The Cardiff Book of Days (42 page)

2010:
Plans to build a tidal barrage across the Severn Estuary between Lavernock Point near Cardiff and Weston-super-Mare, appeared to have been halted by the Coalition government's Energy Secretary Chris Huhne after a ten-year feasibility study put the cost of developing the barrage at £34 million, more than double the original estimate of £15 million. It was concluded that the environmental impact of the barrage would be ‘unprecedented' and that the proposals should not be considered again ‘for at least five years'. The decision was branded ‘a disaster for Wales' by Shadow Welsh Secretary Peter Hain but was applauded by many campaigners. However, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan and damaged nuclear power plants in March 2011 – and also the political turmoil that destabilised oil-producing areas in the Middle East and North Africa at the same time – it was suggested that the economics had changed and that the barrage scheme might be more viable. (
Western Mail
/
Western Daily Press
)

1803:
The
Gloucester Journal
reported that ‘the Cardiff Cavalry is daily in expectation of a rout* for the Gower near Swansea for the protection of that part of the coast'. [* rout = call-out] Such units were called upon when necessary to provide men for coastal defence duties and beacon watching. (Bryn Owen,
Glamorgan: Its Gentlemen and Yeomanry
, Starling Press, 1983)

1972:
The death of Fred Keenor, legendary captain of Cardiff City in the 1920s. He had played for Wales against England in the first schoolboys' international between the two nations. In 1912, when he first signed for City as a professional, his pay was just 10 shillings a week. He served in the First World War in the 17
^th
Middlesex, the famous ‘footballers' battalion' and received a leg wound at the Somme but after the war returned to play for Cardiff, then still in the Southern League. He played in both the 1925 and 1927 Cup Finals, being Captain in 1927 and thirty-two times for Wales. In February 2011 children at Ton-yr-Ywen Primary School met Fred's nephew Graham who spoke to them about his uncle whom the club hoped to honour with a statue at their new stadium. (Dennis Morgan,
Farewell to Ninian Park
, 2008 /
South Wales Echo
)

1909:
The Marine Insurance (Gambling) Act became law. This had been introduced to stop the practice, for which Cardiff had become notorious, of allowing their ships to be mysteriously lost at sea because the recession in the shipping business meant that they were worth more as a wreck than in port or sailing. Cardiff shipowners had got such a bad reputation that the insurance companies insisted that they pay higher premiums. When the
Albion
‘sank' in 1908, it was found that nearly £12,000-worth of insurance had been taken out on her. (John Richards,
Cardiff: A Maritime History
, The History Press, 2005)

1937:
HRH the Duchess of Kent, Superintendent-in-Chief for Wales of the St John Ambulance Brigade inspected nursing members of the Order at City Hall. The Bishop of Llandaff, the Rt Revd Timothy Rees, was in attendance. (Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
)

1995:
Harry Ramsden's Fish Restaurant opened at Cardiff Bay, one of the first ‘national names' to open in the area. (
South Wales Echo
)

1871:
George Andrews (17) of the Brigantine
Mary Anning
appeared at the Police Court accused of failing to put to sea. The prisoner had signed on as cook and steward but instead of proceeding on board on the stipulated day was found in the company of prostitutes. Andrews expressed sorrow and said he had overslept. He was sentenced to fourteen days hard labour. (E. Alwyn Benjamin,
Penarth 1841-71, A Glimpse of the Past
, D. Brown & Sons, 1980)

1966:
The Civil Defence Unit based at Whitchurch was one of the first to arrive at Aberfan, 18 miles north of Cardiff, to assist in the rescue operation at Ynys Owen Junior School which had been engulfed in an avalanche of colliery waste that slid down the mountainside at 9.16 a.m., soon after classes began. One hundred and sixteen children and twenty-eight adults died in the disaster. (
Western Mail
)

2010:
A former police van parked in a 30mph zone in Cardiff was proving to be an effective deterrent to speeding motorists, according to Kerry Donnelly (59) who had bought it on eBay. ‘It works a treat,' he said. ‘You can see drivers slow down the minute they see it in the distance. (
Daily Telegraph
)

1859:
A riot at St Mellons, at the fair held on this date (St Melo's Day) since medieval times, brought the tradition to an end. It involved men from Castleton who were holding a rival fair on the same day. Before the Reformation the main event had been a race from the monastery at Llanrumney to the church at St Mellons. The winner's prize was nominally the monastery Sanctus Bell but it was really for the honour of handing the bell, which had a distinctive blue clapper, to the care of the monks. In later years the race ended at the Blue Bell Inn. After the disturbances in 1859, when things obviously got seriously out of hand, it was agreed to replace the fair with something more decorous – a ploughing match. This evolved into the St Mellons Agricultural Show, now held at Tredegar Park, Newport. The local villagers must have always been competitive. Another tradition was the Shrove Tuesday football match in which there appeared to be very few rules. In 1794 a Rumney player suffered a fractured skull and died. This event too was discontinued. (Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
/ Brian Lee,
Memory Lane Cardiff
, Chalford, 2002)

1642:
Lieutenant Miles Mathew was at the Battle of Edgehill, ‘fighting like a gallant gentleman for his King' and died as a result of injuries received. He was the son of William Herbert of Cogan Pill, who had been appointed sheriff in 1579, 1583, 1592 and 1600. (W.R. Williams, ‘Members of Parliament for Cardiff')

2003:
Concorde spent more than four hours at Cardiff Airport as part of a week-long farewell tour before being retired from active service. When the aircraft landed, the pilot unfurled a Welsh flag from the cockpit window. A special car park was set aside to cope with the influx of people who wanted to see the plane for the last time. More cars were parked on local roads and alongside the airport's perimeter fence. ‘It was unbelievable', said Simon Baxendale from Dinas Powis, who was Cabin Services Director on the flight. ‘To bring Concorde to my home town – it means so much to me.' Concorde's first visit to Cardiff had been in October 1979 when an Air France plane was used for an excursion flight to Paris. In September 2003 a Concorde on a transatlantic flight had been forced to make an unscheduled landing at the airport due to fuel problems. (
South Wales Echo
)

1883:
The University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire opened in Cardiff. In 1893 it became one of the founding institutions of the University of Wales. Its first Principal was 27-year-old John Viriamu Jones. There were thirteen academic staff and 102 full-time students, fifteen of whom were women. Women's education was clearly considered more important than it was at some older universities. In 1904 Millicent McKensie, the first woman Professor in a British university, was appointed to the academic staff. The list of those winning scholarships to the university in 1898 included Emily Morgan (Drapers' Company Scholarship and Craddock Wells Exhibition: £55 a year for three years with exemption from lecture fees), Elsie Culverwell and Ethel Wakeford, both of whom secured a Craddock Wells Scholarship of £20 and exemption from entrance fees. John Viriamu Jones, described as ‘a charismatic young physicist' remained Principal for eighteen years until his untimely death in 1901. (
Western Mail
)