to life, as he attended an exclusive public school in Surrey. In the programme, Lord Kinnock defends his political statement, in light of the discovery, and said: "Going to this school doesn't naturally convey the fact he had a good education." Tracing a family history can reveal startling and occasionally uncomfortable long-forgotten facts about a family history. Lord Kinnock spoke to 成人论坛 Cymru Wales about his reasons for agreeing to take part in the programme. He said: ""Everyone is interested in their own background but very few have ever researched the details of who and where they came from. "I've always been intrigued by the bits of my family history that I knew so I was glad to accept the invitation from Coming Home. I knew that Mike Churchill-Jones and the rest of the 成人论坛 Wales team of experts would do some real digging. "The experience of Coming Home was fascinating. We tore around south and west Wales from Tredegar to Kidwelly and Brecon and then dashed over to Bristol before getting back to Cardiff. "Some of what I saw and heard was familiar because, obviously, I've always been close to the valleys and to my family. I knew, of course, that I came from hard workers and fighters who surmounted great adversity and poverty. But there were several revelations about my grandparents and their forebears that were completely new to me. "Since the story of the Howells and Griffiths and Herberts and Kinnocks that were my people is very similar to that of countless others of my generation and background I think that many might share my sense of discovery. "I'm grateful to Coming Home - not least because the family tree that they gave me has deeply intrigued my grandchildren. After all, it's their story too!" Read more about Neil Kinnock's experience on Coming Home on 成人论坛 Wales News. If Coming Home has inspired you to take start tracing your family history, take a look at Cat Whiteaway's tips on the 成人论坛 Wales History blog.
