27 1970 (Fri.) Bethania Young People visit Cardiff to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. On the Sunday who should come and meet them in Llandaf Road Baptist Chapel but George Thomas the Welsh Secretary of State for Wales and said: ‘ I expect you finished the milking before you came down’?!
27 1953 (Fri.) Concert at Tabernacl: Pontyberem Male Voice Choir and tenor Geraint Davies.
26 1938 (Sat.) Death of Dr Dan Rees, Belmont, headmaster of Cardigan County School for 36 years. After his retirement he moved to Hastings. He had been unwell for some time, and on medical advice decided to take a holiday in Sicily. Whilst on the train at Lyon, in France he passed away. His wife was with him at the time. His remains were cremated in France.
A native of Llandysul, he was educated at Gwilym Marles School, and William James school, Llandysul. Unitarian; Carmarthen Presbyterian College under Principal Evans; Aberystwyth College for 1 year where BA degree 1st divis (London). London Univ MA Classics. Oxford – awarded Hibbert Scholarship which he carried to Berlin and Leipsig, where he took his Doctorate in Philosophy and Celtic. Finally he went to Paris where he studied for six months at the Sorbonne. Appointed in 1897–1932; Married Elizabeth M Davies eldest daughter of Rev John Davies, Shrewsbury and had 1 son.
‘Dr Dan Rees was not in the roll of common men. There was a distinction about hm which could not but impress all with whom he came in contact. He had that elusive thing called personality…
The schoolroom was his dukedom and here he wielded a daily influence the value of which it is impossible to estimate.’ editorial CTA 11.3.1938
Dr Dan Rees as headmaster
A memorial service was held at All Saints’ Church, Hastings at 3.00 pm on Saturday, 5th March attended among others by the following relatives: Mrs E. M. Rees (widow), Capt and Mrs Rees (son and daughter-in-law), Mr David Rees (brother), Mrs F. Gower (sister), and Miss F. E. Davies (sister-in-law).
25 1889 (Mon.) Burial Solomon Blake, Mwldan, 65, gardener and father of 20 children.
25 1950 (Sat.) Queens café / restaurant closed for good. Baker shop to continue and continues today (2013).
25 1881 (Fri.) W. R. Harries and his wife leave for America.
WILLIAM R. HARRIES
On this day W. R. Harries and his wife Florrie left Cardigan for America. William R. Harries was a native of Llangennech. He came to Cardigan in 1876, found work with T. Griffiths, auctioneers and became a member of Bethania Chapel. His stay in Cardigan was short lived but he left his mark notably in establishing the Ragged School which helped the poor children of the Mwldan area of the town. He married a local girl Florence Lewis, Quay St. and left for America on this day in 1881. By the time he died in February 1915 his name appears in the New York Times (6 Feb 1915) under an article headed ‘W. R. HARRIES LEFT $3, 000, 000.’
A fuller account appears in another newspaper:
William R. Harris, formerly Vice President of the American Tobacco Company, died on Monday at his home at Irvington-on-Hudson, N. Y., in his sixtieth year. He was born in Wales and came to this country in 1880. Mr Harris became associated with the Pullman Company in Chicago and resigned to assist in the formation of the American Tobacco Company. At the time of the dissolution of this company, and for many years previous, he was Chairman of the British-American Tobacco Company and took an active part in obtaining foreign business. Mr Harris also assisted at the reorganization of the American Tobacco and its associated companies when this was made necessary by the decree of the United States Supreme Court. He had been retired from active business for several years. Mr Harris is survived by his widow, three sons and a daughter.
He bought a house in Manhattan and spent a fortune developing it. This was ‘Millionaire Colony’ country and his neighbours included the likes of the Rockefellers.
There is no record of him ever coming back to visit the Mwldan.
23 1960 (Wed.) Visit of Cliff Richard. He called in at Penri’s café, Pendre (Happy City 2013), and was offered Welsh cakes for the first time, which he thought ‘scrumptious’. No record whether it was raining on that occasion so no evidence whether he sang during his visit.
23 1949 (Wed.) Cardigan Choral Society – Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Bethania, conducted by Andrew William; Artistes included: Elsie Suddaby, Bruce Dargavel, Eileen Price, Rene Soames. The organist was Professor Ted Morgan.
23 1928 (Thurs.) Burial of Samuel Young, 77 mayor in 1908 and 1921
20 1878 (Wed.) Lecture in Bethania: ‘Handel’ by Revd W. Harries, Aberdare. The proceeds went towards the Baptist chapel at Cilfowyr. The reviewer wrote that the lecturer ‘showed considerable ability of composition’, so there..
18 1983 (Fri) Wrestling in the Pav (and not on film!) Popular during the late sixties and then revived in the early eighties. On the bill on this night Tony St Clair; Mad Rasputin; and Princess Cherokee. Great fun!
17 1941 (Mon.) 170 evacuees arrive from Liverpool, including schoolboy Alun Owen, who later became a noteworthy dramatist. More about Owen later on in the year.
17 1902 (Mon.) Registration of the Vale of Tivy Co-operative Society.
Paul Ringer, a former Cardigan Secondary School pupil playing for Wales v. England at Twickenham in 1980 was sent off in the 13th minute by an Irish referee, David Burnett, for allegedly making a late challenge on England’s fly-half, John Horton. Wales came second 9–8.
A slightly (!) controversial incident which gained further notoriety when Max Boyce wrote a song ‘Ringer was to blame’. As Max wrote: ‘He got there as fast as he could’.
Or as Wales prop Graham Price said of the game: ‘It was like World War Three but in them days referees didn’t tend to send players off, no matter what they did’.
“It was disgraceful refereeing,” recalls Ringer.”Their captain, Peter Wheeler, came over and said to the referee that if he didn’t send me off it would turn into a bloodbath. And that made up his mind for him.”
John Carleton, England winger: “I have discussed it time and time again and I am still not sure. He did run at John and he was quite high and there may have been some intent. But he did not make much contact.”
Ringer was banned for eight matches and failed to make the Lions Tour of South Africa.
He retired from the game in 1984 after a spell in rugby league playing with the Cardiff Blue Dragons.
9 1842 (Wed.) Public meeting was convened by the Mayor in the Shire Hall when it was unanimously agreed to call for a Special Act of Parliament to enable the Council to proceed with the enclosure of the Commons.
5 1900 (Mon.) Attention of the local police drawn to the tendency of singing comic songs in the town’s public houses. Police Sergeant Denis Williams ‘police are giving the matter their consideration’.
1 1950 (Wed.) Opening TSB bank in Kensington House. Opened by Mayor.
1 1882 (Wed.) Bethania Vestry officially opened.
1 1850 (Fri.) Sale of the smack ‘Anne & Mary’ at the White Hart Inn by David Roberts.
OPENING OF BETHANIA VESTRY (adapted from CTA 2.3.1882)
The Vestry was built to meet the demands of the numbers attending the Sunday School. Vestry contained: a library, retiring rooms, vestry, teachers’ rooms, boiler room and other conveniences at a cost of £510. The plan was presented to Revd John William as a token of respect, by John Owens, a Liverpool architect. The inside was suitably decorated by Mrs R E Rees, who was also responsible for collecting £20–£30 towards the expenses. Master Johnny Evans George sold over 100 tickets towards the tea and concert.
The following were responsible for the decorations:
Miss Evans, Penrallt-Cadwgan; Mrs Williams, the minister’s wife; Capt J O Griffiths; Mrs Llewellyn (The Globe); Mr Richards; Mr David Thomas, Northgate Tce.; Mr John Bowen, Quay St; Mrs Thomas, Mwldan; Capt Evans, New Inn, William St.
Responsible for feeding the 500:
Miss Evans, Penrallt-Cadwgan; Mrs J O Griffiths, Emerald Ho., Pendre; Thomas Griffiths, Pendre; Mrs Esau, Pendre; Mrs James, Northgate Tce.; Miss Mary Ann Thomas, Quay St.
Cardigan through the ages 