1908 in Wales

Centuries:	18th; 19th; 20th; 21st; ;
Decades:	1880s; 1890s; 1900s; 1910s; 1920s;
See also:	List of years in Wales; 1908 in The United Kingdom Ireland Scotland

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1908 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents[]

Monarch - Edward VII
Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Dyfed

Events[]

22 January - J. Lloyd Williams delivers his paper on Welsh National Melodies and Folk-Songs to the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion.^[1]
28 January - In a colliery explosion at Ammanford, David Rees Griffiths is seriously injured. His brother is one of two men killed.^[2]
March - Frank Mason, editor of the Tenby Observer, challenges the local council's right to ban him from their meetings. The is passed as a result.
26 February - In the West Carmarthenshire by-election, the sitting Liberal MP, John Lloyd Morgan, retains the seat in the absence of any other candidates.^[3]^[4]
5 March - Edgeworth David leads the party attempting the ascent of Mount Erebus in the Antarctic.^[5]
18 June - A giant turtle weighing half a ton is pulled from the sea at Pwllheli.
16 July - In the Pembrokeshire by-election, brought about by elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Liberal MP, John Wynford Philipps, the seat is retained for the Liberals by Walter Francis Roch.^[6]
1 September - The barque Amazon sinks off Margam Sands, with the loss of 18 crew.^[7]
November – The North and South Wales Bank is absorbed into the London City and Midland Bank, bringing an end to banknote issue in Wales.^[8]
date unknown
- The South Wales Miners' Federation becomes affiliated to the Labour Party.
- The Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908 ("Eight Hours Act") limits the amount of time spent by coal miners underground.^[9]
- John Ballinger becomes first librarian of the National Library of Wales.
- A factory for making artificial silk opens at Greenfield in north-east Wales.^[10]
- Construction work begins on the lighthouse at Strumble Head.^[11]
- Spa pump room built at Caergwrle.^[12]

Arts and literature[]

Sydney Curnow Vosper completes his iconic watercolour of Welsh piety, Salem.^[13]

Awards[]

National Eisteddfod of Wales - held in Llangollen
- Chair - John James Williams, "Ceiriog"^[14]
- Crown - Hugh Emyr Davies

New books[]

English language[]

W. H. Davies - Autobiography of a Super-Tramp^[15]
- The Welsh Fairy Book

Welsh language[]

Silyn Roberts - Y Blaid Lafur Anibynnol, ei Hanes a'i Hamcan^[16]
Gwyneth Vaughan - Plant y Gorthrwm^[17]

Music[]

David Evans becomes professor of the Music department at University of Wales, Cardiff.
Harry Evans - Dafydd ap Gwilym

Sport[]

Boxing
- 24 February - Jim Driscoll wins the Commonwealth featherweight title.
Olympics
- October - At the postponed 1908 Summer Olympics, Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden, competes unsuccessfully in the motorboat racing.
Rugby league
- 1 January - The first-ever international match is held at Aberdare, where Wales defeat New Zealand 9 - 8. The match was won by a last minute try from former Welsh rugby union international Dai Jones.
- Aberdare RLFC, Barry RLFC, Mid-Rhondda RLFC and Treherbert RLFC are formed, joining Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil in competing for the Welsh League, the first Welsh rugby league competition.
Rugby union
- Wales win their first Grand Slam and fifth Triple Crown.
- The selection of players for the 1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia results in a comment by the Welsh Rugby Union that players for future tours should be chosen '...irrespective of the social position of the players.'^[18]

Births[]

29 February – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, novelist as Jane Ann Jones (d. 1968)
22 March – Martin Davies, art historian (d. 1978)
8 May – Bert Day, Wales international rugby union player (d. 1977)
29 May – Diana Morgan, playwright and screenwriter (d. 1996)
5 July – Francis Jones, heraldic expert (d. 1993)
10 July – Donald Peers, singer (d. 1973)
12 July – Bill Roberts, footballer (d. 1976)
15 August – Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, journalist (d. 1987)
14 December – Claude Davey, Wales international rugby union player (d. 2001)

Deaths[]

6 January – Lewis Pugh Pugh, lawyer and politician, 70^[19]
13 January – , radical and champion of women's rights, 84^[20]
26 January – George Thomas Kenyon, politician, 67^[21]
1 February – Buckley Roderick, Wales international rugby player, 46^[22]
27 February – Norman Biggs, Wales international rugby player, 37
7 March – Richard Edwards, Welsh American educator, 85^[23]
21 June – Allen Raine, novelist, 71^[24]
24 August – William Bevan, archdeacon of Brecon, 87^[25]
4 September – Thomas Judson, Wales international rugby player, (c.) 51
19 October
- Catherine Lynch, alcoholic, 28
- John Henry Puleston, journalist and politician, 78^[26]
9 November – Solomon Andrews, entrepreneur, 73
1 December – Howell Jones, Wales international rugby player, 26
24 December – David John, Mormon leader, 75 (in Utah)

References[]

^ Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (1908). The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society.
^ The Carmarthenshire Antiquary: The Transactions of the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field Club. Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field Club. 1999. p. 92.
^ The Times, 17 February 1908 p9
^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918; Macmillan Press, 1974 p473
^ Eleanor Jacka; Fred Jacka (1 October 2008). Mawson's Antarctic Diaries. Allen & Unwin. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-74175-609-8.
^ "House of Commons". Archived from the original on 18 January 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Reference Wales. University of Wales Press. 1994. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-7083-1234-6.
^ The Bankers', Insurance Managers', and Agents' Magazine. Waterlow & Sons Limited. 1908. p. 693.
^ Harrison Francis Bulman (1920). Coal Mining and the Coal Miner. Methuen & Company, Limited. p. 157.
^ Roy Millward; Adrian Henry Wardle Robinson (1978). The Welsh Borders. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-28210-1.
^ Douglas Bland Hague (1994). Lighthouses of Wales: Their Architecture and Archaeology. RCAHMW. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-871184-08-2.
^ Town and Country Planning. Town and Country Planning Association. 1969. p. 372.
^ Academi Gymreig (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 795. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
^ "Winners of the Chair | National Eisteddfod". eisteddfod.wales. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
^ "Autobiography of a Super-tramp". parthianbooks.com/. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
^ David Thomas. "Roberts, Robert (Silyn) (Rhosyr; 1871-1930), Calvinistic Methodist minister, poet, social reformer, tutor". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ Richard Bryn Williams. "Hughes, Annie Harriet (Gwyneth Vaughan, 1852-1910), writer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams; University of Wales Press (1980), pg 175 ISBN 0-7083-0766-3
^ Who was who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died. A. & C. Black. 2002. p. 670. ISBN 978-0-7136-6125-5.
^ Anna Louvain Rees (1 March 2017). "A champion of female education and a pioneer on the scholarship front". WalesOnline. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 31. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 343. ISBN 0-19-861381-4.Article by J.E. Lloyd, revised by H.C.G. Matthew.
^ The Law Society's Gazette. The Society. 1907. p. 73.
^ Bradsby, Henry C., ed. (1885). History of Bureau County, Illinois. Chicago, IL: World Publishing Company. p. 512.
^ Jones, Sally Roberts. "Puddicombe , Anne Adalisa (1836–1908)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35628. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ "Church Jones, Henry James". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 1897–1919 (January 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
^ Emyr Gwynne Jones. "Puleston, Sir John Henry (1829-1908), banker and Member of Parliament". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2021.

[1] Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (1908). The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. The Society.

[2] The Carmarthenshire Antiquary: The Transactions of the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field Club. Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and Field Club. 1999. p. 92.

[3] The Times, 17 February 1908 p9

[4] F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918; Macmillan Press, 1974 p473

[5] Eleanor Jacka; Fred Jacka (1 October 2008). Mawson's Antarctic Diaries. Allen & Unwin. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-74175-609-8.

[6] "House of Commons". Archived from the original on 18 January 2014.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[7] Reference Wales. University of Wales Press. 1994. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-7083-1234-6.

[8] The Bankers', Insurance Managers', and Agents' Magazine. Waterlow & Sons Limited. 1908. p. 693.

[9] Harrison Francis Bulman (1920). Coal Mining and the Coal Miner. Methuen & Company, Limited. p. 157.

[10] Roy Millward; Adrian Henry Wardle Robinson (1978). The Welsh Borders. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-28210-1.

[11] Douglas Bland Hague (1994). Lighthouses of Wales: Their Architecture and Archaeology. RCAHMW. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-871184-08-2.

[12] Town and Country Planning. Town and Country Planning Association. 1969. p. 372.

[13] Academi Gymreig (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 795. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.

[14] "Winners of the Chair | National Eisteddfod". eisteddfod.wales. Retrieved 27 February 2021.

[15] "Autobiography of a Super-tramp". parthianbooks.com/. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

[16] David Thomas. "Roberts, Robert (Silyn) (Rhosyr; 1871-1930), Calvinistic Methodist minister, poet, social reformer, tutor". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[17] Richard Bryn Williams. "Hughes, Annie Harriet (Gwyneth Vaughan, 1852-1910), writer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[18] Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881-1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams; University of Wales Press (1980), pg 175 ISBN 0-7083-0766-3

[19] Who was who: A Companion to Who's Who, Containing the Biographies of Those who Died. A. & C. Black. 2002. p. 670. ISBN 978-0-7136-6125-5.

[20] Anna Louvain Rees (1 March 2017). "A champion of female education and a pioneer on the scholarship front". WalesOnline. Retrieved 10 October 2019.

[21] Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 31. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 343. ISBN 0-19-861381-4.Article by J.E. Lloyd, revised by H.C.G. Matthew.

[22] The Law Society's Gazette. The Society. 1907. p. 73.

[23] Bradsby, Henry C., ed. (1885). History of Bureau County, Illinois. Chicago, IL: World Publishing Company. p. 512.

[24] Jones, Sally Roberts. "Puddicombe , Anne Adalisa (1836–1908)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35628. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[25] "Church Jones, Henry James". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 1897–1919 (January 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

[26] Emyr Gwynne Jones. "Puleston, Sir John Henry (1829-1908), banker and Member of Parliament". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 16 February 2021.

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