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List of people associated with Penarth

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The following is a list of prominent and notable people associated with the town of Penarth in South Wales.

Armed Forces

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"Dambuster" Wing Commander Guy Gibson, lived in Penarth
  • Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Fry is a British Royal Marines general, formerly Commandant General Royal Marines was born in Penarth.
  • Patrick Gibbs (1916 – April 2008) was born in Penarth and died aged 92 best remembered as chief film critic of The Daily Telegraph from 1960 to 1986. But his own most dramatic moment came when he was a Royal Air Force Wing Commander based on Malta for three months during the summer of 1942 as a flight commander at the much-bombed but resilient island, which brought his Beaufort torpedo bombers within range of Axis convoys crossing the Mediterranean to Africa. Gibbs was awarded the DSO, DFC and Bar .
  • Guy Penrose Gibson RAF (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) – leader of the Dambuster raid, recipient of the Victoria Cross, married his wife Eve, herself a Penarthian, at All Saints Church Penarth in 1940 and the couple lived for a time in Archer Road, where there is a commemorative plaque to his memory. Gibson was a keen golfer and a member of the Glamorganshire Golf Club in Lower Penarth.
  • Samuel George Pearse (16 July 1897 – 29 August 1919) – was a Sergeant in the Royal Fusiliers and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Pearse was born and educated in Penarth before moving to Australia with his family in 1911 after leaving school.
  • Richard William Leslie Wain (5 December 1896 – 20 November 1917) – a Captain in the Tank Corps was also a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was born and educated in Penarth.

Entertainment

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  • Lincoln Barrett (born 1979), also known as High Contrast, is a successful drum and bass DJ and producer. Lincoln lives in Penarth.
  • Paul 'Legs' Barrett was manager of Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets for ten years until October 1977 and is well known countrywide as a rock and roll promoter, agent and impresario. He has also managed Jerry Lee Lewis's younger sister Linda Gail Lewis. Paul has lived in Penarth all his life and is married to Lorraine Barrett, the town's Welsh Assembly member.
  • Rebecca Evans (born August 1963) the Welsh soprano opera singer from the village of Pontrhydyfen near Neath, now lives in Penarth with her family.
  • Mary Glynne (25 January 1895 – 19 September 1954), was a British film actress. She appeared in 24 films between 1919 and 1939. She was born in Penarth and died in London.
  • Denys Graham (29 June 1926 – October 2024) – Television and film actor born in Penarth. He has appeared in films such as Zulu, The Dambusters and Dunkirk, also TV shows including Angels, Lovejoy and Rumpole of the Bailey.
  • Jemma Griffiths (born 18 June 1975) is a singer-songwriter better known as Jem. She was born in Penarth where she attended Stanwell Comprehensive School and went on to attend Sussex University, obtaining a degree in law. Along with Guy Sigsworth, she wrote the song "Nothing Fails", which was later reworked by Madonna and appeared on her 2003 American Life album.
  • Ross Lovegrove (born 1958) – the internationally known industrial designer, best known for his pioneering design work on the Sony Walkman and Apple computers, was born and educated in the town and returns home frequently to visit local family members.[1]
  • Martyn Joseph – was born in Penarth and is a Welsh singer-songwriter. In 2004, he won the Best Male Artist Category in the BBC Welsh Music Awards.
Composer Dr Joseph Parry
  • Colin McCormack (December 1941 – 19 June 2004) – Actor and member of the Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company, famous for his stage, television and film roles over fifty years including Macbeth (1988), The Tempest (1988), Two Gentlemen of Verona (1999) and Julius Caesar (2002). He was also in the RSC's production of A Clockwork Orange (1990). His TV roles were numerous but included Dixon of Dock Green (1955 and 1974), Z Cars (1966), Please, Sir (1970), The Sweeney (1975), The Good Life (1978), Yes Minister (1980), Martin Chuzzlewit (1994), Inspector Morse (1987), Casualty (2000) and Longitude (2000). He appeared in several films the latest ones being Let Him Have It (1991) and First Knight (1995). Colin will probably best be remembered by television audiences for his recurring role as Alan in the 1984 science fiction series Chocky and his 1991 stint playing Kevin Masters in EastEnders. He also tutored at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and his students included Ewan McGregor, Alistair McGowan and Daniel Craig. Colin died of cancer aged 63. He was born in Penarth and attended Penarth Grammar School.[2]
  • Joseph Parry (21 May 1841 – 17 February 1903 ) – a Welsh composer and musician, born in Merthyr Tydfil. He is known best as the composer of the haunting Myfanwy, much loved by male voice choirs, and the hymn tune Aberystwyth (most familiar as the tune for "Jesu, Lover of My Soul"). Parry lived most of his later life in Penarth and is buried in St Augustine's churchyard.
  • Erin Richards (17 May 1986) An actress who rose to prominence with her role as Barbara Kean in the TV series Gotham.
  • Shakin' Stevens – also known as Shaky (born Michael Barratt, 4 March 1948, in Ely, Cardiff) the Platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter, who has the distinction of being one of the top selling UK singles artist of all time, with thirty four Top 40 records and the biggest selling UK male artists during the 1980s, was based in Penarth during the 1960s and early 1970s.
  • The Sunsets – Shakin' Stevens's original backing band was formed from mostly Penarth resident musicians, including long serving bassist David 'Batman' Goddard and guitar doyen Cyril 'Cyd' Petherick. The renowned 1950s purist rock and roll band is still based in the town and tours regularly.

Literature and media

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  • Gillian Clarke was born on 8 June 1937 in Cardiff and is a poet, playwright, editor, broadcaster, lecturer and translator (from Welsh).[3] She was brought up in Cardiff and was educated and lived in Penarth.
  • Adrian Goldsworthy (born 1969) is a British historian and military writer. Goldsworthy was educated at Westbourne School, Penarth. Later, after studying ancient and modern history at St John's College, Oxford, he graduated as a D.Phil in ancient military history at Oxford University in 1994, using his doctoral thesis in his first book, The Roman Army at War 100 BC – AD 200. Goldsworthy was a Research Fellow at Cardiff University for two years and has taught in different university departments where he has produced various articles on Greco-Roman warfare.
  • Martin Hinds (10 April 1941; Penarth – 1 December 1988[4]) was a scholar of the Middle East and historiographer of early Islam . He co-authored with Patricia Crone the book God's Caliph : Religious Authority in the First Centuries of Islam
  • The artist Ray Howard-Jones (1903–1996), who grew up in Penarth, painted scenes showing the preparations for D-Day taking place around Penarth and the Cardiff Docks during World War Two.
  • Eric Linklater (8 March 1899 – 7 November 1974) was a successful writer, known for more than 20 novels, as well as short stories, travel writing and autobiography, and military history. Linklater was born in Penarth.
  • Denis Alfred Peter Philp (10 November 1920 – 5 February 2006), was a Welsh dramatist and antiques expert, best known for his television series, Collectors' Club. Philp lived in Penarth.
  • Frank Roper (12 December 1914 – 3 December 2000) was a British artist and sculptor. He was one of the most prolific post-War artists undertaking commissions for churches and cathedrals in England and Wales.[5] Roper was also a potter and a calligrapher. He was awarded the OBE in 1990 for his services to art.[6] Roper retired to Penarth in 1973 and lived there until his death.
  • Richard Short (29 December 1841, St Ives, Cornwall – 16 December 1919) was a Cornish artist who painted many scenes in and around Penarth.
  • Alfred Sisley the French Impressionist painter famously stayed in Penarth at 4 Clive Place in 1897. During his time there he married his long-term companion Eugénie Lescouzec in Cardiff Register Office. Sisley created six landscape paintings of the cliffs and coast at Penarth, before making further paintings on the Gower Peninsula. A board commemorating his stay in Penarth has now been erected, close to where he painted an oak-tree on the cliff edge. Sisley's painting of "The Cliffs at Penarth in the evening at low tide" is now in the National Museum of Wales.[7][8]
  • Andrew Phillip Smith (born 1966) is a Welsh writer who has so far specialized in non-fiction in the area of Gnosticism and early Christianity. He grew up in Penarth, and attended the University College of Wales, Swansea. He lived for some time in London and then in rural California and now lives in Dublin with his wife. His published works include The Gospel of Thomas: A new version based on the inner meaning (Ulysses Books, 2002), The Gospel of Philip: annotated & explained (Skylight Paths, 2005), The lost sayings of Jesus: annotated & explained (Skylight Paths 2006), Gnostic Writings on the soul: annotated & explained (Skylight Paths 2007), The Gnostics: History* Traditions* Scriptures* Influence (Watkins Publishing, 2008), A Dictionary of Gnosticism (Quest Publishing 2009), The Lost Teachings of the Cathars (Watkins Publishing 2015, The Secret History of the Gnostics, their scriptures beliefs & traditions (Watkins Publishin 2015) He also runs the small press Bardic Press and has contributed forewords to their books.
  • David Sullivan (born 1 February 1949) – the notorious "Private shops" pornography baron, newspaper proprietor and part owner of Birmingham City FC was born and educated in Penarth. He graduated in Economics from Queen Mary College, University of London. Since 1986 he has been the owner of the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport. In 2004, Sullivan was named by the Sunday Times as Britain's 68th richest man, with assets valued at over £500 million.[9]
  • Professor Jim Wiegold (15 April 1934 – 4 August 2009) was a Welsh mathematician. He earned a PhD at the University of Manchester in 1958, studying under Bernhard Neumann, and is most notable for his contributions to group theory. Professor Weigold died in Penarth.
  • Urien Wiliam (7 November 1929 – 21 October 2006), was a noted Welsh novelist and dramatist. William was born in Barry and lived and died in Penarth.

Politics and public service

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Alun Michael MP

Sport

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Rugby player Reggie Gibbs

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ross Lovegrove
  2. ^ Colin McCormack obituary Archived 12 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Carcanet Press – Gillian Clarke
  4. ^ Edmund Bosworth. "Martin Hinds 1941–1988". Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies), Vol. 16, No. 1. (1989), pp. 118–120.
  5. ^ Peter Wakelin, (2004), "An Art-Accustomed Eye", National Museums & Galleries of Wales, ISBN 978-0-7200-0555-4
  6. ^ "Frank Roper: Sculptor entranced by ancient subjects and modern materials". 11 December 2000. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  7. ^ Reed, N. Sisley on the Welsh Coast Lilburne Press 2008 ISBN 978-1-901167-20-7.
  8. ^ Jones, J. 2/alfred-sisley-impressionism Alfred Sisley: Impressionism on the Welsh Riviera, The Guardian, 12 November 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-20
  9. ^ David Sullivan article in The Times
  10. ^ The Ralph Hancock website
  11. ^ John Smith at Theyworkforyou
  12. ^ Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 13.
  13. ^ The Pit and the Pitch Archived 29 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Walesonline 9 December 2005
  14. ^ a b BookOxygen Wonder Girls by Catherine Jones Archived 6 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ George Rowles player profile scrum.com
  16. ^ "Cricketarchive.com Player profiles". Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
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