< More Memorial Inscriptions

The names of seven members of the Davies family are recorded on the memorials shown below.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
JOHN BAYLEY DAVIES, M.A.
RECTOR OF THIS PARISH
FROM 1866 TO 1905.
DIED 23RD NOVEMBER 1905
AGED 65 YEARS.
ALSO SUSAN ANSLOW,
WIFE OF THE ABOVE,
WHO DIED 17TH FEBRUARY 1927,
AGED 81

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ANDREW TAYLOR DAVIES.
BORN SEPT. 21ST 1891,
DIED DEC. 25TH 1983

[On other side, not photographed:]

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
OLIVE KATHLEEN MARY DAVIES.
BORN DEC. 8TH 1891
DIED FEB. 6TH 1972

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ANNIE MAY DAVIES,
ELDER DAUGHTER OF THE REV. JOHN BAYLEY AND SUSAN ANSLOW DAVIES.
DIED MARCH 7TH 1986,
AT YOCKLETON, SHREWSBURY,
AGED 86 YEARS.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
ADMIRAL SIR ARTHUR JOHN DAVIES, K.B.E. C.B.
SECOND SON OF THE REV. JOHN BAILEY AND SUSAN ANSLOW DAVIES.
DIED DEC 13TH 1954,
AT ROWLANDS CASTLE, HAMPSHIRE
AGED 77 YEARS.

IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
MARJORIE EILEEN
DAVIES
BORN 6TH MAY 1931
DIED 4TH SEPTEMBER 2001

John Bayley Davies, son of Evan Davies and Ann Taylor, was born at Stanton Long in Shropshire in 1840 and baptised at Patton on 3 Nov 1840. He entered St John’s College, Cambridge in 1859, obtaining his B.A. in 1863 and his M.A. in 1866, after which he served the parish of Waters Upton as Rector. In addition, he was member of the Wellington Board of Guardians and of the Rural District Council for many years. He married Susan Anslow Juckes at High Ercall on 31 Aug 1875. The census returns of 1881, 1891 and 1901 show the couple with most – but not all – of the children they raised during their years together at Waters Upton: Evan Richard, Arthur John, Annie May, Alice E, Walter Llewellyn, Stephen Harris, Reginald Wynard and George Herbert.

The National Probate Calendar shows that although John Bayley Davies was of Waters Upton at the time of his death in 1905, he actually died at 87 Cornwall Street in Birmingham. He left effects valued at £5161 18s. 8d. and probate was granted to his widow and to his sons Evan (by then a solicitor) and Arthur (a lieutenant in the Royal Navy).

Susan Anslow Davies remained in Waters Upton after her husband’s death, and was recorded on the 1911 census living at The White House, with son Walter and daughter Annie May Davies. On her death in 1927 she lefts effects valued at £3545 13s. 3d. Probate was once again granted to Evan, who was still working as a solicitor, and Arthur, who was by that time a Rear-Admiral. Annie May Davies joined her parents in the family plot in 1986.

One son who did not appear with the Davies family on the census schedules was Andrew Taylor Davies. He married Olive Kathleen Mary Hobson (daughter of William Muskett Hobson) at Stoke Bishop, Gloucestershire on 8 Oct 1924. The passenger list for the Drottningholm, departing Liverpool, England on 13 Nov 1945 bound for Bombay, India, included Andrew Taylor Davis, 54, tea planter, and Olive Kathleen Mary Davies, 53, housewife, both of Rangers Lodge, Hawkestone Park, Shrewsbury, country of intended future permanent residence India. Evidently they both returned: the deaths of Olive and Andrew were registered at Shrewsbury in March 1972 and December 1983 respectively.

One of the most famous sons of the family was Arthur John Davies, who became not only an Admiral but also a knight: Admiral Sir Arthur John Davies, KBE, CB. During World War 2 he was mentioned in despatches “For outstanding devotion to duty during three years arduous service as Commodore of Ocean Convoys” (London Gazette, 24 Aug 1943). More information on his Naval career can be found on the Dreadnought Project website.

Another son, Stephen Harris Davies, followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the clergy. He emigrated to Australia where he became the Bishop of Carpentaria, Queensland. His engagement to Edith Nicol Mosman was announced in The Argus (of Melbourne) in 1930. A photograph of Stephen is held by the National Portrait Gallery.

Lichfield Diocesan Records include papers relating to memorial windows dedicated to John Bayley Davies and to his sons Lieutenant Walter Llewellyn Davies and George Herbert Davies (ref B/C/12/1/501) and a memorial tablet to Bishop Stephen Harris Davies, Admiral Sir Arthur John Davies and their parents (ref B/C/12/4/76), in St Michael’s Church.

The mystery occupant of the family plot – for now – is Marjorie Eileen Davies. She may have been a granddaughter, or a graddaughter-in-law, of John Bayley and Susan Anslow Davies.