John Rhys Davies (born John Rees Davies, 11 November 1890 – 27 January 1953) was a Welsh Anglican priest of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

, he served as

Archdeacon of Merioneth This is a list of the archdeacons of Meirionnydd. The Archdeacon of Meirionydd is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Meirionydd, an administrative division of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The archdeaconry comprises the five dea ...

from 1952 until his sudden death in January 1953.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19520502/059/0003 JohnRhysDaviesPortrait

Life

John Rees Davies was born on 11 November 1890 in Llandisilio,

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

, the second child of Rev. Thomas Rees Davies and Elizabeth, née Williams. He was educated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

and

St David's College, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan) was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited ...

. During his time at Oxford Davies was a member of the Cambrian Society and 21s Society. He was ordained as a Deacon in March 1914 and then served temporarily as

chaplain to the Forces The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

from 1917 to 1919 during the war. Sometime after the war he changed his middle name from Rees to Rhys, possibly after the principal of Jesus College

Sir John Rhys ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

. Between 1925-1932 he was rector of Llangranog and from 1932-1937 of

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, maki ...

and Tregaian. He then served as vicar of St James' Church, Bangor, until 1952. During this time, in 1941, he was appointed a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Bangor Cathedral Bangor Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Bangor) is a cathedral in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol. The site of the present building of Bangor Cathedral has been in use as a place of Christian worship since ...

. He was then appointed

in March 1952 by the

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

, John Jones, after the resignation of former Archdeacon David Jenkins. He died on 27 January 1953, at his home The Vicarage in

Arthog Arthog () is a village, post town and community in the Meirionnydd area in Gwynedd, north Wales including the villages of Fairbourne and Friog. It is located on the A493, approximately west of Dolgellau, and had a population of 1,010 in 2001, ...

Family

Davies was born into a family of famous Welsh clergymen including his father Rev. Thomas Rees Davies, who served as vicar of

Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn () is an ancient parish in the upper division of the hundred of Ilar, Ceredigion, West Wales, 7 miles south east from Aberystwyth, on the road to Rhayader, comprising the chapelry of Eglwys Newydd, or Llanfihangel y Cre ...

, and his Great-Grandfather Rev. Evan Jones of

Crugybar Crugybar is a village in Carmarthenshire located between Talley and Pumsaint. It is roughly of equal distance from Lampeter, Llandovery and Llandeilo. It is within the parish of Llanwrda. Etymology The Welsh word "''Crug''" most commonly refers ...

. His uncle, John Davies Williams, was the Town Clerk of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

who married the younger sister of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician, Sir Joseph Leese. In 1926, he married Mabel Aeronwy Davies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys Davies, John 1890 births 1953 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter Archdeacons of Merioneth