The Cardiff Book of Days (47 page)

1909:
The National Memorial to Welshmen who fell in South Africa during the Boer War was unveiled in Cathays Park by General Sir John French. He also unveiled a memorial tablet in Llandaff Cathedral. In 1974 the Boer War memorial had to be moved to allow for the construction of the Boulevard de Nantes. (Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
)

1912:
Wilf Wooller, all-round sportsman, born at Rhos-on-Sea in North Wales. He captained Glamorgan for fourteen years, leading them to an unexpected County Championship title in 1948. He was secretary of the club for thirty years and president for six. He played rugby for Wales on eighteen occasions and also played for Cardiff. He also played football for Cardiff City. During the Second World War he was a prisoner at the infamous Changi POW camp and survived intensive interrogation by the Japanese. (Wikipedia)

1874:
In the first known rugby match at the Arms Park, the Wanderers took on the Glamorgan 2nd XV. A local paper reported that ‘thirty muscular young men met for a trial of skill and strength. Shins were barked in large numbers, the equilibrium of many was upset and, in short, there was war to the knife between the opposed parties. The contest was very close and exciting and it was a difficult matter to decide which party was superior to the other. Ultimately the match was discontinued by consent and considered a drawn one. Many persons witnessed the match, notwithstanding the thick fog which prevailed.' (Robert Cole & Stuart Farmer,
The Wales Rugby Miscellany
, Sports Vision Publishing, 2008)

1918:
Royal Navy cruiser HMS
Cardiff
, the flagship of the Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron, led the seventy-four ships of the defeated German Navy into Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. The German ships were virtually prisoners. The German officer in command, Rear Admiral von Reuter, knew that Germany would have to accept surrender terms imposed by the British so, when the
Cardiff
and the best part of the fleet left for exercises, he gave the order for the German fleet to be scuttled. (
Western Mail
)

1999:
The death of Cardiff boxer Jack Petersen, one of Britain's best-known light-heavyweight champions.. Having been trained by his father and supported by a syndicate, he became one of the most popular and well-supported fighters of the 1930s. Tall and lithe, and of part-Danish descent, he had some difficulty in making the weight but was nevertheless able to move up to become the British & Empire Heavyweight Champion between 1932 and 1936. His fights with Len Harvey and Walter Neusel were particularly remembered by boxing fans of the day. One of his sons, David, became a distinguished artist/blacksmith and a leading Plaid Cymru activist. (Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
/ Wikipedia)

2010:
Controversial American chain Hooters opened its first restaurant in Wales in Mary Ann Street. The company was famous – or infamous – for the skimpy costumes its waitresses were required to wear. The firm hired fifty-six girls, aged between 18 and 27, to work at the restaurant, only it's third in the UK after Nottingham and Bristol. (
South Wales Echo
)

1839:
Zephaniah Williams was arrested on board a ship at Cardiff as he attempted to flee abroad after the abortive Chartist Rising in Newport. The arrest was carried out by Superintendent Jeremiah Stockdale of the Cardiff Police (
see
August 22nd). Williams was on board a boat called
The Vintage
, lying at the mouth of the Taff near the Sea Lock of the Glamorganshire Canal. He told Stockdale that ‘I had made up my mind to jump into the canal and take you with me.' (
www.southwalespolicemuseum.org.uk
)

1840:
The
Glamorgan
, described as ‘a new light post-coach' began operating a service to Swansea from the Angel Inn, Cardiff, running every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, calling at Cowbridge, Bridgend, Aberavon and Neath. The journey took 5½ hours. Another coach, the
St David
, offered a journey to London ‘in one day'. It left the Angel Inn every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6 a.m. and called at Newport (7.15 a.m.), Chepstow (9 a.m.), Newnham (11 a.m.), Gloucester (12.30 p.m.), Cheltenham (1.30 pm) and arrived in London at 9 p.m. Passengers were advised that they could catch the train for Worcester, Birmingham and the North at Cheltenham. (Stewart Williams,
Cardiff Yesterday
)

1661:
A Quaker meeting in Cardiff was broken up by the authorities, many of those present being sent to prison. The Restoration of Charles II had led to increased persecution of Quakers and other nonconformists, especially in view of their refusal to pay tithes or swear the oaths required under various Acts of Parliament. Some forty Quakers were being held in the town jail at the time. (William Rees,
Cardiff: A History of the City
, Cardiff Corporation, 1969)

1963:
Following the assassination of American President J.F. Kennedy in Dallas, a Requiem Mass, presided over by Archbishop John Murphy, was held at St David's Roman Catholic Cathedral. The future President had attended Mass there with his father, the American Ambassador, and other family members in 1938. (John O'Sullivan & Bryn Jones,
Cardiff: A Centenary Celebration
, The History Press, 2005)

1995:
Glamorgan County Cricket Club acquired a 125-year lease on the Sophia Gardens ground from Cardiff Athletics Club. The following year the club announced its plans to redevelop the ground with increased capacity, new hospitality suites, a media centre and improved training facilities. (Andrew Hignell,
From Sophia to Swalec: A History of Cricket in Cardiff
, The History Press, 2008)

1865:
A row over a donkey escalated into the brutal murder of Honora Dutch of Canton, killed by her husband John. The couple had long had a turbulent relationship and were well-known to the police. To supplement his meagre income as a contractor's labourer in Llandaff, Dutch and his wife kept a donkey which they hired out to anyone who needed loads carried. The animal was kept tethered near their home and, as was their normal practice, the donkey had been allowed to wander and graze the hedges of nearby gardens. A neighbour, fed up with this, impounded the donkey and demanded the sum of 4s 8d to release it. John Dutch paid up but Honora, incensed at this, swore at him and attacked him. Enraged by this, he dragged her out into the yard and beat her with such violence that she died. When the case came to trial, John Dutch was saved from the gallows by the medical evidence which showed that she was so diseased as a result of her heavy drinking that it was impossible to prove that his assault caused her death. He was instead convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to a long period of hard labour. (Mark Isaacs,
Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Cardiff
, Wharncliffe, 2009)

1960:
Cardiff City beat Manchester United 3-0 in the first game between the two sides since the Munich air-crash killed many of United's star players. A column in the match programme, headed ‘Lest We Forget' reminded spectators that ‘this terrible disaster happened less than three years ago and today we remember them with reverence and respect.' The match was played in a terrible downpour which kept the crowd down to 21,000. (Dennis Morgan,
Farewell to Ninian Park
, 2008)