David Petersen (born 1944) is a Welsh sculptor, cultural commentator and television presenter based in St. Clears, Carmarthenshire. He is particularly known for his metal sculptures of dragons. [1]
Petersen was born in Cardiff in 1944, the son of Jack Petersen (1911–1990), a boxer who held the British Heavyweight title on two occasions. [2]
Petersen worked in the GKN steelworks in Cardiff before studying fine art at Newport College of Art (1961–1965). [1] He is an elected member of the Royal Cambrian Academy, [3] and has served as chairman of the British Artist Blacksmiths Association. [1]
For several years Petersen led the Welsh delegation to the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany. He resigned from the festival committee in 2008 in protest at the content of the Welsh pavilion. [4]
Petersen's sons Aaron, Toby and Gideon are sculptors who sometimes work collaboratively with their father. [3]
The Mametz Wood memorial commemorates an action of the 38th (Welsh) Division of the British Army during the First Battle of the Somme in 1916. The memorial, located on the site of the action in northern France, is of a large red dragon holding barbed wire, mounted on a stone plinth. [5]
A steel sculpture mounted on polished granite located in the foyer of County Hall, Cardiff. Commissioned by Allied Steel and Wire as a gift to South Glamorgan County Council. [6]
Together with his sons, Petersen won a competition to make the National Millennium Beacon for the millennium celebrations. [7] The large stainless steel sculpture was erected on the porch of Cardiff City Hall. [8]
Petersen designed the definitive issue of the Welsh second class postage stamp, which features a leek carved from wood. Petersen's sons Toby and Gideon designed the first class stamp which features a dragon. [9] [10]
A bronze statue of the world champion boxer Howard Winstone (1939–2000), located in a shopping centre in Merthyr Tydfil. [11]
Petersen is also known as a television presenter on historical and cultural topics. His work includes Stop, Look, Listen: Tales from Wales (Channel 4, 2002) and When the Romans Came to Wales (Channel 4, 2003). [12] [13]
Petersen was a Plaid Cymru candidate in the 1999 National Assembly election for the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency. He gained 2,356 votes, 8.1% of the overall vote. [2] [14]
Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of 362,310 in 2021 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff. The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. Cardiff Built-up Area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.
The Brecon Beacons are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan, its twin summit Corn Du, and Craig Gwaun Taf, which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons have given their name to the larger Brecon Beacons National Park, and the range itself is therefore sometimes known as the Central Beacons to differentiate the two.
Powys is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown, and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells.
Brecon, archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Brecknockshire (Breconshire); although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of the County of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third-largest town in Powys, after Newtown and Ystradgynlais. It lies north of the Brecon Beacons mountain range, but is just within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Until 1974, Brecknockshire, also formerly known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was an administrative county in the south of Wales, later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. Named after its county town of Brecon, the county was mountainous and primarily rural.
The A470 is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at 186 miles (299 km) and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigate the narrow roads of Llanidloes and Dolgellau, both these market towns are now bypassed due to extensive road modernisation. The 26 miles (42 km) from Cardiff Bay to Merthyr Tydfil are mainly dual carriageway, but most of the route from north of Merthyr to Llandudno is single carriageway.
Llandovery is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about 25 miles (40 km) north-east of Carmarthen, 27 miles (43 km) north of Swansea and 21 miles (34 km) west of Brecon.
Pen y Fan is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in Brecon Beacons National Park. At 886 metres (2,907 ft) above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. It is the highest point of the historic county of Brecknockshire. The twin summits of Pen y Fan and Corn Du at 873 metres (2,864 ft) were formerly referred to as Cadair Arthur or 'Arthur's Seat'.
Trecastle is a village in Powys, Wales, situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) and in the community of Llywel. The village has a population of about 200.
Brecon and Radnorshire was a county constituency in Wales of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1918, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election. The constituency was represented by Fay Jones of the Conservative Party, who defeated incumbent Jane Dodds of the Liberal Democrats at the 2019 general election.
Victoria Kirstyn Williams is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the Welsh Government from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from December 2008 to May 2016 and subsequently from June 2017 to November 2017 in an acting capacity.
Howard Winstone, MBE was a Welsh world champion boxer, born in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. As an amateur, Winstone won the Amateur Boxing Association bantamweight title in 1958, and a Commonwealth Games Gold Medal at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.
John Charles Peterson OBE TD was a Welsh boxer who held the British heavyweight boxing title on two occasions. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration (TD) in 1950 and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1978 Birthday Honours "for services to Sport particularly in Wales."
Glasbury, also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village and community in Powys, Wales. The village lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the historic counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire, and is located just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains. The village is split between the communities of Glasbury and Gwernyfed. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 4 miles (6 km) to the north east. The nearest city is Hereford in England, some 25 miles (40 km) to the east. Glasbury is a popular location for river fishing, canoeing and kayaking. The population of Glasbury community in Radnorshire was 994, in 1841 it was 838.
John Evan Thomas, FSA was a Welsh sculptor, notable for many sculptures both in Wales and elsewhere in the UK, such as his portrait sculptures in London. He was especially notable for the Death of Tewdrig which was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851, and for his two bronze statues of Henry de Loundres and William, Earl of Pembroke in the chamber of the House of Lords.
David Rees is a Welsh Labour politician who has served as the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Senedd since 2021. He has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Aberavon since 2011.
Fay Alicia Jones is a British former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire from 2019 to 2024. She is a member of the Conservative Party and a former junior government minister.