The Cardiff Book of Days (31 page)

1909:
Massed ranks of fairies joined hands to form a map of the counties of Wales in the picturesque closing performance of the National Pageant of Wales (
see
July 26th). The whole event was seen by many as evidence of a heightening of Welsh national consciousness. It was yet another local event that owed much to the practical and financial support of the Bute family. Over 4,000 people watched the final show outside Cardiff Castle. Souvenir postcards, which are now highly-prized by collectors, were produced for the pageant. The included pictures of famous Welsh landmarks, traditional costume, extracts from traditional songs and humorous cartoons. (Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
/
www.gtj.org.uk
)

2010:
Cardiff pub The Cayo reopened after refurbishment with a VIP Launch Night. Among the more unlikely attractions was a ‘larger-than-life cricketer on stilts' giving customers the chance to win tickets for Glamorgan matches at the Swalec Stadium. Pub manager Chris Thomas told the
South Wales Echo
that he was planning ‘an ever-changing menu and special midweek offer'.

1917:
Two members of the
Dunraven
, Lieutenant C.G. Bonner and Petty Officer E.H. Pitcher, were awarded the Victoria Cross after a naval engagement in the North Atlantic. The
Dunraven
(formerly the
Boverton
) was a Cardiff vessel that had been converted to serve as a ‘Q-ship', a merchantman which acted as a decoy to trick German submarines. The idea was that when a U-Boat appeared, intending to attack the vulnerable-looking ship, a ‘panic party' would row away from her, giving the impression that she was being abandoned. In fact a full crew was still aboard and, when the U-Boat was within range, the White Ensign would be raised and the guns fired. In this incident, however, the Germans were not fooled, even when three panic boats were despatched from the
Dunraven
. Torpedoes were fired, one sailor was killed and the
Dunraven
badly damaged. She sank while being towed back to Plymouth. (John Richards,
Cardiff: A Maritime History
, The History Press, 2005)

1855:
The Bishop of Llandaff, the Rt Revd Alfred Olliphant, was one of a team of twenty-two cricketers from Cardiff & District who turned out at the Arms Park for a Challenge Match against William Clarke's All England XI. It was promised that the game would ‘prove an epoch from which we shall hereafter have to date the progress of South Wales to a higher elevation in the noble art of cricketing'. As well as the Bishop, the Cardiff team also included the Revd Cyril Stacey (Curate of St John's) and Captain Maher, who was in charge of the lightship in Cardiff Bay. It was further strengthened by inclusion of established county cricketers from Herefordshire and Oxfordshire. It was all to no avail though, the visitors being victorious by five wickets. Two years later a game was played against a different All-England team including John Wisden, the founder of the well-known almanac, but the result was exactly the same. These two defeats and the heavy gambling on the results that took place seem to have seriously embarrassed the Cardiff cricketing fraternity and it was several years before their reputation recovered. (Andrew Hignell,
From Sophia to Swalec: A History of Cricket in Cardiff
, The History Press, 2008)

1889:
The birth in Cardiff of Irene Steer, a swimmer who successfully competed in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Her event was the 100-metre freestyle but a collision with a fellow competitor in the heats robbed her of a chance of a medal. Her gold came in the relay along with Jennie Fletcher, Annie Spears and Bella Moore. Irene swam the anchor leg in the final for the British team which set a new Olympic record. She was unbeaten in the Welsh Championships for seven years from 1907 until she retired. She later married a director of Cardiff City and was still driving herself to games when in her eighties. Recalling her in 2008, her grandson William, told BBC Wales that ‘she was an incredibly modest champion. We would never have known she was good at anything. She talked more about football. The Stockholm Olympics were the first in which women were allowed to participate in the swimming events and the team did not have a coach but a formidable-looking chaperone. Her silk costume had to have bra and knickers inside because when it got wet it went completely see-through!' (
www.sports-reference.com
/
www.news.bbc.co.uk
)

1929:
Birth in Bargoed of prolific classical composer Alan Hoddinot, A gifted teacher, he was Professor of Music at University College, Cardiff and responsible for the department's expansion to become the largest in Europe in the 1980s. In 2005 he produced a fanfare for the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, having previous written works to celebrate the Prince's 16th birthday and for his Investiture as Prince of Wales. (Wikipedia)

1995:
The Welsh National Opera staged a free concert outside the City Hall. The venture was such a success that they put on another at Cardiff Bay in July 1997. (
Western Mail
)

1999:
The eagerly-awaited eclipse of the sun duly occurred around 11 o'clock but was largely obscured by cloud. The eclipse would have been total in the far south-west of England. The authorities in Cornwall had been making preparations for this event all year and there had been concerns about whether the roads and water supply would be able to cope with the influx of visitors. In Cardiff about 97 per cent of the sun was obscured. (
Western Mail
)

2010:
Cardiff Council's decision to allow the demolition of a much-loved Cardiff pub prompted calls for a review of planning guidelines. Splott councillor Gavin Cox made his plea to stop parts of the city being ‘ghettoised' after the Planning Committee approved proposals for the demolition of the Grosvenor Hotel in South Park Road and its replacement with a block of twenty-two flats. A number of other pubs had closed in Splott in recent years and Mr Cox complained that ‘we are losing our community resources and there is nothing to come to our aid'. The Grosvenor, which had been built in 1893, had been derelict for some time after being closed by its owners, Brains Brewery, who claimed it was ‘no longer viable'. Councillor Cox had attempted to get the building protected but
CADW
(the Welsh heritage agency) did not consider it worthy of listing. Attempts to get the surrounding area designated as a Conservation Area were also turned down. Suggesting that at least the façade might be preserved, Cllr Jacqui Perry commented ‘isn't it a shame that we are losing so many of our lovely old buildings?' (
South Wales Echo
)

1831:
Twenty-three-year-old Dic Penderyn (Richard Lewis) was hanged at Cardiff for his part in the Merthyr Rising. Several weeks of protests by miners and other works about low wages and poor conditions had led to rioting in the town and soldiers being called in by the authorities to restore order. Penderyn was alleged to have stabbed a soldier outside the Castle Inn, Merthyr, but local people believed he was innocent and campaigned for a reprieve. This was refused by the Home Secretary, Lord Melbourne. Many at the time were convinced that the hanging went ahead because Melbourne wanted a scapegoat to blame for the Rising and to deter others. Others involved in the soldier's death escaped with transportation.

Penderyn's wife was pregnant at the time of his execution and suffered a miscarriage as a result of it. Thousands flocked to escort his body through the Vale of Glamorgan to Dic's funeral at Port Talbot. Later one James Abbot, who had testified against him, admitted that he had lied under oath. Another man, Ianto Parker, confessed on his death-bed that he had carried out the stabbing. (John Davies
et al
.,
The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales
, 2008 / Wikipedia)

1907:
Rhoda Willis (aka Leslie James) became the only woman to be hanged at Cardiff Jail. A ‘baby-farmer', who accepted unwanted babies to place for adoption, she had been convicted of killing one that she had just collected from an address in Fleur-de-Lis. She had made a full confession to her solicitor the previous evening, telling him that she could not go to her death without a clear conscience. She said that she had indeed murdered the baby on the train home, somewhere between Llanishen and Cardiff. A sudden temptation had come over her, she said, and she could not resist it. She asked him to let the judge and jurors know of her confession so that they would not have her death on their consciences, The execution took place on her 44th birthday. Henry Pierrepoint, the hangman, recorded in his diary that ‘she was still an attractive woman, her golden hair glinting in the sunshine as she was led across the yard to the execution shed'. A large crowd had gathered outside the prison but, as was usual with a female's execution, the press were not permitted to witness it. (
www.capitalpunishment.org
)

1911:
A visitor from Leicester, quoted in the
South Wales Daily News
, commented that ‘Cardiff is a city of contrasts. The slums around the docks are as bad as any in London and the alien quarters are a serious menace to other parts of the city but the wide expanses of Queen Street, the beautiful parks (especially Roath Park) and, to crown it all, in Cathays Park, City Hall, the University and Glamorgan County Hall, buildings which even London might be proud of.'

1958:
Hayes Buildings, completed in 1893 for Soloman Andrews, was destroyed by fire. It was by far the most serious fire in Cardiff since the war. The building was used for storage by a number of different firms and the fire broke out in the early hours. It was some time before it was discovered by the night watchman. It took seventeen water-jets from eight pumps and two turntable ladders to put out the blaze. The ruins were later demolished and Oxford House built on the site. Soloman Andrews had come to Cardiff in 1851 as a young man. Starting from selling sweets from a tray in St Mary Street, he built up a successful business empire in the town and was a wealthy man when he died in 1908. (M.J. Mace,
A Brief History of Cardiff Fire Brigade
, 1977 / Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
)