The Grandfather I Never Knew Part 9: Towards the end

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

Idris' youngest son, Merthyn, was married to his wife Christine in the late 70's. Idris and Iris were both able to attend, and it made the newspaper as an international affair. (1)

Recently, Iris' younger sister Ruth was able to share the video below with me. It's the family spending some time together at Ruth's home. There were in fact, several visits back to the motherland during their time in Africa. The eldest man is Idris, the elder woman is Iris, and the younger man is my Dad, Merthyn. 

Iris and Idris may have had many more years together, but both suffered from problematic health issues. Iris passed away in May 1982. After an operation to remove stomach ulcers, an infection set in and Iris eventually died of Septicemia. (More of her story can be read here.)

Idris loved Iris greatly and the engraving on this headstone reads:

In dearest memory. My beloved wife and companion went to be with the LORD on the 8th May 1982. Always remembered by her loving husband, Idris, Children Wendy, Glyn and Merthyn. Called to higher service. We will meet you over there." 

Idris became an official lay minister of the A.O.G. in 1983, shortly before he died, although he had been very active in every church he had ever been a part of, ministering to the congregation in song and deed.

Roland Plett, one of those baptised in Idris' garden font, recalls:

"Perhaps the fondest memories I have of Idris was the way he led the worship. In those days this was mostly the Elim Choruses and Hymns. His rich Welsh voice was strong and he was not shy in using it. Best of all was when he would break into Welsh and sing to the Lord. The whole place was moved. This was often followed by a moving prayer.

He enriched us all with his vibrant personality and strong faith and stamped upon us all something of the great Welsh Revival days. We were truly blessed to have such committed people to lead us." (2)

These ministerial credentials were reassessed on a yearly basis, but it was definitely one highlight of Idris' life. 

While working for the A.O.G. he was given a loose-leaf bible. These were created in such a fashion that sermon and study notes could be inserted into them. This allowed Idris and other preachers to deliver sermons with just their bible on a lectern or in their hands. 

This is a picture of Idris' bible and is currently in the possession of Glyn, his eldest son. It contains quite a few sermon notes, and I will transcribe these at a later date so that this generation can enjoy his insights, thoughts and inspirations.

I find it incredibly joyful that Idris was immersed in what he loved most, the work of God, when it came to his last few years on this earth. In the final post of this series, I will look at his last moments. Afterwards, there will still be space to blog about his favourite songs, his sermons and other facts I have found out since writing the earlier chronological postings. 

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(1) The newspaper article is taken from the Grimsby Evening Telegraph. 

(2) Taken from a transcript of a short interview conducted over Facebook with Roland Plett in 2017

"The Grandfather I Never Knew" Part 3 1944-1947

As the war dragged on Idris continued his work as a munitions inspector for the Home Guard. Their daughter Wendy would often watch the barrage balloons rising into the air before she headed off to school. They called them "Elephants," perhaps in an effort to make some cheer of the situation.

Idris never evacuated his children. If they were told that a particular heavy air raid was coming then he would take them in the little side car of his motorbike up to Stoke on Trent. Here they would stay with the rest of the family.

David John,  Glyn and Idris Davies. Three brothers.

Idris loved his motorbike.  He rode a Matchless 500 and would often ride with his brother Glyn from Birmingham to Wales. One time there was a major fog in Gloucestershire and the brothers recall that Idris ended up with a policeman on his handlebars.

Victory in Europe was celebrated in Britain and the Commonwealth on the 7th May 1945. Celebrations occurred all over the country with young and old dancing in the street. Iris' younger sister Ruth was sick in bed and Idris kept checking inside to make sure that she was ok. 

With the long war over people could at last look forward. Idris bought a house in Sheldon, it was one of many that were being built at the time and one of the first on the street. Others were still being erected as they moved in. The house is still standing at 45 Shirley Road,  Sheldon, Birmingham.^[1]

The winter of 1947 changed their plans. It was one of the worst on record. Idris' wife Iris struggled with Pernicious Anemia and nearly died. The Dr. informed them both that unless they moved to a more suitable climate she would probably die within the next five years. The options then, were Canada or Africa.

Idris' brother Glyn had been with Montgomery's expedition force. He had traveled with the Armored Car division, landing in Cape Town and traveling the length of Africa, passing through many British commonwealth countries on the way. He told Idris about Southern Rhodesia and its amiable climate. The decision was made final when Britain announced it was paying £10,000 to any citizens who moved to the colonies. The motherland would also cover the cost of the fare there.

So on 22 July 1947 Idris left England for Africa. He traveled aboard the Carnavon Castle, leaving from the port of Southampton. The records show his last English address as 318 Longton Road, Stoke on Trent. [2]

Passenger List for the voyage from Southampton.

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[1] Wendy knows that they lived at two houses during and just after WW2. One was a Shirley or Shiela Road in  Sheldon. The first was at Heather Road in Birmingham. The two numbers were 45 and 54 but she can never remember which number belonged to which street.

[2] This was the address of Harold and Annie Griffiths, Iris' parents. Ruth Griffiths remember them staying there when Idris left for Africa

"The Grandfather I Never Knew" Part 1

“The Grandfather I Never Knew” Part 1

Idris Davies was born on December 2nd 1914 to Price and Annie Davies. His birth was registered in the borough ofMerthyr Tydfil on the 11th January 1915. [1] His hair would become dark, nearly black and his eyes were blue. He had what can only be described as ‘A real welsh nose.’ At the time his father, Price Davies had been asked to pastor at Aberaman Assembly. Idris had an older brother, David John Davies and a sister Mair Davies who had died in 1910. In 1917 the family moved to the Old Prince Of Wales Public House. This had five living rooms and the front part, where the bar used to be, was used as a meeting hall for a new church congregation. [2]

His mother Annie used to make jam[3] and store it in the pantry for later use; strawberry was the preferred flavor and at age four while Idris was sleeping his parents stepped out for a short while. Idris awoke and made his way into the pantry where he began to open the stored containers and with a spoon he ate all of the jam. By the time Price and Annie returned home they found him on the floor unconscious.




They immediately called for the itinerant doctor and nurse, which must have been done by running to the local clinic since they did not have a phone. By the time the doctor. and nurse arrived on the scene there was little that could be done and they pronounced him dead, apparently issuing a death certificate. Price and Annie were devout Christian believers and they invited a small group of people from the church over to the house, wanting them to pray for Idris before they gave up on him.Annie had witnessed her own miraculous healing when younger and they hoped for the same thing to occur now. [4]

As Idris’ children, Glyn and Wendy, remember it being told to them; "this small group of Christians was delightedly disturbed when a voice was heard from the bedroom in which they had placed their child. Idris was singing loudly, “I’m three three three, I once was lost and now am found, Christ has set me three.”" Yes, the pronunciation of the word ‘free’ had changed but his family was ecstatic. They believed God had healed their son and brought him back from the dead.

Now fortunate to live the rest of his life, Idris was mischievous and full of fun, like any young boy would be. When living in Brynithel and Six Bells they would fill up buckets of water and spread it over the ground so that it would freeze at night creating an ice slide. The boys would get someone to chase them who did not know about it and at the last minute the person doing the chasing would turn and Idris with the others would slide on down and make their escape.

While in Brynithel, aged 7, Idris became a Christian and was ‘saved’. While it was at Six Bells that Idris was baptized in Bethany Baptist Chapel at age 11. [5] Both these events set the scene for a life of missions and church work but before much of that could occur Idris must first navigate his way through such major cataclysms as World War 2

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[1] Birth Certificate for Idris Davies, registered 11 Jan 1915, Ref No 11a 1603, County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil U.K. Certified copy in possession of author

[2] Much information is provided courtesy of "A TESTIMONY and a brief record of the of the BEGINNING of the PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT in the MERTHYR BOROUGH,BEDLINOG AND THE ABERDARE VALLEY by PASTOR PRICE DAVIES – annotated by RoyDavies

[3] Americans use the word jelly.


[4] There is no death certificate to officially document this miracle, it is likely that before the records were sent to authorities they had realized the mistake in certifying him as dead and did not send his name with the records. There is however a record of Annie’s healings, to be found in 'The WesternMail', 'South Wales Echo', 'South Wales Daily News', 'Merthyr Express', and theWelsh language newspaper 'Tarian Y Gweithwyr' in September 1905.


[5] This is again found in the written Testimony of Price Davies.