"The Grandfather I Never Knew" Part 8

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Another significant event that occurred early in the 1950s was an accident that happened to Idris. He worked for a company in Palmerston that sold mechanized machinery. One day he was operating a crane and attempted to lift something with it that was too heavy. The crane crashed over and Idris was admitted to hospital. This event caused the ulcer that prevented him from eating much of his favourite foods all the time and triggered the rest periods he sometimes took during the building of the house in Umtali.

Despite this unfortunate event he was known to call for English pancakes (Crepes) on his own and other people's birthdays. He would also drink a lot of milk on these occasions. It wasn't always the best idea due to the stomach ulcers he suffered with but it seems he had a bit of a sweet tooth. Welsh rice pudding was also a favourite of his, as was custard pie. He would often try and sneak a Fanta or Vanilla milkshake as well. On occasion he would take the family out after church on a Sunday and buy one slab of vanilla ice cream for desert. Eating ice cream together as a family was a treat I also enjoyed growing up, so Idris must have passed it along to my dad, Merthyn.  One of Idris' favourite main meals was fricadles, which is a type of meatball. 

In the early 60's Idris' eldest child, Wendy, was married in Cheltenham 1964. Idris and Iris were unable to make the wedding. Idris had to console Iris who was upset over it, but they were able to make the local newspapers with their international call to their daughter on her wedding day.[1] 

Their eldest son, Glyn, went off to bible college in the United States. (66-69) Their daughter Wendy had already left in the 50's to join Cardiff College of music. Before leaving, Glyn brought Norma to visit the family, and early in 1966 they were married. Idris never knew quite how to respond to Norma but his wife exclaimed on the first night, "Glyn, you must marry this girl." 

Idris and Iris with Glyn and Norma in Bulawayo

Despite the long distances and expensive rate of international phone calls, Idris must have been in touch with his brothers about the wedding of his son because his older brother David John Davies[2] posted a congratulations in the weekly Assemblies of God magazine, Redemptions Tidings.

Posted in the 1966 March edition of Redemption Tidings

It's possible the communication was through letters; Iris' sister Ruth would often contact them in this way. 

One of Idris' hobbies was reading westerns. Both Glyn and Merthyn would borrow these books from him and read along. He particularly enjoyed Louis L’Amore and Zane Grey. Perhaps the Louis L'Amore appealed to him as he added historical details and wrote about a family leaving England to travel to the United States and set up a home there. Much as he left to set up a home in Southern Rhodesia. Idris would mainly find the time to read on holiday and would then devour these books. He also introduced his son Merthyn to the Hardy Boys.

As far as holidays were concerned there were a few primary locations. While they lived in Umtali they traveled often to Biera in Mozambique and later when they had moved to the west they often went down to South Africa and Amazimtoti. Glyn and Norma, when they returned from America, sometimes went with them. 

While on holiday Idris would go swimming with his youngest son, Merthyn. One time when visiting Biera, his son taught him to body surf. In a form of tubing they would go out into the sea and then catch the waves, holding on to a tube and running the wave back towards the shore. While doing this Idris was knocked over, and so his son taught him to body surf to land so he wouldn't have to swim the entire way. 

Once they moved to Bulawayo it took much longer to reach Biera so they would travel to Hot Springs[3] instead, a place where people still relax today in the heated pools of water, waterfalls, lakes and geysers that spring up from the ground. 
______

[1] Wendy remembers reading about the phone calls being in the local paper but to date I have been unable to locate the actual articles. 

[2] Idris' older brother David John Davies was named after Idris' uncle who died suddenly in 1931 from Pneumonia.

[3] Nyanyadzi Hot Springs are still known as a tourist attraction in Zimbabwe today. One tourist describes it this way in the online magazine "All Africa."  "Recently I visited Nyanyadzi Hot Springs in Manicaland. At the centre of the breathtaking Eastern Highlands geomorphology dominated by craggy mountains, tour filled lakes, sparkling rivers, spectacular waterfalls, glorious forests, rolling moorlands and dramatic gorges lies a hot spring with water at boiling point, that villagers believe is boiled by mermaids."

Much information for this blog post comes from a series of interviews with Glyn Davies, Norma Davies, Merthyn Davies and Wendy Thomas.

"The Grandfather I Never Knew" Part 5

In the early 1950’s Idris’ wife, Iris, gave birth to Bronwyn. I wrote of this earlier in a series called “The Grandma I never Knew.’

“Iris suffered some hardships while living in Africa. In the early 1950’s they lost a child. Her name was Bronwyn. There were blood complications and she was born with Down syndrome. She did not survive long after her birth. Six years later Iris would have to sit in a nursing home, praying and waiting while their new born son was rushed to a hospital in Salisbury. His blood was rhesus negative and required a complete blood transfusion which was not possible in Umtali. 160 miles, two blow outs , a borrowed car and one police escort later, Merthyn Davies reached the hospital and one of the first ever full blood transfusions for a child in Africa was completed. Iris could thank God that this child was saved.”

I will add these edits and addendum to this account:
Firstly, that it was only two years later that Iris was waiting while her new born son Merthyn was rushed to the hospital. I have amended the original blog to reflect this. Secondly, that after the two blow outs Idris traveled in someone else's car for the last 50 miles of the journey. The police escort was a single officer on a bike who led them to the hospital. The Umtali Post should have a record of this but to date I have been unable to locate a copy of that article. Idris’ eldest son, Glyn, did not accompany them to the hospital, his sister Bronwyn had died when he was 10 and now he was 12 and his new born brother was in trouble. He didn't know how to deal with it at the time. Iris could not go to the hospital either due to her severe anemia and the fact she also needed blood transfusions. This is why she was at the nursing home, where the children were born.

My Dad, Merthyn, explained that the blood transfusion was administered through his right big toe and drained out of his left big toe. Dad rejected the transfusion and the doctor told Idris to go home and get some rest as he was not expected to survive the night. When Idris returned to the hospital the doctor told him that he wasn't sure how to tell him what had happened. Idris prepared himself for the worst. The Doctor then explained that although Merthyn had rejected the transfusion he had somehow begun to create his own blood cells and was now doing much better though not entirely out of the woods. When asked if a name had been chosen for Merthyn, Idris told him they had not chosen one yet. The Doctor asked Idris if he would consider the names of two close friends of the doctors that he had known in World War 2. Merthyn and Owen. Dad attributes his production of blood cells to the all night prayer event held by the Assemblies of God church they attended. There's also a rumor that Idris may have set a new land speed record for the trip between Umtali and Salisbury at that time.(2)

Merthyn Davies

The 1950’s was very eventful for Idris and it was sometime in this decade that he set off in a vehicle with some friends, Jesse Williams and Jim Watson(1) to try and find a place for the first ever Elim hospital in Rhodesia. The story goes that they traveled into the night and eventually down a small dirt track where they elected to stop the car and wait until it was light. While waiting, a native African stumbled across them in the pitch black and was frightened out of his wits. He had never seen a white man before and believed them to be ghosts, calling them “Toklochie” meaning something like “a spook.” Jim spoke Shona fluently and they were able to discover the man’s story. He told them that God had appeared to him a dream and told him if he walked down this dirt track he would meet men that could tell him more. The man decided to follow Jesus and Idris and his friends found the site for the hospital the very next day in Katerere in Nyanga.

While in Southern Rhodesia Idris began working on a family home. A friend and neighbor, Dick Vairy(3), was a building inspector and helped him put together a plan for the house. Every day after work he’d cycle up and continue working on it. The plan was to have it identical to their former house in Birmingham. There were two days he didn't immediately start work on the house, these were Wednesday and Sunday’s because they were church days and everything would stop for church. Building the house and maintaining it became his hobby. Merthyn learned much from his father about carpentry and painting during this time.

During the 1950’s Idris also helped start the first ever Assemblies of God church in Umtali. It began in the house that he built brick by brick. The pastor was Don Normand. Eventually Idris became an elder of this church, and then a preacher. They didn’t ordain people in the Assemblies of God, Umtali at the time. A member could become an elder and from an elder be recognized as a pastor. It was always a dream of Idris’ to become a full time minister.

_____

Information courtesy of interviews with Glyn and Merthyn Davies in 2012/2013.

[1] Information on the beginning of Elim in Zimbabwe and the hospital can be found on the Elim website. Jessie Williams is mentioned, as is Dr. Bryan and so is the church in Katerere in Nyanga, although there is no mention of Jim Watson. Jessie also pastored a local Apostolic Faith Mission church. Mr. and Mrs. Jessie Williams are also mentioned on the "Religion in Zimbabwe" website.   Jim Watson was a friend of the families, and when Iris, Glyn and Wendy first arrived in South Africa they stayed with the Watsons. 

[2] This fact about the land speed record has not been verified, but it is certainly believed by my family. 

[3] An earlier version of this blog spelled Dick Vairy's name incorrectly. It was spelled as Varey, when I have been informed it is in fact Vairy.