This article is about the particular significance of the year 1952 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales vacant (The Duke of Cornwall (Prince Charles) was not created Prince of Wales until 1958)
• Princess of Wales vacant
• Archbishop of Wales John Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales Cynan

Events

• 10 January - An Aer Lingus Douglas DC-3 aircraft on a London–Dublin flight crashes in Wales due to vertical draft in the mountains of Snowdonia, killing twenty passengers and the three crew.^[1][2]
• 5 July - Six miners are killed in a mining accident at Point of Ayr colliery in north Wales.
• 3 September - Mahmood Hussein Mattan is the last person to be executed at Cardiff Prison.
• 19 October - A small Welsh republican group, Y Gweriniaethwyr, make an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the water pipeline leading from the Claerwen dam in mid Wales to Birmingham.^[3]
• 23 October - Opening of Claerwen reservoir, the first engagement carried out in Wales by Elizabeth II since her accession as Queen of the United Kingdom.^[4]
• Lake Bala bursts its banks and floods many parts of the Vale of Edeyrnion.
• Following the retirement of Hugh O'Neill, David Grenfell becomes Father of the House.
• Pennar Davies becomes Principal of Swansea Memorial College.

Arts and literature

• Richard Bebb marries Gwen Watford.

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Aberystwyth)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - John Evans
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Owen Elias Roberts

New books

• Islwyn Ffowc Elis - Cyn Oeri'r Gwaed
• Jack Jones - Lily of the Valley
• T. J. Morgan - Y Treigladau a u Cystrawen
• John Dyfnallt Owen - Rhamant a Rhyddid
• R. Williams Parry - Cerddi'r Gaeaf
• Bertrand Russell - The Impact of Science on Society
• Richard Vaughan - Moulded in Earth
• Raymond Williams - Drama from Ibsen to Eliot

Music

• David Wynne - Symphony no. 1

Recordings

• Dylan Thomas records a collection of five of his poems, including Fern Hill and Do not go gentle into that good night, along with the short prose A Child's Christmas in Wales for Caedmon Audio in New York.

Film

• Richard Burton stars in My Cousin Rachel.

Broadcasting

• 12 March - Tommy Cooper's TV series, It's Magic, begins its run.
• 15 August - The Wenvoe television transmitter enters service.
• 26 August - Hit radio series Welsh Rarebit transfers to television.

Sport

• Rugby union - Wales win their fifth Grand Slam.
• Summer Olympics - Harry Llewellyn wins a gold medal in the team showjumping competition, riding Foxhunter.

Births

• 9 January Mike Watkins, Wales international rugby captain
• 24 January Tony Villars, footballer
• 22 March David Jones, politician
• 3 April - Philip Jenkins, academic and former Mastermind champion
• 16 April Bob Humphrys, sports broadcaster (d. 2008)
• 21 April - Cheryl Gillan, politician
• 5 May Andrew Davies AM, politician
• 12 June Jed Williams, jazz journalist
• 7 September Irene James AM, politician
• 18 October Hilary Bevan Jones, television producer
• 17 November David Emanuel, fashion designer
• 20 November Karen Sinclair, politician
• date unknown
  • Robert Minhinnick, poet

Deaths

• 3 March John Emlyn Emlyn-Jones, ship-owner and politician, 63
• 25 April Sir Milsom Rees, surgeon, 86
• 25 August James Kitchener Davies, poet, dramatist, and nationalist, 50
• 23 October Windham Wyndham-Quin, 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, politician, 95
• 28 October William Morris Hughes, Prime Minister of Australia
• 28 November Ernie George, Wales international rugby player
• 2 December Tom Jackson, Wales international rugby player, 82
• 15 December (in London) Sir William Goscombe John, sculptor, 92
• 26 December (in London) Lyn Harding, actor, 85
• 31 December John Cledwyn Davies, politician, 83

References