by Mike Hall
February 27th
1908: Former Cardiff rugby player Norman Biggs (born 1870) was killed by a poisoned arrow in Nigeria. Both Norman and his brother Selwyn represented Wales although they never played together in the same game. Norman was a member of the 1893 Triple Crown-winning side. At 18 years and 49 days he was the youngest player capped by Wales (see also December 22nd). At the outbreak of the Boer War Norman Biggs volunteered for service in the Glamorgan Yeomanry and was wounded near Vrede in October 1900. In 1903 he became an Inspector of Musketry. In 1906 he was seconded to the Home Office and posted to northern Nigeria as a Superintendent of Police. He was killed in 1908 while on patrol in the Kebbi District. (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002 / Wikipedia)
February 28th
1900: The 4th Glamorgan Company, 1st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry set sail from Liverpool bound for the Boer War. Following the serious reverses suffered by the British Army in South Africa, the War Office had decided to recruit Yeomanry Volunteers for war service against the Boers. They were intended to be mounted infantry, mobile hard-hitting groups which it was hoped would match the enemy in veldt warfare. The Cardiff tailoring firm of Jotham & Sons secured the contract from the War Office to supply 120 khaki serge tunics, a similar number of drill tunics and 240 pairs of cord breeches. Before sailing they had come to Cardiff to attend a Civic Reception and Banquet held in their honour. The troops arrived in Cape Town on March 23rd. (Aubrey Morgan, Glamorgan: Its Gentlemen & Yeomanry, 1983)
February 29th
1892: ‘Sir – Yesterday (Sunday) a seizure of beer by the police was made in Helen Street, Roath, the booty being four and a half gallon casks of beer. Some of the young men interested in the drinking features of the case broke one of the casks and let the beer run out, with the intention, presumably, that the police should not have the satisfaction of seizing the lot. The police, however, managed to catch the delinquents and conveyed them to the Roath Police Station. It is a melancholy thing to see such a sight on the Sabbath, but the laxity of the Welsh Sunday Closing Act is alone responsible for it. Let the temperance orators talk as glibly as they like upon the effectiveness of the Act. It is no use asserting that the drinking traffic must be put down on Sundays to present conditions. The working classes will have their glass of beer despite the provisions of the Act. The only way out of the difficulty is to repeal the measure or adopt the old plan of opening the public houses for a short time on Sundays. If I had the money and the inclination, I could get drunk on any Sunday in the year in Cardiff. I am &c ANTI INTOLERANCE. Roath, Feb 29.’ (Western Mail)
March 1st
1942: Cardiff’s trolleybus system was inaugurated, along with an innovative ‘Pay As You Enter’ system. The chairman of the Transport Committee (Alderman Henry Johns) handed the Lord Mayor (Alderman James Hellyer JP) a newly-minted penny which he placed in the collection receptacle, so becoming the first fare-paying passenger. One man complained that he now was late for work because he was no longer woken by the rattle and clang of the early morning trams. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
1991: The young Prince William, accompanied by his mother Princess Diana, carried out his first official duty – the launch of the Cardiff Marketing Board. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
2010: Feminist students picketed the finals of the Miss University GB competition held at Oceana, Cardiff. Leaflets distributed by protesters stated that ‘judging women on their looks erodes their human right to be treated as equals’. The event raised £6,000 in aid of the Joshua Foundation for children with cancer. One of the judges was Cardiff Blues player Jamie Roberts, a medical student. The winner was Emma Franklin, a history student at the University of Glamorgan. (South Wales Echo)
March 2nd
1486: Henry VII gave the Lordship of Glamorgan to his uncle, Jasper Tudor. Jasper had accompanied the teenage Henry into exile in Brittany in 1471 and it was thanks to him that Henry acquired the tactical awareness which enabled him to defeat Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth (1485) which ended the Wars of the Roses. In 1488 Jasper took possession of Cardiff Castle and modernised its defences. He died in 1495 and was buried at Keynsham Abbey in Somerset. (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002 / Wikipedia)
1742: John Wesley preached at Cardiff Town Hall. He had experienced a rough crossing on the ferry across the Severn, having to scramble over rocks to safety on the Monmouthshire side. The following day he preached at Llantrisant where he denounced the action of John Gilbert, Bishop of Llandaff, in banning him from the pulpit. He met further opposition there in May 1743 from ‘one or two wretches called gentlemen who wrecked the meeting by ill-behaviour and stone-throwing’. (William Rees, Cardiff: A History of the City, Cardiff Corporation, 1969)
March 3rd
1941: German bombs destroyed the premises of the Cardiff Institute for the Blind at the corner of Glossop Road and Longcross Street. Before the war the institute had run a ‘help the blind to help themselves’ campaign. Baskets, brushes and door-mats were made in their workshop and sold from a horse-drawn van that toured the streets of Cardiff. Postcards produced by Messrs A. & G. Taylor of Duke Street Arcade were handed out. These could be filled in by customers if they wanted a salesman to call. The bombing raid that night was particularly heavy. The docks were the Germans’ main target but there was also damage to houses, particularly in Hunter Street, Madoc Road and South Park Road in Splott. A high-explosive bomb destroyed the bridge over the Rhymney River. A swing-bridge at the Queen Alexandra Docks was hit and put out of commission. In all, sixty high-explosive bombs and over 7,000 incendiaries were dropped on the city. Fifty-one people were killed and 243 injured. (J.H. Morgan, ‘Cardiff at War’ in Stewart Williams (ed.) The Cardiff Book, Vol.3, 1974)
March 4th
1323: A Royal Patent (reissued and confirmed in 1360 and 1589) gave members of the Gild of Cordwainers and Glovers of Cardiff the monopoly of selling boots and shoes in the town and within a radius of seven miles around the town. (William Rees, Cardiff: A History of the City, Cardiff Corporation, 1969)
1741: The old Guild Hall was described as ‘so ruinous that it cannot be repaired’. The Town Council agreed that it should be demolished and replaced. The Council further resolved ‘to meet on the 11th March to receive proposals and to meet every week until the Hall is completed’. Building of the new Town Hall was begun in May 1742. (William Rees, Cardiff: A History of the City, Cardiff Corporation, 1969)
1941: Pupils at the Higher Grade Board School in Moorland Road (built to the plans of James, Seward and Thomas in 1885) found the building reduced to a flame-blackened shell after the overnight bombing raid. There was also severe damage to factories and railway sidings on the north side of Roath Dock. Spiller’s Silo was badly damaged, preventing the discharge of bulk cargo. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
March 5th
1886: Birth in Cardiff of Paulo Radmilovich who was to become an Olympic swimming champion. The son of a publican, originally from Dubrovnik, and his Irish wife, Paulo discovered his love of the water as a child, swimming regularly in the Glamorganshire Canal than ran alongside his home, the Glastonbury Arms in Bute Street. It was common then for children to swim there to wash off the smoke and dust of polluted summer days. Radmilovich won Olympic gold medals in 1908, 1912 and 1920. In 1928 he became the first person to compete for Britain in five Olympics. (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002 / Wikipedia)
1951: After a performance of his London hit musical King’s Rhapsody, celebrated composer Ivor Novello (born in Cardiff in 1893) was taken ill and died the next morning. He was famous for his patriotic ‘Keep the Home Fires Burning’, sung by so many during the First World War, and musicals such as Glamorous Nights, Careless Rapture and The Dancing Years, which dominated the West End in the 1930s and ’40s. The route of his funeral cortege was lined with mourners, a bouquet of white lilacs adorned his coffin and he was laid to rest to the strains of his gre
atest hit ‘We’ll Gather Lilacs in the Spring Again’. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
March 6th
1984: The start of the national Miners Strike led by Arthur Scargill and the National Union of Mineworkers. They were protesting against the programme of pit closures proposed by the National Coal Board management led by what the Bishop of Durham famously described as ‘elderly imported American’ Ian McGregor and Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government. South Wales was solid in its support for the strike and when it ended a year later miners at the doomed Maerdy Colliery were the last to return to work, marching proudly with their banners and led by the colliery band. The long legacy of bitterness that the dispute caused is reflected in the words of Terry Breverton written nearly twenty years later: ‘At Maerdy there was not one strike-breaker. When dispassionate historians look at the illegalities and procedures adopted by the State and the Police towards the miners they will wonder about the nature of democracy in 20th century Britain.’ (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002)
March 7th
1910: General Sir Robert Baden-Powell visited Cardiff to inspect the South Wales Scouts at a parade in Cathays Park. He was escorted by the Lord Mayor (Alderman John Chappell) and Viscount Tredegar. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
1911: Central Cinema, The Hayes, opened. The building had started life as a skating rink only three years previously. The programme included West and South Germany, described on the posters as ‘a delightful travel picture’; Adventures of a Bachelor (‘a laughable piece of comedy’); Kit Carson (‘a sensational Western’) and Tilly’s Unsympathetic Uncle. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
1917: Cardiff Council received a letter from M.E. Jones Ltd of Leicester offering help if the Council decided to undertake the breeding of rabbits as a means of increasing food supplies. The matter was referred to a sub-committee which was authorized to spend £10 on breeding stock. In December 1918 the minutes of the Council’s Parks Committee record the authorization of an advertisement of twenty rabbits for sale. After this date rabbit-farming does not seem to have been one of Cardiff Council’s responsibilities. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
March 8th
1917: ‘Drivers are warned that the Electric Brake must be applied when making ordinary stops for the purpose of picking up and setting down of passengers and, when used to prevent accident or collision, the incident (with witnesses) must be reported. The local papers today, March 8th 1917, contain serious reading for all tramway staff: a person having secured £700 for being thrown off the seat of a car in this locality. Arthur Ellis (Manager) Central Tramway Office, The Hayes, Cardiff.’ (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
1924: The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) and the Duke of York (later King George VI) became the first members of the Royal Family to watch a rugby international in Wales. They were among the crowd of 35,000 who saw Ireland beat Wales 13-10 to secure their first victory in Cardiff for twenty-five years. The Prince must have enjoyed himself because he returned for the game against Scotland in February 1927. He saw Wales beaten again, losing 5-0. (Robert Cole & Stuart Farmer, The Wales Rugby Miscellany, Sports Vision Publishing, 2008)
March 9th
1891: David Sanders (18) and George Pine (50) were charged with riotously and tumultuously assembling at the Great Western Railway Approach with a number of other persons and did behave in a riotous manner; with intimidating seamen and with assaulting PC Smeadley in the execution of his duty. At a strikers’ meeting at the Colonial Hall their leader, Mr John Gardner, condemned the inattention of pickets to their duty. He had paid a surprise visit to the docks over the weekend and found only ten out of 180 pickets present. It was agreed that any picket not found at his post should have 2 shillings deducted from his strike pay. It was reported that the colliery and dock proprietors had been recruiting non-union workers from East Devon and that ‘labour in these parishes has consequently become very scarce and farmers are complaining that they cannot get necessary work done’. (Western Mail / Western Morning News)
March 10th
1849: A new vessel launched after sunset from the Batchelor Brothers’ shipyard on the River Taff near St Mary’s Street was next morning discovered to be stuck on a mudbank. A channel had to be dredged to free her. This somewhat embarrassing event turned out to be the last launch from the yard. The following year the course of the river was diverted to allow for the construction of the South Wales Railway and the brothers moved their operations to a new site near Bute Dock. Batchelors was to become one of the most important families involved with shipping in Cardiff. They were shipbrokers, ship owners and built vessels to order for other companies. (John Richards, Cardiff: A Maritime History, The History Press, 2005)
1929: The Jazz Singer, the first ‘talking picture’, was shown at the Queen’s Cinema, Queen Street. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
1957: Terry Holmes, scrum-half for Cardiff, Wales and the British Lions born in Cardiff. He won twenty-five caps for Wales and signed for Rugby League club Bradford Northern for a fee of £80,000. Injuries meant that he only played forty games for them. He retired in 1987 and later coached Cardiff and Caerphilly rugby union teams. (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002 / Wikipedia)
March 11th
1911: Wales, captained by Billy Trew, defeat Ireland 16-0 at the Arms Park to secure the first official Five Nations ‘Grand Slam’. In 1908, the year before France entered the championship, Wales had also won every match. (Robert Cole & Stuart Farmer, The Wales Rugby Miscellany, Sports Vision Publishing, 2008)
1917: The Horngarth, owned by Turnbull Brothers, was the victim of a cunning ruse by the German warship Seeadler, which had set out from Bremerhaven disguised as a Norwegian vessel. The Seeadler was equipped with concealed guns and an auxiliary engine and her hold had been fitted with enough bunks to accommodate 400 prisoners. She sighted the Horngarth, which was carrying maize from Montevideo to Plymouth, and fired a distress flare, making it look as though she was on fire. The Horngarth altered course to offer assistance but then the Seeadler unfurled the German ensign, shot the Cardiff ship’s aerials away and attacked. Her crew were taken prisoner, explosives were placed aboard the Horngarth and she was blown up. (John Richards, Cardiff: A Maritime History, The History Press, 2005)
March 12th
1867: ‘I found two day schools and three Sunday schools, two in connection with the Church and one with the Calvinistic Methodists. One of the day schools was held in St Fagans Castle and was under the patronage of Lady Harriet Clare. The other, under Miss Lisle, the Rector’s sister, was held in a small cottage in the village. The room in the castle was well-furnished with cards and prints, desks and benches.’ (School Inspector’s Report, quoted in Charles F. Sheppard, ‘The Parish of St Fagans’, Glamorgan Historian, 1972)
1950: The celebrations following Wales Triple-Crown winning 6-3 victory over Ireland in Belfast on March 11th were cruelly cut short the next day. A Tudor V aircraft carrying Welsh rugby fans home crashed at Llandow near Cardiff. Eighty people were killed and there were only three survivors. At the time it was the worst disaster in aviation history. Two weeks later five uniformed buglers played the Last Post before the match against France at the Arms Park. An appeal fund raised £40,000 for the victims’ families. (Robert Cole & Stuart Farmer, The Wales Rugby Miscellany, Sports Vision Publishing, 2008)
March 13th
1815: The Minute Book records that no one at all bothered to attend the meeting of the Commissioners charged with powers to levy rates to improve the town’s highways. The Commissioners had been set up under an Act of Parliament of 1774 ‘for the paving, cleansing, and lighting of the streets of Cardiff’ but this does not seem to have got much support from local worthies. Six attended the meeting on March 27th but for the next thirteen after that all the despondent clerk could enter in the book was ‘meeting called in vain’. Very little was achieved by the Commissioners due to a
combination of shortage of money and a lack of co-operation by townspeople. The Act only succeeded in depriving the Town Council of a responsibility which should have been theirs. (William Rees, Cardiff: A History of the City, Cardiff Corporation, 1969)
1913: ‘Two Ton’ Tessie O’Shea was born in Riverside, Cardiff. Brought up in the tradition of the Music Hall, she became one of the most popular entertainers for over forty years, appearing in many well-known films, musicals and stage shows. (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002)
March 14th
1887: A petition was presented to a meeting of the Town Council objecting to the change of Crockherbton or Crokerton to Queen Street. The old name was an ancient one, although its derivation was uncertain. The thirty signatories were ‘unwilling that so well-known and ancient a name, which has distinguished this part of Cardiff from time immemorial, should be abolished’. The petition was unsuccessful, as was a later attempt to reverse the name change, in 1891. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)
