1925 in Wales

← 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1925 in Wales → 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
See also:	List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history 1925 in The United Kingdom Scotland Elsewhere

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1925 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

For United Kingdom incumbents, see 1925 in the United Kingdom § Incumbents.

• Archbishop of Wales – Alfred George Edwards, Bishop of St Asaph ^[1]
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Elfed ^[2]

Events

• 3 February - An estimated 100,000 people line the streets of Cardiff for the funeral of boxer 'peerless' Jim Driscoll. ^[3]
• 13 July - The Ammanford anthracite strike ^[4] begins.
• 5 August - Founding of Plaid Cymru by Lewis Valentine (head of Y Mudiad Cymreig - The Welsh Movement), H. R. Jones (head of the Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru - The Welsh Home Rule Army) ^[5] and others at Pwllheli. ^[6]
• 2 November - After several days of heavy rain, the Llyn Eigiau dam at Dolgarrog on the River Conwy bursts, destroying the village of Porth-llwyd and killing 16 people. ^[7]
• date unknown
  • Clough Williams-Ellis begins construction of Portmeirion. ^[8]
  • US newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst buys the medieval St Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan for $120,000. ^[9]
  • R. Silyn Roberts founds the North Wales branch of the Workers Educational Association.

Arts and literature

Awards

• National Eisteddfod of Wales (held in Pwllheli)
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Dewi Morgan (Dewi Teifi), "Cantre'r Gwaelod" ^[10]
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - William Evans (Wil Ifan), "Bro Fy Mebyd" ^[11]

New books

English language

• Sir Joseph Alfred Bradney - A Survey of the General History of the Town of Newport and District ^[12]
• Ifano Jones - Printing and Printers in Wales ^[13]
• Hilda Vaughan - The Battle to the Weak ^[14]
• Mortimer Wheeler - Prehistoric & Roman Wales ^[15]

Welsh language

• David Rees Davies - Tusw o Flodau ^[16]
• Edward Tegla Davies - Rhys Llwyd Y Lleuad
• Thomas Davies (Teglyn) - Dinas Mawddwy a'i Hamgylchoedd
• Henry Lewis (ed.) - Cywyddau Iolo Goch ac Eraill
• William David Owen - Madam Wen. ^[17]
• Kate Roberts (author) - O gors y bryniau (short stories)
• R. Silyn Roberts - Bugail Geifr Lorraine ^[18]

Music

• Mai Jones - "Blackbirds"

Film

• 27 July - The first Welsh-made animation series, Jerry the Tyke , is shown through Pathé Pictorials in British cinemas. ^[19]
• Gareth Hughes appears in The Midnight Girl.
• Ivor Novello appears in The Rat . ^[20]

Broadcasting

• 14 February - The BBC transmits readings from the poetry of T. Gwynn Jones.
• 22 February - A Welsh-language religious service is broadcast by the BBC.
• 28 February - Saunders Lewis insists on using the Welsh language for his contribution to the BBC series A Welsh Hour. ^[21]
• 6 March - Readings from the poetry of R. Williams Parry are broadcast by the BBC.
• 3 April - The BBC's Liverpool transmitter broadcasts Noson Gymreig (A Welsh Night). ^[22]
• 31 May - A bilingual service is broadcast from Cardiff Baptist Chapel.
• 2 October - The BBC broadcasts a talk on the Welsh language from Swansea.

Sport

• Boxing
  • 26 December - Tom Norris beats Dick Power at the Palace Theatre in Crumlin to take the Welsh heavyweight championship. ^[23]
• Football:
  • 28 February - England defeat Wales 2–1 at the Vetch Field, Swansea.
  • 25 April - Cardiff City reach the FA Cup final, losing 1–0 to Sheffield United
  • 31 October - Scotland defeat Wales 3–0 at Ninian Park.
• The Welsh Lawn Tennis Association is formed.
• Rugby union - Wales finish fourth in the Five Nations Championship with just one win, over France.

Births

• 26 March - Emlyn Hooson, Baron Hooson, lawyer and Liberal politician (died 2012) ^[24]
• 15 April - Geraint Howells, Liberal politician (died 2004) ^[25]
• 2 May - Dai Davies, Wales and British Lions international rugby union player (died 2003)
• 1 June - Roy Clarke, footballer (died 2006)
• 10 June - Sir John Stradling Thomas, Conservative politician (died 1991) ^[26]
• 19 July - Ivor Roberts, television announcer and actor (died 1999)
• 30 July - Don Hayward, Wales international rugby player (died 1999 in New Zealand)
• 7 September - Laura Ashley, designer (died 1985) ^[27]
• 10 October - Tecwyn Roberts, spaceflight engineer (died 1988 in the United States) ^[28]
• 3 November - Gordon Parry, Baron Parry, Welsh politician (died 2004) ^[29]
• 10 November - Richard Burton, born Richard Jenkins, actor (died 1984) ^[30]
• 24 November - Alun Owen, screenwriter (died 1994) ^[31]
• 27 November - John Maddox, science writer (died 2009) ^[32]
• 3 December - Roy John, Wales and British Lions international rugby union player (died 1981)
• 14 December - Ron Stitfall, footballer (died 2008)

Deaths

• 21 January - John Puleston Jones, Methodist minister and author, 62 ^[33]
• 27 January - Francis Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell, 83 ^[34]
• 30 January - Jim Driscoll, boxer ("Peerless Jim"), 44 ^[35]
• 4 February - William Haggar, pioneer of the cinema industry, 73 ^[36]
• 18 February - Frank Mills, Wales international rugby player
• 8 June - Edward John Lewis, Wales international rugby union player, 65 ^[37]
• 9 August - J. Vyrnwy Morgan, minister and author, 65
• 26 September - William Bowen, rugby player, 63
• 19 October - David John Thomas, Wales international rugby union, 45 ^[38]
• 4 November - William David Owen, writer, 51 ^[39]
• 16 November - Towyn Jones, politician, 66 ^[40]
• 20 November - Alexandra of Denmark, the queen mother, former Princess of Wales, 80 ^[41]
• 19 December - Elizabeth Phillips Hughes, teacher, 74 ^[42]

See also

• 1925 in Northern Ireland

References

1. Who was Who 1897–2007, 1991, ISBN   978-0-19-954087-7
2. Emlyn Glasnant Jenkins (2001). "Lewis, Howell Elvet ('Elfed'; 1860–1953), Independent minister, hymn-writer, poet". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
3. Tony Woolway (15 October 2016). Cardiff in the Headlines. Amberley Publishing. p. 35. ISBN   978-1-4456-4889-7. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
4. "Ammanford Anthracite Strike 1925". 2010-08-24. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
5. Morgan, Kenneth O. (1981). Rebirth of a nation: Wales, 1880-1980. History of Wales. Vol. 6 (reprint 2002 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 206. ISBN   0-19-821760-9. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
6. Davies, John (1994). A History of Wales. Penguin. p. 547. ISBN   0-14-014581-8.
7. "Film: 'Nov. 2nd 1925. The Dolgarrog Disaster' (1925)". gtj.org. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
8. Nigel R. Jones (2005). Architecture of England, Scotland, and Wales. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 198. ISBN   978-0-313-31850-4. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
9. Editor & Publisher. Editor & Publisher Company. 1962. p. 28. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
10. "Winners of the Chair". National Eisteddfod of Wales. 3 October 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
11. "Winners of the Crown". National Eisteddfod of Wales. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
12. William Llewelyn Davies. "Bradney, Sir Joseph Alfred (Achydd Glan Troddi; 1859-1933), historian of Monmouthshire". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
13. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire: I East: the Cantref of Arllechwedd and the Commote of Creuddyn. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. 1960. p. 182. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
14. "Reviews". Western Mail. 27 November 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
15. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society for ... University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. 1952. p. 128. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
16. Evan David Jones. "Davies, David Rees ('Cledlyn'; 1875-1964), schoolmaster, poet, writer, local historian". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
17. Robert Thomas Jenkins. "Owen, William David (1874-1925), lawyer and journalist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
18. Studia Celtica. University of Wales Press. 1981. p. 232. Archived from the original on 2021-09-12. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
19. "Jerry The Troublesome Tyke". The National Library of Wales. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
20. Low, Rachael. History of British Film (Volume 4): The History of the British Film 1918 - 1929. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis, 2013. Page 161
21. Davies, John (1994). Broadcasting and the BBC in Wales. University of Wales Press. pp. 33–34.
22. Davies, John (1994). Broadcasting and the BBC in Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 25.
23. "Tom Norris: boxing profile". Boxrec. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
24. Andrew Roth (26 February 2012). "Lord Hooson obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
25. Andrew Roth (19 April 2004). "Lord Geraint". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
26. John Graham Jones. "Thomas, John Stradling (1925-1991), Conservative politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
27. Colin Matthew; Henry Colin Gray Matthew (1999). Brief Lives: Twentieth-century Pen Portraits from the Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN   978-0-19-280089-3. Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
28. Manfred "Dutch" von Ehrenfired (23 March 2016). The Birth of NASA: The Work of the Space Task Group, America's First True Space Pioneers. Springer. p. 280. ISBN   978-3-319-28428-6. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
29. Meic Stephens (6 September 2004). "Lord Parry". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
30. Richard Burton (23 October 2012). The Richard Burton Diaries. Yale University Press. p. 2. ISBN   978-0-300-18010-7. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
31. Tise Vahimagi. "Owen, Alun (1925–1994)". Screenonline . British Film Institute . Retrieved 2006-02-07.
32. "Obituary: Sir John Maddox" Archived 2021-09-12 at the Wayback Machine , The Times, 13 April 2009.
33. Robert Richard Hughes. "JONES, JOHN PULESTON (1862-1925)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales . Retrieved 21 June 2025.
34. The Encyclopedia Americana. Americana Corporation. 1954. p. 460. Archived from the original on 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
35. Emlyn Wynne Evans. "Driscoll, James (1880-1925), boxer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography . National Library of Wales . Retrieved 8 November 2022.
36. Peter Yorke (8 May 2007). William Haggar (1851-1925): fairground film-maker : [biography of a pioneer of the cinema]. Accent Press. p. 114. ISBN   978-1-905170-87-6. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
37. Edward John Lewis player profile Archived 2021-09-12 at the Wayback Machine Scrum.com
38. David Thomas player profile Scrum.com
39. Robert Thomas Jenkins. "Owen, William David (1874-1925), lawyer and journalist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
40. David Thomas Jones. "Jones, Josiah Towyn (1858-1925), Congregational minister and Member of Parliament". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
41. Eilers, Marlene A., Queen Victoria's Descendants, p. 171.
42. Megan Lewis. "Hughes, Elizabeth Phillips (1851-1925), educationalist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2020.