CARDIFFIANS

Daniel Abse was born into a distinguished Jewish family in Cardiff, on 22 September 1923. He was a poet, a writer and a qualified doctor.

He had two older brothers; Leo, a politician who famously made homosexuality legal in Wales and England and Wilfred, who was a respected psychoanalyst.

Dannie studied medicine at the University of Wales, the Westminster Hospital, and King's College London.  While Dannie was still in medical school his first poetry book, "After Every Green Thing", was published in 1949.  He won the Welsh Arts Council Award in both 1971 and 1987, and the Cholmondeley Award in 1985.  He had also been a member of the Royal Society of Literature since 1983.

After working for many years in London, Dannie would escape the hustle and bustle of the City by moving back to his summer house at Ogmore-by-the-Sea, in his native Wales. Unfortunately, when driving from London to Ogmore in June 2005, he was involved in a car accident.  His wife Joan, aged 78, died instantly while Abse suffered a broken rib.

Dannie spent his final years at Golders Green, a very cosmopolitan district of London that has a thriving Jewish Community, and passed away at home on 20 September 2014.

Profile Updated: 01 December 2014

• British Arts Council - Dannie Abse
• Dannie Abse

The instantly recognisable Steve Andrews was born in Canton in 1953, and grew up near Fairwater.  He moved to Ely in 1979 and became a father for the first time, when his son Issac was born the same year.

In the following 25 years, Andrews developed and honed his interests in wildlife, endangered species, alternative health, permaculture, wild flowers, herbs, conservation, recycling, and animal rights.

Throughout the 1990's, his unique style started to catch the attention of local media broadcasters.  One of his early contributions was the writing of a regular column for 'The Big Issue'.  It was this publication which bestowed to Andrews his title of 'Bard of Ely', although some of his friends affectionately nicknamed him 'Droid'.

During his time in the UK, he wrote for and collaborated with many magazines, including Kindred Spirit and Eye on Life magazine.  His song 'You're a Liar, Nicky Wire' was featured on BBC Radio 1, and in 1998 he co-presented two series of 'In Full View' on the now defunct digital channel BBC Choice.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's, he released four albums, and appeared on many more TV programs and news stories on the BBC and HTV, including being interviewed when he become the first person in Wales to have successfully grown a pineapple.

Andrews was a compère for the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury Festival 2002 and 2003, and appeared at the Green Man Festival - he has also performed at both events.

He released his first book, 'Herbs of the Northern Shaman' in 2010, which has since been updated and garnered many rave reviews.  He continued to be a prolific social media writer and blogger, teaching English, giving guided tours and rearing butterflies.

Tragically, his son Isaac (who had remained in Cardiff), passed away suddenly on 30 March, 2014 at the age of 34.  After the funeral, Andrews, who had been living in Tenerife since 2004, returned to Wales semi-permanently with his long time partner, American Melissa Houghton.  Visa restrictions had prevented Melissa from staying in the UK, and the couple both fought to allow her to stay in Wales.  The couple married at a ceremony held in Gibraltar, in July 2014.^[REF]

In 2016, Andrews played a lead role in "Savages in Foreign Lands", a feature documentary film about the aboriginal people of the Canary islands ^[REF]

Since then, he has remained very active, having worked for Optimanova advertising agency, Mediterranean Gardening and Outdoor Living magazine. Andrews has returned to Wales on occasion to headline local gigs, and continues to produce music, blogs and books - his most recent being The Magic of Butterflies and Moths, published in February 2023.

He is currently working on a new memoir which focuses on his musical caeer, influences and experiences. It already has the blessing of Dexys Midnight Runners! ^[REF]

Present day, Andrews is now owned and managed by four cats. He still finds time to travel though, and was one of the VIP Delegates at the World Ocean Summit, Lisbon, in March 2024.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014   Updated: 03 April 2024

• Whitstable Views - Open Letter to Sir Bob Geldof
• YouTube - Steve Andrews (@bardofely)
• Amazon - The Magic of Butterflies and Moths by Steve Andrews (affilliated link)
• Spotify - Steve Andrews
• Blogspot.com - The Green Bard
• The Bard of Ely Facebook Fan Page
• HubPages - Steve Andrews (Tenerife Islander)
• HubPages - The Bard of Ely
• ReverbNation - Steve Andrews

Michael Barratt was born on 4 March 1949 and brought up in Ely. He is the youngest of 13 children to Jack and May Barratt.  During his school years, Barratt's interest in music and performing developed.  He formed a number of amateur bands and by 1966 was performing at gigs in the South Wales area.

In 1967 when he was just 19, he married his wife Carole whom he has three children with. A year later, he began his professional career, adopting the stage name 'Shakin' Stevens' and fronting the newly created band, 'Sunsets'.

In 1969, Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets turned professional and started to play at the venues throughout the UK and Europe. During the seventies they recorded albums and singles for labels which included EMI and CBS in the UK, before breaking up in 1977.

During the early 1980s, 'Shaky' as he was also known as, toured the world and released his first album, 'Take One'. His popularity was boosted by his re-working of 'This Ole House', which topped the UK chart in 1981.  Stevens ended the 1980s as the most successful UK singles chart performer of a decade.

By 1995, selling millions of singles and albums had also earned him Gold, Platinum and Double Platinum Discs.  For the next four years, he took time out of creating new songs to focus on promoting earlier albums. This proved to be a sound business move because by 1999 he was in so much demand, he undertook a successful tour of the UK.  This included performing at the historic launch of The Welsh Assembly in May 1999.

In Spring 2000, Stevens went on another UK Tour which culminated with a prestigious Gold Badge Award to commemorate his contribution to the music industry.  In 2002, Stevens was honoured by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, when he was awarded a Number One Gold Award.

2010 marked the 30th anniversary of his international success, and a documentary on his life commenced filming at the beginning of 2012.  By the end of April 2012, work was finished, and in May 2012 the documentary Shakin' Stevens - The Remarkable Career of Michael Barratt - was broadcast on BBC 1 Wales.

In 2015, to mark the 30th anniversary of 'Merry Christmas Everyone', Stevens recorded a remake called Echoes Of Merry Christmas Everyone, with proceeds going to the Salvation Army.^[REF] The following year, Stevens released 'Echoes of Our Times' - a labour of love detailing stories from his intriguing family history and revealing his once mysterious past, followed by a tour in 2017.^[REF] With a resurgence in popularity, thanks to digital charts and streaming services, Stevens released his anthology 'Fire in the Blood' in 2020, and most recently in April 2023, his 13th album 'Re-Set.'^[REF]

Profile Created: 01 December 2014   Updated: 17 November 2023

• Shakin' Stevens
• Shakin' Stevens Facebook Page

Shirley Bassey is a singer who was born in Bute Street, Tiger Bay on 8 January, 1937.  She is the seventh and youngest child of Henry and Eliza Bassey.  Her father was a seaman from Nigeria and her mother was from Yorkshire. 

Bassey attended Moorland Primary in Splott, and left secondary school in 1952 at the age of 15. She found employment straight away, packing enamel pots in a local factory. Bassey supplemented her wages by singing in local pubs and clubs.

She become pregnant at 16 years old with her daughter Sharon.  Needing a regular wage, she decided to quit show business, and take up a waitressing job in Cardiff.

In 1955 talent scout Michael Sullivan saw potential in Bassey, and decided he would make her a star.  She toured various theatres and recorded her first single, 'Burn My Candle' in 1956.  The next year saw her first hit with The Banana Boat Song, which peaked at number 8 on the UK singles chart.

Bassey signed to EMI Columbia in 1958, and throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bassey scored with numerous hits including the title theme song for the James Bond films 'Goldfinger', 'Diamonds Are Forever' and 'Moonraker'. She was married twice during the first part of her career, and during this time, Bassey gave birth to two daughters (Sharon and Samantha). Tragically in 1985, Sharon was found dead in the River Avon in Bristol.

Throughout most of the 1980s, Bassey focused on charitable works and performing in more intimate venues.  In 1997, the year of her 60th birthday, Bassey and the big beat ensemble Propellerheads released the UK number 1 single 'History Repeating'.  The success of the single led to the release of 'Diamonds Are Forever - The Remix Album'.  Two years later on New Years Eve 1999, she was made a DBE.

Although she now resides in Monaco, Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE still returns to Wales for occasional performances.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Dame Shirley Bassey
• The Shirley Bassey Blog

Born in Tiger Bay in 1934, William Boston started his career at Neath Rugby Union Club, before signing over to Wigan in March 1953 from the princely sum of £3,000.

During his 15 years there, he scored 478 tries in his 488 appearances for the club. He finished his career at Blackpool Borough before retiring in 1970.

Boston also represented Great Britain in 31 Test matches, and was part of the team that won the 1960 Rugby League World Cup.  Regarded as one of the sport's greatest ever players, Boston scored a total of 571 tries in his career, making him the second-highest try scorer in rugby league history.

He is an original inductee of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame, Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and Wigan Warriors Hall of Fame, and was awarded an MBE in 1986.

In 2014, it was reported that two statues of Boston were planned, one for Wigan town center and one outside Wembley Stadium in London.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Billy Boston - Pride of Wigan
• Billy Boston Statue Trust

Born on 6 February 1960, Jeremy Bowen was educated at Cardiff High School and also played football for the 'Youth Fifteen' team in the late Seventies.  He has remained a supporter of Cardiff City Football Club throughout his life.

After graduating from University College in London with a BA in History, he studied at the School of Advanced International Studies at the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Jeremy joined the BBC in 1984 as a news trainee.

After building his reputation as a broadcaster in the Radio Newsroom and as a Television News correspondent, he became the Geneva correspondent for Radio News in 1987.

Since then, Bowen has been a war correspondent for much of his career, reporting from over 80 countries.  He became the Middle East correspondent in 1995 and won Best News Correspondent at the New York Television Festival.

The following year, he won Best Breaking News report for his coverage of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. He previously co-presented BBC One's Breakfast for two years after its launch in October 2000, and has also presented episodes of the satirical news quiz 'Have I Got News For You'.

In March 2003, Jeremy Bowen became a special correspondent for BBC Television News, and in June 2005 was appointed to the newly-created role of BBC Middle East Editor.

In July 2013, while reporting for the BBC on the protests in Egypt, he was shot in the head. Fortunately the injuries were not severe.

Bowen was recently honoured as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University, and is currently one of the few journalists reporting from inside Syria.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• The Telegraph - Jeremy Bowen "It's a numbers game"
• Knight Ayton Management - Jeremy Bowen

Born in 1960 and the youngest of three siblings, Lynn attended St Hilda's School, a boarding school in Somerset, before moving to Llanishen High school when the family relocated to Rudry, near Caerphilly.

Her family were involved in shipping, and the family firm, Bowles Sand and Gravel, were one of the many who traded through the dry docks of Tiger Bay.  Lynn graduated from Coventry university with a BA (Hons) in Communication Studies and a postgraduate qualification in Film Criticism.

After university, Lynn worked for media organisations in Kuwait and New Orleans during the 1980s. She returned to the UK in the early 1990s and secured a position as a traffic reporter with LBC. Soon afterwards, she joined BBC Radio 5 Live where she remained for eight years before moving to BBC Radio 2 where she broadcasted the traffic reports on Terry Wogan's breakfast show.  Wogan once referred to Lynn as the 'Traffic Totty from Splotty'.  Although she did not actually hail from Splott, the name stuck!

Lynn is an ambassador for Bobath Children's Therapy Centre Wales, a registered charity based in Cardiff that provides specialist therapy to children who have cerebral palsy.  Although mainly based in Wimbledon during her time at Radio 2, she regularly traveled back to stay at her family home in Rudry.

After 18 years presenting the traffic reports for BBC Radio 2, Bowles bid farewell to the show (then presented by Chris Evans) on 29 March 2018. This decision allowed her to move back to Wales, focus on her health, family, and other BBC radio commitments.^[REF]

Profile Created: 01 December 2014   Updated: 11 February 2024

• BBC - Profiles - Lynn Bowles
• Wales Online - Lynn Bowles gets own radio show

Reg Braddick was born on 4 August 1913, and was a racing cyclist who represented Wales at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Australia.

He also won the 1944 national road championship.

Reg opened 'Reg Braddick Cycles' on Broadway, Roath in 1945, and had the idea of starting Cardiff Ajax Cycling Club in the flat above the shop. Reg's wife Betty suggested the name 'Ajax' after the Greek God Ajax, meaning fleet of foot.

Reg passed away in December 1999, and now the shop is run by his son David, daughter-in-law, Janet, and granddaughter, Suzy.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Cardiff Ajax Cycling Club
• Reg Braddick Cycles

Born in 1986, Gary Buckland grew up in the Rumney area, and was always "rough and tough in school, always fighting". 

He is now a professional boxer fighting in the super featherweight and lightweight divisions, has a wife, and two children.

On the advice of some friends, he took up boxing in the school gym, and has never looked back. 

His training took him to Tony Borg's Gym in Newport, South Wales. Borg, still Buckland's trainer to this day, is also another Cardiff man who has enjoyed a professional boxing career.

Gary's professional debut was in 2005 at the age of 18, and was the holder of both the Celtic Lightweight and Welsh Area Light Welterweight Titles in 2007.

He was also reigning British super featherweight champion from 2011 to 2013.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Box Rec - Gary Buckland - Boxing Record
• Welsh Boxers - Gary Buckland

Charlotte Reed was born in Llandaff on 21 February, 1986.  Her parents divorced when she was young and she was later took her surname from her mother’s second husband, James Church.  Charlotte rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer, before branching into pop music in 2005.  By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

Originally attending The Cathedral School, her talent was highlighted in 1997 by performances on This Morning and The Big Talent Show. This led to a vocal scholarship to Howell's School Llandaff in 1998.  As a classical music singer, Church used to sing in English, Welsh, Latin, Italian and French. She was then introduced to the Cardiff impresario Jonathan Shallot, who became her manager.

Her first album, Voice of an Angel, made her the youngest artist with a No. 1 album on the British classical crossover charts.

Her second album included Just Wave Hello, which was the center piece of an ad campaign for the Ford Motor Company.

In 2001, she released Enchantment and made her first film appearance in the film A Beautiful Mind.  In 2002, at 16, she released a "best of" album called Prelude, and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, concluding the end of her classical music career. In 2005, Church had started dating Welsh Rugby star Gavin Henson - a relationship that only lasted 5 years, possibly as a result of their high profile, and associated media pressure.

Going forward, Church's career involved television and pantomime appearances. She wrote two autobiographies, and pieces for the Guardian newspaper. Her final album - "Back to Scratch" - was released in 2010 - and by this time Church had won recoginition from GQ, Glamour, and the British Comedy Awards.

In recent years, Church has made sporadic TV appearances, whilst focusing on her life learning and educational charity - The Awen Project

Profile Created: 01 December 2014   Updated: 11 February 2024

• The Awen Project
• Charlotte Church Music
• Charlotte Church - My Private Life

John Crichton-Stuart was born on 10 August 1793, and was a wealthy aristocrat and industrialist in Georgian and early Victorian Britain. He developed the coal and iron industries across South Wales and built the Cardiff Docks.

Bute's father, John, Lord Mount Stuart, died a few months after he was born. As a young child he was brought up first by his mother, later by his paternal grandfather, John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute.

Between 1822 and 1848 Bute played a central role in the creation of the Cardiff Docks. The existing sea port, used by the Glamorganshire Canal, was small and inefficient. The new port allowed Bute to improve the value of his lands in Cardiff itself, and increase the value of the royalties he could charge on his coal fields.

Initially, trade and traffic was poor, so Bute put commercial pressure on shipping companies to abandon the Glamorganshire Canal and move their wharfs to his docks. This plan worked, and trade rose to 827,000 tons by 1849.  The 2nd Marquess passed away on 18 March 1848 leaving his six-month old son, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, to inherit the title.

John Patrick would be first in a successive list of marquesses, who would find themselves under huge pressure to continue investing and expanding in the docks, well into the 20th century.

A statue of the 2nd Marquis, the 'creator of modern Cardiff' was erected in High Street in 1853, outside the town hall. In 2000 the statue, Cardiff's oldest, was moved to Bute Square, which itself was renamed Callaghan Square in 2002.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• National Library of Wales - Bute Estate Records
• Cardiff Castle - The Butes

The 3rd Marquess of Bute was born on 12 September 1847 at the family seat of Mount Stuart, on the Isle of Bute in Scotland.  He inherited his title at just six months old when his father, John Crichton-Stuart, sadly passed away.

John Patrick Crichton-Stuart was an aristocratic antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron.

He was educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, and thus developed a lifelong interest in architecture. Thanks to his father's investments and subsequent development of Cardiff Docks, John Patrick had been bestowed with a substantial accumulation of wealth.

In 1865, the 3rd Marquess met William Burges and the two embarked on an architectural partnership, which led to the creation of two of the finest examples of the late Victorian era Gothic Revival, Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch.

Between 1868 and 1886 he financed the rebuilding of St Margaret's Parish Church, Roath, creating a new mausoleum for the Bute family with sarcophagi in red marble.

When the 3rd Marquess of Bute passed away on 9 October 1900, he had fathered four children. One of whom, John Crichton-Stuart, became the 4th Marquess of Bute.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Undiscovered Scotland - 3rd Marquis of Bute
• Wikipedia - Marquis of Bute

Roald Dahl was in born in 1916 to Norwegian parents, and was named after the explorer Roald Amundsen, a national hero in Norway at the time.

By 1925, both Roald's Father and Sister had both died from illness. Nevertheless, his mother was determined to keep the family in Britain rather than head back to Norway to stay with relatives.

Initially Dahl first attended Llandaff Cathedral School, but during his pre to mid teens, he was sent to several boarding schools.  Cadbury, a chocolate company, would occasionally send boxes of new chocolates to the school to be tested by the pupils. It is said that this was Dahl's inspiration for him to write his third book for children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

When Dahl turned 18, he got a job at 'Shell Petroleum', which sent him to many parts of the world.  In November 1939 he joined the Royal Air Force.  He later saw service in Syria and then worked for military intelligence. He ended the war as a Wing Commander.

Dahl's first published work was in 1942, in an issue of the Saturday Evening Post, where he wrote about the story of a crash landing in the desert.  He had ran out of fuel whilst trying to find an airstrip, due to being given the wrong co-ordinates. In 1953, Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal.  Neal and Dahl had five children during their three decades together, but in 1965 Neal suffered a series of strokes while pregnant with the Dahl's youngest child, Lucy.

Roald took personal control of her rehabilitation until she had relearned to talk and walk.  It was during the 30 years with Neal that Dahl wrote his famous children's stories, some of the more memorable being Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), Danny the Champion of the World (1975), The Twits (1980), The BFG (1982), and The Witches (1983).

Most of Dahl's stories were uniquely illustrated by Quentin Blake, and many of these books were brought to life via film, the latest adaptation being Tim Burton's 2005 version of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" starring Johnny Depp.

Dahl's work was also the subject matter for the television serial 'Tales of the Unexpected' which ran from 1979 to 1988. He also presented the show from 1979 to 1980, but took a back seat when most of the stories coming forward were based on the work of other writers.  Roald Dahl died of leukemia on 23 November 1990 at the age of 74, not long after finishing his final story, 'The Vicar of Nibbleswicke'.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• The Official Roald Dahl Website
• Roald Dahl Fans.com

James "Jim" Driscoll was a Welsh boxer, born to Irish Catholic parents on 15 December 1880, and one of five children.  His father passed away in a railway accident when he was one, and this was a catalyst for his impoverished upbringing in Newtown, which was also known as 'Little Ireland'.  The area is now known as Adamsdown.

Driscoll used his skills to box his way out of poverty, and became British featherweight champion in 1906.  He also won the Lonsdale belt in 1910.

As a teenager, Driscoll was an apprentice with the Western Mail printing works, when he began boxing in the fairground booths of south Wales, clocking up over 500 fights. He turned professional in 1901, and by the end of the year he had secured twelve wins without defeat.

On 26 February 1906, Driscoll took the British Featherweight title by defeating Joe Bowker in a 15 round contest at the National Sporting Club.

Driscoll was a faithful supporter of his church, and had strong links with the Nazareth House Orphanage.  He once gave up the chance of fighting for the featherweight championship of the world to keep a promise to take part in an exhibition bout at the Park Hall in Cardiff, in aid of his favourite charity, the Assault at Arms Committee, which supported Nazareth House.

Driscoll continued to fight into his early forties despite failing health, relying on his skills to keep him out of trouble. Driscoll passed away of consumption on 30 January 1925, at the age of just 44.  Over 100,000 people lined the streets for his funeral.  He is buried at Cathays Cemetery, and in 1997 a statue was erected in his honour near the Central Boys' Club, where he trained.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• O'Driscolls - 'Peerless' Jim Driscoll
• BBC Wales - Biographies - 'Peerless' Jim Driscoll

Ryan Joseph Wilson was born at St David's Hospital in Canton on 29 November, 1973.  He grew up in Ely and played football and rugby league on the roads outside his grandparent's in Pentrebane.

In 1980, the whole family relocated to Salford, Greater Manchester as a result of his father's change of Rubgy team loyalties.  After moving to Salford, Giggs appeared for the local team.

Using the name Ryan Wilson, Giggs captained England at schoolboy level.  He changed his surname to that of his mother at the age of 16, when his mother remarried.  Manchester United offered Giggs his first professional contract in 1990 and within two years, he had collected his first silver medal.

At the end of the 1992-93 season, Giggs was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.  This success was repeated at the end of the 1993-94 season.  He also hosted his own television show, Ryan Giggs' Soccer Skills, which aired in 1994.  Giggs became United's longest serving player in May 2002, and in September 2004, he became the third player to play 600 games for Manchester United.

By 2012, Giggs was expressing his desire to move into management when he retires as a player. Giggs announced his retirement from professional football on 19 May 2014 in an open letter to all Manchester United fans posted on the club website.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• RyanGiggs.cc - Ryan Giggs Fan Site
• Manchester United - Ryan Giggs Special and Videos

Sir Goscombe-John was born in Canton on 21 February, 1860.  He followed his father's trade of carpentry, and at the age of just 14, he started his career in the workshops of the newly restored Cardiff Castle, carving architectural ornaments.

At 22, he went to London and studied at the City and Guilds of London.   He won a Royal Acedemy of Arts (R.A.) Gold Medal and Travelling Scholarship in 1889, which help pay for his tutoring in France from 1890-1901.

Goscombe-John crafted a number of public statues and memorials throughout Britain.  Many examples of his work adorn the Welsh capital city, including a statue of Judge Gwilym Williams outside City Hall and the Llandaff war memorial on Llandaff's Cathedral Green.  He also produced statues of John Cory, and Lord Ninian Crichton Stuart amonst others.

His statue Patron Saint of Wales, Dewi Sant (St David) stands alone in the centre of the Marble Hall among the Heroes of Wales statue collection at Cardiff's City Hall.

Goscombe John was made a Royal Academician in 1909 and was knighted in 1911.  He also became an honorary freeman of Cardiff in 1936.  He passed away in London on 15 December 1952 at the age of 92.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Mapping Sculpture - Sir William Goscombe John RA
• Llandaff - the City within a City - Sir William Goscombe John

Tanni Grey-Thompson was born in Cardiff on 26 July, 1969.  She was born with a gap in her spine (spina bifida) which resulted in her being unable to use her legs, thus requiring a wheelchair.  She is one of the most successful former paralympians in the UK.

Tanni's parents christened her Carys - but when her two-year-old sister, Sian, first saw baby Carys, she lovingly commented on how "tiny" Carys was, but instead pronouncing it "tanni" - and so "Tanni" she became.

Grey-Thompson started wheelchair racing in 1984, and turned professional in the 1988 Summer Paralympics at Seoul, where she won a bronze medal in the 400m.  Over her career, she won a total of 16 Paralympic medals, held over 30 world records, and won the London Marathon six times.

In 1993 she was appointed an MBE for "services to sport", advanced in 2000 to OBE.  In 2005, she was promoted to DBE.  She has received numerous honorary degrees, and was named the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year three times.

By 2007, Grey-Thompson had retired from sport, and moved into the next phase of her career, presenting television programmes in the UK, on the BBC and Welsh channel S4C. In March 2010, Grey-Thompson was created a Life Peer.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• The official site of Baroness Grey-Thompson
• Parliament.uk - Baroness Grey-Thompson

Humphrys was born in Splott on 17 August, 1943.  As a young boy, with no access to other reading materials as a result of the second world war, he read lots of old Superman comics. Superman's alter-ego, Clark Kent, became Humphrys inspiration to become a reporter.

He left Cardiff High School at the age of 15 to become a teenage reporter on the Penarth Times, and later joined the Western Mail.

After a period working for TWW, a commercial television channel based in Wales, he joined the BBC in 1966 as the district reporter for Liverpool.  He then worked as a foreign correspondent, later taking his family with him to the United States where he spent six years there, covering the Watergate affair and the resignation of President Nixon. The family then relocated to South Africa in 1977.

In 1980, the family returned to the UK so Humphrys could take up the post of BBC Diplomatic Correspondent.  A year later he became the main presenter of the BBC Nine O'Clock News and by 1986, Humphrys had accepted a job on the Today programme.

Humphrys became well known, and feared, for his tough interviewing techniques, leading to him presenting the weekly On The Record political TV show from 1993 until 2002.

He has won many industry awards, including being named Journalist of the Year 2000.  In December 2013 Humphrys was featured in an episode of the BBC Wales series Coming Home, where it was revealed that this great-grandmother was a resident at the Cardiff workhouse.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• BBC - Profiles - John Humphrys
• Amazon - List of John Humphrys' publications

Colin Jackson was born on 18 February 1967 and as a boy, he had an all-round talent for sport.   He played football and cricket for the county and rugby and basketball for his school, Llanedeyrn High...but it was athletics that he enjoyed the most.

The 110m hurdles was Jackson's preferred event, and he excelled in this field.  He won his first major medal in 1986, a silver for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.  Just four years later, Jackson had been awarded an MBE for services to athletics

In 1993, Jackson set a world record time of 12.91 seconds for the 110m hurdles at the World Championships in Stuttgart and broke a world record for his time of 7.30 seconds for the indoor 60m hurdles in 1994.  Also in this year, the English reggae band Aswad propelled Jackson to even higher fame when his name was mentioned in their hit song Shine. By 1999, Jackson had been promoted to OBE

After 13 years of holding the world record for 110m hurdles, Chinese athlete Liu Xiang broke it in July 2006. Jackson was full of praise for the record breaker - "People have been asking me for 13 years how long I thought my record would last," he said.

Jackson retired in March 2003 and in this year, was awarded a CBE.  He currently provides coaching, and presents sports related programs, usually on the BBC.  He was also one of the members of the successful London 2012 Olympic bid team.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• The Big Issue - Letter to my younger self - Colin Jackson
• British Athletics - Hall of Fame - Colin Jackson

Tony Leo was born Sannicola, Lecce in Italy in 1959.  He completed national service in Italy, attaining the rank of sergeant.

He came to Wales in 1986 and took on bar jobs in Cardiff, before landing his cafe, La Gondola,  on Clifton Street in Roath in the late 1980's.

Leo was a well-loved public figure, whose kindness and generosity included offering cigarettes, free drinks and small loans to his regulars ,who might have fallen on hard times - even though he was struggling himself.  He learnt everyone's orders, and took pride in serving his customers with a smile.

Leo also discovered a love for rugby when he moved to Wales, attending matches at the Millennium Stadium, wearing his Italian top, with a Welsh flag tied around his wrist.

Not having a family of his own, and mounting debt, led to Leo feeling increasingly depressed and lonely. Tragically, he committed suicide on 11 April 2006, and was found by his best friend, PC Raimondo Zavaglia, in the flat above the cafe.

Scores of people lined Clifton Street as his funeral procession made its way from La Gondola to St Peter's Church in Roath, on 28 April 2006.

Cerys Elizabeth Matthews was born in Cardiff on 11 April, 1969.  She was brought up in Swansea and Pembrokeshire, and it was during school holidays there that she first developed her interest in music, by picking up an acoustic guitar and playing Beatles songs and Welsh folk numbers.

After leaving school, she spent some time caring for children in Barcelona and studying psychiatric nursing, before returning to Wales. She met Mark Roberts in 1992 in Cardiff, and the fledgling Catatonia was born. She sang lead vocals on the band's hits, including "Mulder and Scully" and "Road Rage".

She performed a single with the band Space named The Ballad of Tom Jones, which tells the story of two lovers who want to kill each other, but then hear a Tom Jones song that defuses their homicidal feelings. Matthews also collaborated with Tom Jones himself to record a version of Frank Loesser's Baby, It's Cold Outside on Jones' album 'Reloaded'.

In September 2001 Cerys announced her departure from Catatonia after bouts of exhaustion. After a well deserved rest, Matthews moved to Nashville in 2002, in search of a new ideas for an album.  It is here that she met Bucky Baxter, who she worked with to produce her debut solo album, Cockahoop, which debuted in the UK in May 2003.

Matthews moved to Nashville with her husband Seth Riddle, whom she married in February 2003, and their two children, Glenys Pearl Y-Felin and Johnny Tupelo Jones. 

In December 2005, Cerys Matthews recorded a new version of the classic 60's hit "1-2-3" in Nashville, Tennessee. The Cardiff-based ad-agency JM Creative asked Cerys to sing the song for a series of television and radio commercials promoting the importance of numeracy. The campaign was commissioned by the Basic Skills Agency on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. 

Her marraige to Seth Riddle broke down, and she returned to Wales in 2006, before spending two weeks in the Australian jungle to star in ITV1's 2007 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Since 2010, Matthews has expanded her career to include presenting her own music show on UK digital radio channel BBC 6 Music, and covering Glastonbury Festival.

Her many awards and accolades include winning gold at the 2013 Sony Radio Academy Awards, winning a prestigious 'St David Award' for her contribution to culture in 2014, and being appointed MBE in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to music.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• BBC Wales - Music - Biogrpahies - Cerys Matthews
• Offical Cerys Matthews website

Mohammad was born on November 20 1975, and brought up in Cardiff to a Pakistani father and Welsh mother, going to school at Glyn Derw High School.

He got a degree in politics from Swansea University before studying broadcast journalism at Cardiff University.

Before Mohammad joined the BBC, one of his jobs was working behind the delicatessen of a Safeway supermarket in Ely. When the store closed down in 1997, he saw an opportunity to realise his dream to work as a broadcaster, and secured a position as a regional reporter on BBC Wales Today.

Since 2000, he has gone on to become one of the most well known faces on UK television, presenting both rugby and snooker tournaments.

He has also appeared in several episodes of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, doing the same job of studio-bound news presentation that he does in real life.  In 2013, he became the host of Final Score on BBC One.

Profile Updated: 01 December 2014

• BBC Radio Wales - Jason Mohammad

Moritz was born in Cardiff on 12 September 1954.  His first job was delivering chickens in the South Wales' valleys.  Edcuated at the now closed Howardian High School until 1973, he moved on to Christ Church, Oxford to study history.

He is Wales' richest man after Sir Terry Matthews, owner of Celtic Manor in Newport, South Wales.

Moritz was left feeling despondent by the mid-1970s when "all of Britain seemed to be on strike".  He moved to America, and after working as a reporter for Time, Moritz  joined Sequoia, an investment company, in 1986 .

His internet company investments include Apple, Google, Yahoo!, PayPal, and YouTube, and these have rewarded him returns valued at billions of dollars.  He has sat, or is currently a member of the boards of over 20 organisations.

His investment in Google helped him achieve the number one listing in Forbes' "Midas List" of the top dealmakers in the technology industry in 2006.  He has donated huge sums to edcuational establishments, including £75 million to Oxford University to support students from families with an income below £16,000 per year

On 12 July 2010, Michael Moritz was conferred an Honorary Fellowship from Cardiff University, and appointed KBE in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to promoting British economic interests and philanthropic work.

He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children, and in 2014 was estimated to be worth more than £1.6 billion.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Forbes.com - Forbes 400 Real Time Net Worth - Michael Moritz
• Daily Mail - Sale of WhatsApp to Facebook makes millions for Moritz

Terry Nation was born in Llandaff on 8 August 1930.  He was a screenwriter for British television and is credited with creating the Daleks for science fiction television series Doctor Who. He also created his own science-fiction shows, Survivors and Blake's 7.

Nation's big break came in the early 1960s when he was commissioned to write material for stand-up comic Tony Hancock's new television series.

The two rowed in later years over script issues, and Nation was fired.  Before this he had turned down an approach from David Whitaker, a screenwriter at the BBC, to contribute to a new science-fiction series.

Now jobless and with a family to support, Nation contacted Whitaker and took up the offer, penning the Doctor Who serial 'The Daleks' - and thus creating one of the Doctor's most feared adversaries.

Nation went on to contribute several further scripts to Doctor Who, The Avengers, The Persuaders and The Saint, amongst others.  In 1975 he created a new sci-fi drama series called Survivors, which was a post-apocalyptic tale of the few remaining humans, the population having been devastated by a plague.  His next sci-fi creation, Blake's 7, was very successful, and had a huge following in the UK.

In the early 1990s Nation shifted his focus onto American television, where he was a producer and writer for the first two seasons of MacGyver. He was still living in Los Angeles when he passed away from emphysema on 9th March 1997.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• TARDIS Data Core - Wikia - Terry Nation
• terrynation.net - Terry Nation Biography

Ninjah was born in London approximately 35 years ago to Jamaican parents, who had seperated only few months before. His mother had relocated to the UK just before she gave birth, while his father remained in their native country.

He grew up between England, Jamaica and the Bronx in New York, where his father had moved to and remarried.  Both his parents had musical careers, his father playing with the likes of Otis Reading.

In 1994 he finally settled in Cardiff and started developing his music and artistic interests.  He started being known in the city for his skills as percussionist.  His rough voice, versatility, height, and blonde dreadlocks made it easy to spot him in a crowd.

 Calling himself a "material scientist", Ninjha has spent the last 20 years making a name for himself as "The Bin Drummer', famous for his individual dress-sense and quirky street-performances at any time of night or day on the city centre streets.

Producer Frank Naughton (of Rocket Goldstar and Spiritualised fame), spotted Ninjah toasting one night in the city and approached him about making an album.  This resulted in I Bless the Day I Found You, being released in 2005.

Since then, his rise to stardom has been steady. Utilising social media, he has garnered a crowd of followers who love his music, friendly character and inimitable sense of style.  His latest single, Raw, was released in September 2014, attracting attention from the local media and community websites.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• Cardiff Headhunter - NINJAH, Posted on February 11, 2013 by Aborigene
• Ninjah Facebook Page

David Ivor Davies was born in Cardiff on the 15 January 1893, to a singer and teacher, Dame Clara Novello Davies, and David Davies, a tax collector.

At an early age, his talent for singing won him a scholarship to study at Magdalen Choir School in Oxford.  It was there that he began to write songs, using the name 'Ivor Novello', which took his Mother's middle name as his own surname.

Novello left school and moved to London with his parents in 1910, and within five years had composed the song which launched his career.

'Keep the Home Fires Burning' could have been the next National Anthem due to it's popularity during World War I. After the war, he appeared on stage in the West End, in musical shows of his own devising, the best known being The Dancing Years (1939).

Novello's first film role was in 1919, the silent 'The Call of the Blood', and later took on bigger roles in Hollywood movies.  But the stage continued to call his name and was always the source of his major successes.

He also came out as being homosexual in his early twenties, and spent 35 years with fellow British actor Bobbie Andrews.  The diverse success continued for some years, until Novello's life took a quite different turn during World War II.  In 1944, he was sent to Wormwood Scrubs prison for two months for misuse of petrol coupons - a serious offence in wartime Britain.

This turn of events completely broke his spirit, and he was never the same man after his release. However, he continued to appear on stage until his sudden death aged only 58, on 06 March 1951. 7,000 people attended his funeral.

The Ivor Novello Award, a prize awarded for songwriting, is awarded each year by the record industry to song writers and arrangers rather than the performing artistes. In the film Gosford Park (2001), Novello was portrayed by Jeremy Northam, and several of Novello's songs were used for the film's soundtrack.

In 2005 The Strand Theatre in London, above which Novello lived for many years, was renamed the Novello Theatre.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• The Ivor Novello Appreciation Bureau
• The Guardian - Ivor Novello, master of the musical

Nicky Piper was born on 5 May 1966, and grew up in the Culverhouse Cross and Ely areas of Cardiff.

His career was at its peak in the 1990s, becoming the Commonwealth Light-heavyweight champion in 1995.

Piper's first professional fight against fellow Welshman Kevin Roper in 1989.  In February 1993, he won the WBA Inter-Continental light heavyweight belt in a fight against Argentinean Miguel Angel Maldonando. Two months later, Piper successfully defended his title against Chris Sande in Swansea.

By September 1995, Piper had won the Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight title, the most senior belt of his career.

He successfully defended his Commonwealth title in 1996, but when defeated attempting to fight Dariusz Michalczewski for the WBO Light-heavyweight title, he soon retired from boxing.

Since retirement, Piper become a notable administrator on the British Boxing Board of Control, and with the Sports Council for Wales, and he was made an MBE in 2006 for services to sport.

Nicky is a member of Mensa and as of 2014, works for George Thomas Hospice Care as an events manager.

Profile Cretaed: 01 December 2014

• welshboxers.com - Hall of Fame - Nicky Piper

Over 30 years ago, Mike Young, born in Barry in 1956, was an advertising copywriter who had recently married, and gained a stepson in the process.

One night, when his stepson was having trouble sleeping; Young told him a story about a magical bear with superpowers. This fighter of evil was called SuperTed, and so began the legend of one of the most famous cartoon characters that originated from Wales. Spurred on by positive feedback to his stories, Young started writing books about SuperTed, and over 100 of them were published.

S4C, the fledgling (and first ever) Welsh language channel, approached Mike Young and his new wife Liz with a proposal to create a SuperTed animated show. The Youngs joined forces with producer Robin Lyons, and animation artist Dave Edwards, to create Siriol (meaning Cheerful) Animation, which was based in Pentyrch, which has since been absorbed into Cardiff's boundaries.

S4C started broadcasting on 1st November 1982, and SuperTed (also in Welsh) was aired for the first time. In 1984, the BBC acquired the rights to broadcast SuperTed.

The characters needed to be redubbed for a primarily English speaking audience, so popular children's presenter Derek Griffiths came on board to provide the voice of SuperTed, whilst ex Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee voiced Spotty, SuperTed's alien friend.

A total of three series (available on DVD) of SuperTed were made by Siriol.  In 1986, Siriol produced a special public information film called Supersafe with SuperTed, which was made specifically for the Welsh Office. Although SuperTed was in fact created in Barry, the character had a strong association with Cardiff.  Supersafe With SuperTed taught children about road safety, and included scenes of Cardiff Castle, Castle Street and the Arms Park Stadium - topped off with a classic orange double-decker bus!

In 1989 the series won a BAFTA for best animation, and that same year, Mike Young sold the rights to SuperTed to Abbey Home Media. In June 2015, Young was working with Abbey Home Media to bring a more politically correct, but faithful animated reboot of SuperTed back to British TV screens. Unfortunately the project kept stalling due to funding issues, company buyouts, and a failure to be profitable. So when Anne Miles - one of the original co-founders of Abbey Home Media - passed away in 2020, the company was dissolved shortly afterwards.

That wasn't the end for SuperTed though. During these difficult years, Mike Young's new US based animation company, Splash Entertainment, had been quietly working on remastering the original SuperTed series, and releasing them through it's brand new entertainment channel - Kabillion - which is available on streaming services and YouTube. Meanwhile, SuperTed's reimagining for the 21st century continues to develop.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014   Updated: 11 February 2024

• YouTube - Kabillion Channel (Remastered SuperTed episodes)
• Wikipedia - Siriol Productions
• Metro - 7 things you didn’t know about SuperTed
• Nation Cymru - Remastered SuperTed (19/3/23)

Nigel Walker was born on 15 June 1963 and was edcuated at Rumney High School from 1974 to 1981. He represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1984 Summer Olympics in the 110m high hurdles.

By 1992 he had discovered his talent were better suited to rugby union, where he played for Cardiff RFC.

Walker made his Wales debut on 6 March 1993 in the five nations match against Ireland. He went on to win 17 caps for Wales, scoring 12 tries and making his final appearance 21 February 1998 against England.

After retirement from the game, Walker focused on his fledgling career in broadcasting. Initially, he got into the industry by participating in locally produced radio programmes like Catchphrase, a Welsh learning programme broadcast on Radio Wales in 2000.

The next year, Walker went on to become the Head of Change and Internal Communications at the BBC until 2010, and is currently National Director of the English Institute of Sport

Profile Created: 01 December 2014

• English Institute of Sport - Who's Who

Terry Wogan was born on August 3, 1938 in Limerick, Republic of Ireland.  He was a radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career.

Before he retired from his weekday breakfast programme, Wake Up to Wogan, on BBC Radio 2 in 2009, it had eight million regular listeners, making him the most listened-to radio broadcaster in Europe.

During his radio shows, there were running jokes involving Wogan's newsreader colleagues, including John Marsh (nicknamed 'Boggy').  Marsh once told Wogan on air that his wife was called Janet, and a series of "Janet and John" stories followed, read by Wogan during the breakfast show.  These are a pastiche of children's learn-to-read stories but contained humorous sexual double-entendres.

Five CDs containing these stories have been sold in aid of Children in Need.  A long-running campaign spearheaded by Wogan criticised the British government for levying VAT on these CDs.  This led to a tax rebate of £200,000.

Another feature of the programme was Wogan's exchanges with “the Totty from Splotty “ – Lynn Bowles, the Welsh traffic reporter from Cardiff – which often involved reading limericks which were littered with risqué innuendo.  On 14 December 2009, Wogan was made Lord of Splott live on the show in its final week, by resident and broadcaster Noreen Bray. She invested him on behalf of TAFFS, or Terry's Adoring Fans From Splott.

Wogan returned to BBC Radio 2 on Valentine's Day 2010, to host a weekly Sunday show. It lasted until his final broadcast on Remembrance Sunday 2015, when he retired due to poor health. Sir Terry Wogan, Lord of Splott, passed away at his home from Cancer, on 31 January 2016.

Profile Created: 01 December 2014   Updated: 12 February 2024

• The Guardian - Sir Terry Wogan obituary (31/1/16)
• Wales Online - City honour for Sir Terry Wogan
• South Wales Echo (via Highbeam Research) - Farewell then Wogan, Lord of Splott