RIP - E Terry L Davies, (SHR, 58-62)

Proud of his Welsh heritage, Terry was born in Cardiganshire on 18 June 1944, in a thunderstorm, the elder son of Caroline and Ieuan. He went to school first in Beulah and then to Abermad prep school near Aberystwyth, before attending Christ College Brecon.

Although from a farming family, his interest was in engineering, so on leaving Christ College he embarked on an electrical and mechanical engineering qualification at Carmarthen technical college. While on placement with the North West Electricity Board, he fell ill with Behçet’s disease, a very rare chronic condition affecting the joints, eyes and skin. After some months in hospital, he was forced to take a year away from his studies to recuperate, which he spent back home on the farm helping his father and riding horses to regain his strength.

In 1965, he went to Cardiff to do a degree in Production Engineering. At university, he met Freda, and they were married on 26 July 1969 at Christ Church, in Parbold, West Lancashire. They celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in 2019.

Terry began his working life as a production engineer for Cam Gears first in Swansea and then in Hitchin. During this time, Terry and Freda bought their first home together in St Albans. Terry’s love of MG sports cars began at this time, when he bought an MGB.

Terry and Freda moved to Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire in 1971, when Terry got a job at Rank Xerox in Mitcheldean. They had a daughter, Anne, in 1973. When Anne showed an interest in bellringing, Terry joined in, rediscovering an old skill he had learnt at school in Brecon. Terry restored a 1946 MG TC, and the MG collection increased over the years to include Freda’s 1960 MGA and a 1934 PA. He enjoyed using the cars for competitions, displays and social runs, and he ran the local meeting of the MG Car Club until his last illness.

After the demise of Rank Xerox, Terry moved to Saunders Valves in Cwmbrân as an IT manager. He took early retirement at 60, and took up blacksmithing, going to weekly classes at the college in Hereford. It turned out that he had kept an anvil and various tools from his father’s farm because he had always wanted to learn, and he made some wonderful pieces, showing a great deal of artistry as well as technical skill.

Terry’s condition involved periodic bouts of ill-health throughout his life, which he bore with a great deal of stoicism and a minimum of fuss. In 2014, he was rushed into hospital with serious complications, spending three months in Birmingham and another three in Hereford. He still found enjoyment in chatting to friends or watching sport on television, particularly when Wales were winning the rugby or Liverpool the football.

Everyone who knew Terry will remember him as a lovely man with a big smile and a warm heart. He was much loved by Freda and Anne and will be sorely missed.