The Cardiff Book of Days

by Mike Hall

  April 17th

  1792: At a meeting held on this date the chairman of the Quarter Sessions, who was in favour of moving Cardiff’s prison to Cowbridge, refused to allow any more expenditure on the old site. The majority of the Justices of the Peace disagreed with him but nothing was done. In 1797 a Judge Hardinge proposed that a next-door bakehouse be purchased and demolished in order to improve ventilation and to give the prisoners more space for exercise. He also recommended the partitioning of the passage leading to the chapel ‘to prevent the debtors and criminals from seeing each other’. (E. Alwyn Benjamin, Penarth 1841-71, A Glimpse of the Past, D. Brown & Sons, 1980)

  1937: Cardiff-registered vessel the Seven Seas Spray received an ecstatic welcome at Bilbao after breaking the blockade to bring in much-needed supplies to the city, which was besieged by General Franco’s fascist forces. Captain Bill Roberts of Penarth and what was described as his ‘cheerful coloured crew’ had sailed under cover of darkness from St Jean de Luiz. Roberts’ daughter Fifi gave an account of their adventure to the News Chronicle and later reported on her visit to the ruins of Guernica, bombed by the Luftwaffe on April 26th. (John O’Sullivan & Bryn Jones, Cardiff: A Centenary Celebration, The History Press, 2005)

  April 18th

  1886: ‘Palm Sunday, or “Flowering Sunday” as it is popularly called, was observed in Cardiff. It was a fine though rather cold day, enabling many, who otherwise would have been prevented, to conform to the beautiful custom of decking with flowers the graves of friends “gone before” … Some good people imagine that this practice is a relic of Popery. It is not so. It existed before the Roman Catholic Church and before the advent of Christianity itself. On Saturday the shops were literally filled with choice wreaths and floral devices. Nearly every other female met in the streets carried a touching token of love for some dear lost one. On Sunday the graveyard of Llandaff Cathedral was visited by thousands of people … One very unpleasant feature must not be allowed to pass unnoticed. Itinerant vendors of sweets and refreshments waylaid the passers-by, while near the New Cemetery a shed had been converted into a refreshment booth. This practice, which has been growing for some years, cannot be too strongly condemned. It is to be hoped that in the future steps will be taken to put a stop to such thoughtless desecration.’ (Western Mail)

  April 19th

  1340: Cardiff receives a charter from Hugh Despenser, Lord of Glamorgan. This gave the Burgesses important legal status and trade advantages. It confirmed that the Midsummer Fair could be held, lasting a fortnight from June 23rd, and a week-long fair for the Feast of St Mary from September 7th. (John Richards, Cardiff: A Maritime History, The History Press, 2005)

  1952: Gus Risman (born in Cardiff on March 21st 1911) became the oldest player to play in a Rugby League Cup Final when he turned out for Workington Town, aged 41. He had played rugby union as a schoolboy in South Wales before being signed by Rugby League club Salford, where he made his debut in August 1929. During his time there he won seventeen international caps for Great Britain. He finished his career at Workington, leading them to unexpected Challenge Cup glory. He was celebrated as one of the few Welshman to score more than 2,000 points in a rugby league career. After retiring as a player he coached at Oldham and Bradford Northern. He died in 1994. His son Bev also became an accomplished rugby league player. One of the streets in Workington’s regenerated town centre was named Risman Place. (T.D. Breverton, The Welsh Almanac, Glyndwr Publications, 2002 / Wikipedia)

  April 20th

  1660: In the earliest-known contested election for the Cardiff seat in Parliament Herbert Evans of The Knoll, Neath, and Bussy Mansel of Briton Ferry were both elected. However, in June Evans was unseated as a result of a complaint and a petition to Parliament. Mansel had been a zealous supporter of Parliament during the Civil War. He had been made Commander in Chief of their forces in Glamorgan under Lord Fairfax, a post that gave him considerable authority and power. During the time of the Commonwealth, Bussy had been appointed a Commissioner under the ‘Act for Ejecting Inefficient Ministers and Schoolmasters’. At the Restoration in 1660 Bussy made his peace with King Charles II and continued to serve in the House of Commons as the Member for Cardiff & Glamorgan. He died in May 1699. (W.R. Williams, ‘Members of Parliament for Cardiff’)

  2006: The English Cricket Board announces that Glamorgan County Cricket Club had been given the right to stage an England v. Australia Test Match at the Swalec Stadium in 2009. (Andrew Hignell, From Sophia to Swalec: A History of Cricket in Cardiff, The History Press, 2008)

  April 21st

  1932: ‘There can be no question that a large number of married women are anxious to obtain reliable information about methods of preventing conception,’ stated Dr Ralph Picken, Medical Officer, reporting to Cardiff Health Committee. ‘It has been maintauined,’ he said, ‘that the use of contraceptives is associated with damage to health. Advocates of birth control clinics claim that their methods, if the advice is properly given and strictly followed, are not attended by such results. On the other hand, it must be remembered that an alternative to birth control is being widely practised, namely self-induced abortion and leads not infrequently to death, and still more commonly to permanent damage.’ (Daily Herald, quoted in Trevor Herbert & Gareth Elwyn Jones, Wales Between the Wars, 1988)

  1966: Professor Colin Buchanan’s controversial plan for Cardiff up to the year 2000 was published. It proposed a network of new roads and some controversial demolitions, including St David’s Roman Catholic Cathedral (see January 26th) (John O’Sullivan & Bryn Jones, Cardiff: A Centenary Celebration, The History Press, 2005)

  April 22nd

  1917: The birth of Leo Abse, one of the sons of a Jewish solicitor and cinema owner in Cardiff. He was to become one of the most colourful politicians of his day. Elected as Member for Pontypool in a by-election in 1958, he acquired a reputation for independence of mind and also for his flamboyant dress on Budget Days. In 1963 he introduced the Matrimonial Causes Bill which simplified the divorce process and three years later was instrumental in securing legislation that legalised homosexuality. In 1973 he demanded that the government ban the rock singer Alice Cooper from performing in the United Kingdom, claiming that Cooper was ‘peddling the culture of the concentration camp. Pop is one thing,’ he said, ‘anthems of necrophilia are quite another!’ He retired from Parliament in 1987. He married his second wife in 2000 when he was 83 and she was fifty years younger. He died in 2008. (Dictionary of National Biography, OUP / Wikipedia)

  2005: Floodlights at Glamorgan’s Sophia Gardens stadium were ceremonially switched on by the chairman of the English Cricket Board – but the scheduled evening match against Essex was rained off. (Andrew Hignell, From Sophia to Swalec: A History of Cricket in Cardiff, The History Press, 2008)

  April 23rd

  1927: Captained by Fred Keenor, Cardiff City beat Arsenal 1-0 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, thus becoming the first team to take the trophy out of England. The only goal of the game was scored by Hughie Ferguson fifteen minutes from time. Ironically, the blame for the goal was attributed to a South Walian, Arsenal goalkeeper Dan Lewis (born in Maerdy in the Rhondda Valley) who somehow allowed the ball to spin out of his hands into the net. Victory for Cardiff was all the sweeter because they had reached the final two years before – only to lose to Sheffield United. King George V, who presented the Cup to Keenor, was so impressed with the Cardiff fans’ singing of ‘Abide With Me’ that he asked them to sing it again! The 1927 Cup Final is noteworthy for being the first to have live commentary broadcast on the radio. Two days later thousands of people turned out to see the victorious City team tour the streets of Cardiff on an open-top bus. (John O’Sullivan & Bryn Jones, Cardiff: A Centenary Celebration, The History Press, 2005)

  April 24th

  1873: In a Court report headed ‘A Refractory Pauper’, the Western Mail disclosed that ‘John Clark, an inmate of the union was charged with wilfully damaging his clothes at the workhouse. Willi
am Miles, Labour Superintendent, stated that on Tuesday night the prisoner was admitted to the house as a pauper. On the next morning he went into the cell and saw that he had taken his clothes off and torn them into pieces. He said he had done so because the clothes were dirty and ragged. The prisoner, in defence, said that the witness had struck him three times in the stomach and also tried to strangle him. It was quite true what he had stated in regard to his clothes. He was sentenced to 21 days hard labour and informed that, when the term of imprisonment had ended, he could lay any information against the union’. In another case Henry Coombe, Chief Mate of the steamship Henry Brand was convicted of smuggling 4lb of tobacco, ‘found on the bridge behind the compass’. He was ordered to pay £3 and costs or, in default, twenty-one days’ imprisonment. The magistrates stated that they ‘hoped it would be a warning to the prisoner, who had shown such a bad example to the crew.’

  April 25th

  1894: The cargo ship the Gilcruix, built at Workington in 1894, left Cardiff for Iquique, Chile. She had a crew of thirty-three, including six apprentices. One of these was the 17-year-old John Masefield. The future Poet Laureate suffered terribly from sea-sickness. He wrote later of ‘going aloft in the Roaring Forties, the wind having a fervour and fury which took my breath away’. After rounding Cape Horn in horrendous conditions, they arrived at the port of Iquique with their cargo of coal thirteen weeks after leaving Cardiff. Masefield was by now so ill that he was certified as a ‘Distressed Seaman’ by the British Consul which meant that he could be sent back to Britain by steamship. He left the Gilcruix with some relief and was taken to the British hospital in Valparaiso. Meanwhile his ship was being loaded with guano, Chile’s main export, for the return voyage. (John Richards, Cardiff: A Maritime History, The History Press, 2005)

  April 26th

  1969: Welsh nationalist activist Robert Trigg (20), a student from Ely, Cardiff, was arrested following the discovery of an explosive device in a left-luggage office at Queen Street station. This followed the explosion of a similar bomb planted by the Free Wales Army at the police headquarters on April 15th. At Trigg’s trial an expert witness told the court that if it had gone off, it would have had the explosive force of twelve hand-grenades and the consequences in the crowded station would have been ‘utterly appalling’. The bomb had only been discovered by chance when a booking clerk noticed that a surcharge was payable on the locker and checked the contents. It had failed to go off because it had not been assembled properly. Trigg pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years imprisonment. British Rail instituted extra security measures which were maintained until after the Investiture. Passengers at railway stations in Wales were required to produce proof of identity before leaving luggage. (John Humphries, Freedom Fighters: Wales’ Forgotten War, 1963-1993, University of Wales, 2008)

  April 27th

  1939: Final races took place at the Ely Racecourse, once dubbed ‘The Ascot of Wales’ and home of the Welsh Grand National since 1895. The last race was won by Grasshopper, ridden by Keith Piggot, father of Lester. After the war the area was developed for housing and the Ely Leisure Centre. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  1951: The pavilion at Sophia Gardens was formally opened by the Lord Mayor, Alderman George Williams. It was an old RAF hanger originally at the Stormy Down base near Bridgend. It was intended to be a temporary structure until replaced by something more permanent in the city centre. In fact it did sterling service until the 1980s, becoming a popular venue for boxing and wrestling, events like the Welsh Trade Fair and concerts by such stars as Gracie Fields, Danny Kaye and Cliff Richard. (Andrew Hignell, From Sophia to Swalec: A History of Cricket in Cardiff, The History Press, 2008)

  1957: The Freedom of the City was bestowed on the Welsh Guards at Cardiff Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, attended and the Lord Mayor, Alderman D.T. Williams, took the salute outside the City Hall. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  April 28th

  1830: Birth at Ruperra Castle of Godfrey Charles Morgan who was to become the first Viscount Tredegar. He became famous for his part in the Crimean War where he fought in the battles of Alma, Inkerman and Balaklava. He was in charge of a section of the Light Brigade which took part in the famous Charge immortalised in verse by Tennyson. His statue outside the City Hall was erected in 1909, a few years before the Viscount died. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  1851: The clerk of the Cardiff Board of Health was ordered ‘to write to Mr Brunel pointing out the nuisance and injurious effects to Public Health arising from the old bed of the River Taff in consequence of the diversion of the river by the South Wales Railway.’ (Stephen K. Jones, Brunel in South Wales, Vol. 2, The History Press, 2006)

  1978: Closure of the East Moors (Dowlais) Steelworks (opened on February 4th 1891). (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  April 29th

  1941: Forty-one people were killed and many more seriously injured when four parachute mines were dropped by German bombers aiming for the city centre. Most of the casualties occurred in Llanbleddian Gardens and Wyverne Road, Cathays. At no. 19 Wyverne Road, Mr and Mrs Palmer and their eight children were all killed. The wreckage of their Anderson Shelter was found on the roof of a house in Rhymney Street. Fifty-four houses were demolished, 348 were so seriously damaged as to be rendered uninhabitable. Houses as far away as Albany Road and Crwys Road had their windows blown out. Some 250 homeless people were sent to the Gladstone Road schools for temporary shelter but found there was nobody there to receive them. This incident was kept secret at the time in the interests of public morale. Elsewhere a landmine blew a crater 15ft deep in the grounds of Cardiff Castle. The headquarters of the 4th Cardiff (St Andrew’s) Scouts was demolished in the raid but the troop’s prize possession, the flag presented by the troop to Captain Scott when his expedition left for the Antarctic in June 1910 (and returned after Scott’s death) was rescued intact. (J.H. Morgan, ‘Cardiff at War’ in Stewart Williams (ed.) The Cardiff Book, Vol.3, 1974 / Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  April 30th

  1975: One of Cardiff’s typical street-corner pubs, the Duke of York in Wellington Street closed prior to demolition. The area, bounded by Wellington Street, Cowbridge Road and Leckwith Road, was by the mid-1960s considered ripe for redevelopment. It had been well-provided with pubs. As well as the Duke of York, it had the Greyhound, Red Cow, Rover Vaults and the Swan. This was in complete contrast to ‘Temperance Town’, an area of narrow streets and terraced houses just north of the railway station. When the owner of this land, Colonel Edward Robert Wood, leased the land to developer John Scott Matthews in 1858, he stipulated that certain trades could not be carried out there without his permission. These included ‘tavern-keeper, alehouse-keeper or retailer of beer’. Matthews was himself a teetotaller. The first building to be erected was a Temperance Hall (which later became Wood Street Congregational Chapel) and a Temperance Hotel followed. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  May 1st

  1869: First issue of the Western Mail, originally financed by the Bute family after they failed to regain the Parliamentary seat for Cardiff in the Election earlier in the year. This defeat was blamed by supporters on the lack of a Conservative-supporting newspaper locally. The paper’s name reflects the fact that it was ‘intended to traverse not only highways of the whole of the Principality but guaranteed to cross the Bristol Channel’, its planned circulation area including also South West England. (Geraint Talfain Davies in ‘The Capital Makes News’ in Stewart Williams (ed.) The Cardiff Book, Vol.2, 1974)

  1902: The Cardiff Corporation Tramways system was officially inaugurated with a procession of twelve tramcars, decorated with flowers and Welsh dragons. The trams left their depot in Clare Road and travelled to the Town Hall where the Mayor, council officers and invited guests were waiting to be taken on a tour of the town. The first route to be opened was between Castle Road (renamed City Road in 1905) and the Docks. Purpose-built depots w
ere provided in Clare Road and Newport Road. By 1905 there were 131 trams which carried 18 million passengers on twelve different routes. (Stewart Williams, Cardiff Yesterday)

  May 2nd