The gifted son of a Welsh miner, Burton charted his life, most notably from the mid-1960s to the early '70s (his "superstar years"). Sometimes the notes were handwritten, but often typed out. They provide a unique and illuminating view of the world in which he moved, among actors and directors, writers and poets, millionaires and royalty.

The most personal entries record his romance with Elizabeth Taylor and reveal the depth of his feelings towards the woman he married twice. They show him on top of the world, in love, in despair and fighting the alcoholism that had killed his father and which he knew was killing him.

The diaries also give an insight into his approach to acting, his insecurities, his drinking and his volatile and tempestuous relationship with Taylor, his "eternal one night stand" and "wildly exciting lover-mistress", at a time when they were the most famous couple in the world.

"He reveals himself to be down to earth and without pomposity," says the editor of the Burton diaries, Welsh history professor Chris Williams from Swansea University.

Prof Williams describes Burton as a complex and, at times, a sad character as well as someone "very engaged with the history of the world, the problems of the world".

He fought his way through life through force of will, love and voracious reading. It is this side of the man that made him such a remarkable presence. It is also a side of him captured in a rich vein of 成人论坛 archive and interviews.

Richard Burton archive interview for Wales Today, December 1962

This interview was recorded shortly before Christmas 1962 while Burton was making the film The V.I.P.s. He mentions his teachers Meredith Jones and Philip Burton, his home in C茅ligny, Switzerland, and having watched London Welsh beat Aberavon at Old Deer Park at rugby union.

Interestingly, there is no mention of Burton's involvement with Elizabeth Taylor, which had dominated the headlines in late 1962.

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in Cardiff, January 1965

Burton and Taylor are shown here at Cardiff Station being interviewed by 成人论坛 Wales' Brian Hoey on Friday 15 January 1965. They were in Wales to watch Wales play England at rugby union the following day.

Burton had been in London for just over a week, filming scenes for The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and would travel on to Dublin to continue work on the project. He and Taylor had recently completed The Sandpiper, filmed in California. The interviewer also refers to The V.I.P.s, the first film they worked on together after the 1963 blockbuster Cleopatra.

Wales did, as Taylor hoped, beat England, by 14 points to three, on their way to the Triple Crown.

Previously unseen footage of Richard Burton attempting a piece to camera, September 1970

In September 1970 Burton was making the British gangland film Villain in London. Here he snatches a few moments between takes of the film's closing scenes to attempt a piece to camera for a National Coal Board short safety film.

He explains that although he never really worked in the mines, many of the men in his family did, and that consequently he was aware of the serious risks involved. All of Burton's brothers and his father spent at least part of their working lives underground, as did his brother-in-law Elfed James.

The safety film, produced by the NCB, sought to communicate the message that travelling "on haulage" - essentially hitching an unauthorised lift on journeys of drams (trams) or on conveyor belts - could be extremely perilous. It is not known whether Burton's preface formed part of the final version of the film.

Richard Burton's family head for Elizabeth Taylor's party, February 1972

On 27 February 1972 Elizabeth Taylor turned 40. Burton organised a spectacular birthday party held in Budapest, where he was based while filming Bluebeard.

He invited members of his family to travel to join the celebrations. His brothers Tom and Verdun and his sister Hilda, accompanied by their spouses, are interviewed on 24 February aboard a train heading from south Wales to London, where they would stay at the Dorchester Hotel before flying to Budapest the following day.

They shared the limelight with many other famous guests attending the party, including Princess Grace of Monaco, Ringo Starr, Stephen Spender, Michael Caine, Susannah York, Raquel Welsh, Victor Spinetti and Frankie Howerd.

The interviewer refers to a telegram that had been sent on 16 February explaining the arrangements and which included the phrase "All expenses paid including caviar and bloaters". The present the family gave to Elizabeth turned out to be a stainless-steel rose, chosen to remind her of her husband's town of origin, Port Talbot.

Watch tonight, Monday 12 November, at 10.35pm or on 成人论坛 iPlayer for the seven days after transmission.

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Llandaff Cathedral. Photo:

The Queen's in 52 years ago saw the rededication of the building following its extensive reconstruction from air raid damage sustained in 1941.

Five years previous to the Queen's visit to Llandaff the royal family engaged in a three-day tour of Wales. The 1955 Royal tour took place amid huge crowds from 6-8 August, starting in Brecon before heading west to Pembrokeshire and then up the west Wales coast to Aberystwyth and concluding back in Pembroke.

Day one of the 1955 tour saw the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visit the Brecknock Agricultural Show near Brecon before she opened Swansea's new water source, the Usk reservoir near Llandovery.

Day two featured a visit to the tiny city of St Davids and a service at the historic cathedral. Following a meet and greet with the St David's lifeboat crew the royal couple headed back to their floating home, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

This clip shows Princess Anne and Prince Andrew making their way by rail from Buckingham Palace towards south Wales to join the party. There's also a bit of speedboat fun with the Duke of Cornwall, better known today as Charles, Prince of Wales, being whisked across the waves by his father, larking under the gaze of the Queen from the safety of the royal yacht.

This year, the royal party will be spending two days in Wales as part of a fairly comprehensive . Back in 1955 the three-day tour made its way to Aberystwyth where the Queen visited the university and gave a speech at the National Library of Wales before rounding off their tour of Wales at the birth place of Henry Tudor, visiting Pembroke Castle.

The dashing but unassuming Pryce was a popular figure in the paddock, but it was his speed and car control that had everyone talking.

At the 1975 British Grand Prix he became the first and only Welshman ever to take an F1 pole, driving the little-fancied Shadow. An accident brought his race to a premature end, but earlier that year he had shown what he was really capable of.

At the annual non-championship Race of Champions, in his black Shadow emblazoned with the Welsh flag, he started from pole position. He slithered on the damp and cold Brands Hatch circuit, the famous, undulating stripe of Kentish tarmac, and beat some of the greatest names in the history of motor racing, including the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson.

This 成人论坛 Wales News video from 1975 catches a rare interview with Pryce as his star burned brightest. Here he reflects in a typically understated way about his victory at Brands Hatch. The clip also includes some high praise from none other than three-time champion Jackie Stewart:

Rival, friend and five-time Grand Prix winner John Watson confirms Pryce's reticence towards the jet-setting world of Formula One. "Tom was possessed of a huge talent," remembered Watson. "We spent a bit of time together because we both did Formula Two in 1974 and traveled around a bit together.

"I remember one time having dinner in Italy, and what Tom wanted was chicken and chips. And there in Italy you had the choice of the most incredible food - but that was all he wanted."

Pryce was killed aged just 27 in baffling circumstances in the 1977 South African Grand Prix. He fell victim to the decade's lackadaisical approach to safety in one of the most horribly bizarre accidents ever to befall motor racing. Cresting a rise at Kyalami, he was unable to dodge a teenage marshall running across the track to attend a small fire on his team-mate Renzo Zorzi's Shadow.

Jansen van Vuuren, the 19 year old marshall, was killed instantly. Pryce was struck on the head by the heavy fire extinguisher van Vuuren was carrying, also killing him instantly. His car carried on down to the next corner, collecting Jacques Laffites' Ligier and knocking him out of the race, before coming to a halt.

As Grand Prix racing is now a safer and more affluent world, it will forever be poorer for the absence of one of Wales' greatest and most unassuming sportsmen many tipped as a future world champion.

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Richard Burton

Adapted from the John le Carré novel, and directed by Martin Ritt, the film went on to receive four BAFTAs, with Burton getting one of his seven Oscar nominations in the process. The film served as a shining example of of the period's paranoia by framing the monochrome reality of spy games, hinting at a terrifying future in the process.

Between 1945 and 1991 the Soviet Union and the USA faced off in an atmosphere of potentially catastrophic brinkmanship. With nuclear warheads trained on each other's cities no nation would be safe from any exchange. The Cuban Missile Crisis, Korean War, and the were just a few near misses that held the world on the brink of nuclear catastrophe. Most nations planned for the worst, and Wales was no exception.

 

Similar bunkers were built from the 1950s onwards to house regional government in the event of all-out war. Coryton held this infamous role until the late 50s, eventually replaced by RSG 8 at Brecon.

"By the late 1960s RAF Valley, RAF Brawdy, Cardiff and Swansea were thought to be the likely Welsh targets in a nuclear attack on Britain," says , senior lecturer in History at Swansea University. "Brecon was also considered a possibility since it had been mooted as a centre for a regional government in any future war.

"People in Cold War Wales were all too aware that Wales was also part of the bigger world, a world that was dangerous and insecure. Taking note of this sense of unease is all the more important because it offers a different picture to the idea of post-war affluence.

The remains of civil defence are scattered throughout Wales. They range from non-descript overgrown concrete blocks to a . During the Cold War such installations existed at Swansea, Prestatyn, , Brackla and Caerwent - home of the United States Air Force's main non-nuclear bomb store in Britain.

The fear of a Soviet attack containing hundreds of nuclear warheads touched young and old throughout Wales for decades. The intrigues and fear manifested itself in fiction and popular culture. From Leamas' weary and tragic figure to Michael Caine's role as Harry Palmer in and . Add to that the 成人论坛's glorious, terrifying part-drama, part-documentary , where the city of Sheffield is subject to the horror of nuclear war and a whole range of anxiety and horror is revealed.

Jeremy Paxman described how it could have really been in this clip from a 1980 episode of Panorama, titled ...If The Bomb Drops.

"In 1953 civil servants estimated that three 'Nagasaki type' bombs might be dropped on Wales in the event of a war with the USSR," adds Johnes. "Assuming evacuation plans worked, they calculated - or guessed, given the lack of actual evidence - that 6,000 people would be killed in Cardiff, 4,000 in Swansea and 16,000 in Newport.

"Added to this, another 8,000 people would be seriously injured in the three places and 39,000 houses destroyed or irreparably damaged. The total death toll in Britain would be over 1.3 million."

Zabrinski live at Maes B

In this blog I've interviewed Matthew Durbridge from Zabrinski, touring buddies with Super Furry Animals and a favourite of the Session In Wales, about how he felt about these recordings of his band recorded live on Maes B at the National Eisteddfod in Denbigh in 2001.Beth: What do you remember about the various Radio 1 Wales sessions you recorded?

Matt: I remember everything about the Radio 1 sessions. A favourite was recording in Rockfield - I was only 17 years old, I think! - and the producer was Tim from Spiritualized; mega chuffed! I remember being shown around the piano played by Freddie Mercury - cool! Then we were off to play table tennis. Also cool. We were so chuffed the radio show and the producers gave us a chance to have a session, and to produce it as we wanted too.

Beth: What did the support mean to the band?

Matt: It was invaluable. I remember you telling me in an eisteddfod in 1999 that there was a new programme being launched - Session in the Nations - and I had no idea at the time how important it would be to every Welsh band big or small over the next decade. We wouldn't have done half the things we did without the show.

Beth: What's your fondest memory of the Zabrinksi days?

Matt: Probably laughter, being able to travel with your best friends and being on a musical journey where we genuinely didn't know where we were going, and also playing with bands that we loved, lots that we didn't also but they were just as fun.

Beth: Can people still get hold of your music?

Matt: I think people can easily get hold of our music, as with nearly any band in the world now whether you have a record deal or not is irrelevant. We can simply type a band's name into Google and listen to them instantly. As for CDs, no I don't think people can get hold of our music!

Beth: Looking to the future - any projects on the go?

Matt: At the moment I am creating new sounds and tunes with Gareth from Zabrinski, and to be fair most of Zabrinski are on it. We have about 30 songs which aren't finished yet but when they are by the year 2018 they will sound amazing. If there is an increase in energy between us they may be completed earlier.

Listen to Mishi Brei from Zabrinski, recorded in session live at the National Eisteddfod in Denbigh in 2001:

Zanbrinski were Matthew Durbridge, Iwan Morgan, Gareth Richardson, Rhun Lenny and Owain Jones. Originally from Carmarthen, they released four albums: Screen Memories (2000), Yeti (2001), Koala Ko-ordination (2002) and Ill Gotten Game (2005).

They split up in 2007 after playing their last gig at Gwyl Macs but have recently started working together again though currently have no plans for releases. Some Zabrinski videos are still available on their page.

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Its been amazing looking back at photos and listening to these recordings again - they've reminded me of how much we've achieved with the show, how we've been in the thick of everything that happened musically in Wales and how much the show has supported new musicians and bands. And what an amazing decade of Welsh music it's been too.

Last week on Radio 1 Andy Falkous from Mclusky and Future Of The Left joined me on Radio One to talk about a special gig we did in 2000, at the launch of One Live in Cardiff.

Mclusky in 2000

Below is a transcript of the interview, broadcast on 25 November 2010.

The interview begins as I explain to Andy that we've dug out a Mclusky session from 2000 for the radio, as it was a very special moment for the band. They opened the gig, followed by Helen Love and headliners Mo-ho-bish-o-pi, but really Mclusky stole the show.

Andy: It was a landmark moment for us. We played the opening song and it was on the back of that session that we got signed, because Jason from heard that recording. [We got signed] not on the basis of the perfectly good album that we'd already put out, that didn't make so much as a splash.

Beth: It was one of those gigs that surprised many - the opening gig of One Live in Cardiff, a Radio One event across the City. The city kicked into life, and Clwb Ifor Bach: the place was packed.

Andy: There must've been around 500 people. It was an incredible gig. It was around October 2000, we'd never played to more than a hundred people ever, so it was our first show that was a sense of an event. Even though you should play the same to every gig, you do get taken in by a sense of event. It took 15 minutes just to get through the crowd.

Mclusky: Rice Is Nice

Mclusky: Whoyouknow

And after hearing the tracks:

Andy: Those young men have no regard for song structure. I haven't heard that for about eight years; its like looking at a picture of your younger self with a crazy haircut and tie dye t-shirt.

Beth: What are your memories of Mclusky, and the key moments?

Andy: I treasure all of it. The parts when we played with bands... like I remember one show, we were playing with The Liars in London, and the show was opened by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It was their first performance in the UK. We were driving along the M4, and Matt had a panic attack, so Jon took over the driving. Then I think he thought it was a game, and he had a panic attack, so we were sat in Membury service station. Then 'Veg', who was driving Liars at the time, came from the garage all the way, picked us up, we got there five minutes before we were due on, threw our stuff on stage and had a great show.

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The men, including and , are synonymous with wartime heroics. They reflect misty-eyed at Bentley Priory in Middlesex, the home of as the decision is made to disband the legendary unit.

Sir Frederick Rosier offers his views on the day's events; reflecting on the changing face of the RAF since those dicey days of 1940 when the future of Europe hung in the balance and, whilst offering an insight into the valiant aerial combat he also laments the curtain being drawn on Bomber Command.

Sir Douglas Bader (left) and Jonnie Johnson

This fascinating clip also shows the legendary Bader and Johnson talking candidly and nonchalantly, pipes in hand, about their experience at the sharp end of the Battle of Britain.

Leicester-born Johnson fought alongside Bader, enjoying a similarly heroic and much decorated RAF career; emerging from World War Two as the top-scoring RAF fighter pilot.

Undoubtedly, these men look and sound every inch the archetypal battle-hardened heroes straight from not only the history books, but also the comic books - their speech and mannerisms very much of a bygone age. For example, It is hard to imagine the word 'gay' being used in a similar context today on camera.

Rosier joined the RAF on a short service commission in August 1935. His role in World War Two began in France with No.229 Squadron where he was shot down over Dunkirk in his Hurricane and badly injured.

Sir Frederick Rosier

Following his recovery he rejoined 229 and took command of the squadron for the final few days of the Battle of Britain. As the RAF's claimed a decisive victory in 1940, he was promoted to Wing Commander where he led No. 262 Wing with the RAF's Desert Air Force squadrons.

Post-World War Two, and following his award of an OBE in 1943, Rosier spent time amongst the highest ranks of the RAF. This included a spell with the United Sates Air Force, a period as Group Captain at RAF Fighter Command, and in 1958, Rosier became Director of Joint Plans for the Air Ministry.

Later in his career Rosier was appointed Deputy Commander in Chief for Allied Forces in Central Europe from 1970 to 1973.

Despite his illustrious globetrotting, as World War Two morphed into the Cold War he always remained close to home. Rosier's wife also hailed from Wrexham, and they married in 1939. In his autumnal years the retired ace moved back to the village of Trevor near Llangollen where he passed away in September 1998 aged 83.

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Welsh museums currently hold around three million artefacts, many of which never see the light of day. It is very early days for People's Collection Wales but already there over 24,000 objects and images online that can be explored by theme, location, date, places and events.

However this is not just a showcase for museum collections - ordinary people's stories and objects are key to the success of the project.

If you register with the People's Collection Wales you can add your own objects to the online collections, curate your own exhibitions, set up groups and map out and share walks in Wales that are rich with cultural and historical references,

People's Collection Wales is has a whole host of new digital technologies. The Labs section allows people to explore Welsh history in both 2D and 3D.

If genealogy is your passion you can create your own family tree with the People's Collection Family Story tool.

On the Historic Maps section of the site you can peel back time and explore the changing landscapes of Wales.

Funded by the , and developed over two years, the collection has been created with the close involvement of the , the and Libraries association (), and the .

Other organisations such as and the have also been involved - as well as 成人论坛 Cymru Wales.

People's Collection Wales will be launched today, Monday 2 August, 2010 at the in Ebbw Vale by Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones.

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On this July day in 1975 amidst the girls, the celebrities, Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, the historic tapestry of James Hunt, Stirling Moss, death-defying speed and derring-do, Tom Pryce, from Nantglyn, near in Denbighshire became the only Welshman ever to start from pole position in a Formula One Grand Prix.

The unassuming Pryce had previously graduated quickly from being a tractor mechanic in rural Wales to the pinnacle of motor racing. Cutting his teeth in lower formulae he astounded experts and fans the world over with his sideways car control and gentle demeanour out of the car.

By 1974 he had graduated to Formula One with the unfancied Token team and, following a brief demotion to Formula Three, a spellbinding performance on the streets of Monte Carlo caught the attention of all the major Formula One teams of the day. He was rewarded with a seat in the Shadow Formula One team, run by fellow Welshman Alan Rees.

In his first full season, in 1975, Pryce had already become the only Welshman to win a Formula One race. That it was the non-championship Race of Champions was academic. In his black Shadow, starting from pole position, he slithered on the damp and cold Brands Hatch circuit, the famous, undulating stripe of Kentish tarmac, and beat some of the greatest names in the history of motor racing. This included the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson.

This 成人论坛 Wales News video from 1975 catches a rare interview with the shy, introverted Pryce as his star burned brightest. Here he reflects in a typically understated way about his victory at Brands Hatch. The clip also includes some high praise from none other than three-time champion Jackie Stewart.

Rival, friend and five-time Grand Prix winner John Watson confirms Tom's reticence towards the jet-setting world of Formula One. "Tom was possessed of a huge talent," remembered Watson, "We spent a bit of time together because we both did Formula Two in 1974 and traveled around a bit together. I remember one time having dinner in Italy, and what Tom wanted was chicken and chips. And there in Italy you had the choice of the most incredible food - but that was all he wanted."

With the Ford-powered Shadow, Pryce's potential came to the fore throughout 1975. Despite the odd crash and his car's dubious reliability his pole position achievement on that Saturday in July was something few men have achieved.

"He did it with a malfunctioning clutch, and a hitherto unseen smoothness in place of his trademark oversteering style," says journalist David Tremayne, author of The Lost Generation, a thrilling, forensic account of Pryce's career.

"The race marked another milestone for Tom: the only time a Welsh driver led a Grand Prix. He ran in the top three initially, as Ferrari's Clay Regazzoni led from Pace, but overtook the Brazilian on the 17th lap and went into the lead on the 19th when Regazzoni slid into the wall at Club Corner.

"He stayed there on lap 20, too. But on lap 21 he was the first to encounter an unexpected pool of rain at Becketts. This was deeply ironic, for he had a reputation as a genuine rainmaster. The Shadow twitched and slithered off into the catchfencing, and he was momentarily stunned as a pole struck his helmet. It was a sad end to a wonderful drive.

Pryce was one of many to crash that day as the heavens opened, but in the races that followed his stock rose with a podium place in Austria, a fourth in Germany and the following year in 1976, he claimed a third place in Brazil and some promising drives. Things were looking good for 1977, until tragedy struck.

Pryce was killed aged just 27 in baffling and tragic circumstances in the 1977 South African Grand Prix, detailed in this 成人论坛 News video and . As Grand Prix racing is now a safer and affluent world, it will forever be poorer for the absence of one of Wales' greatest and unassuming sportsmen many tipped as a future world champion.

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German Captain Fritz Walter pictured with the Jules Rimet trophy after the 1954 World Cup final. Photo provided by British Path茅

After the 1954 World Cup, Griffiths went onto be a referee's assessor for FIFA in the 1958 competition, where his countrymen reached the quarter finals before being defeated by Brazil.

"In the context of Welsh Sporting History," continued Ceri, "he is a little bit of an odd-one. Not a player, but a participant. Not someone who many people would remember now, but he was a great inspiration to a whole generation of young referees because of his modern approach to the game. His skills spread far and wide and he was constantly asked to referee on the continent and in South America, though his teaching duties meant he was not able to take-up all the offers.

"Griffiths had a very positive outlook on life and sport and was rewarded by being flown around Europe and the World to show-off his 'British style' of refereeing - and according to him - the continentals could not get enough of it. In Wales, he never refused the chance to officiate at charity matches as well as doing five consecutive Welsh Cup Finals. His most famous being the 1956 Cup Final between Cardiff and Swansea. He died in 1974 aged 65."

A statue to Helmut Rahn, the man that scored the winning goal for West Germany now stands in the striker's hometown of Essen. During this year's World Cup in South Africa, those wishing for a German victory could do worse than to toast the man from Abertillery who helped them on their way to global success.

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During the following decade the bridge was repaired and improved. Rail services resumed from 1972 onwards and by 1980 a road deck was added to what is now the double decker bridge taking traffic along the A55 into and out of Anglesey.

Further reading:

Radio Wales community correspondent Gwenda Parry (2006).

...and Bastions.

Tonight, Caernarfon. More updates throughout the week!