Notes on Dr Lloyd Davies' life that were read at his funeral service by the Reverend Herbert Hughes

"It is both a privilege and an honour to say a few words in Welsh about our Dr Lloyd Davies. He was a native of Birmingham where his father was a Minister with the Congregationalists - but originally from Cwm Wysg in the upper Usk Valley. Lloyd took great interest in his background and he kept in close contact with his family in the area. His mother was a strong personality who was also very fond of music. She was also a gifted cellist.

Following service in the Air Force during the second World War, and his medical training, he came to join his brother in Practice in Abergavenny. Here he became a caring, compassionate and a highly respected General Practitioner. He also mastered the Welsh language and became a strong supporter of Welsh culture in many of its aspects.

Alongside his medical career, he also had a great interest in music. It is difficult to know where to begin. Not only was he a great support to Ann (his wife) and her devotion to the harp, )and he, until very recently, would drive her to locations across Europe for concerts), he was the moving spirit and founder of the Harp College to Wales and Secretary of the Harp Society, holding courses in their home until the 1970's. He established his own publishing company - Adlais. There is no doubt that Lloyd and Ann stimulated and inspired many people to take an interest in the harp.

Lloyd was also one of the original founders of the Gwent Bach Society in 1951 and was its Conductor for most of the time. This is not only testimony to his dedication but also his faithfulness to his choir and the choir to him. They respected and loved each other. Many times in concerts in the last ten years that I have attended, I have noticed his undoubted pride in the Choir's performance. He had much pleasure in the company of the Choir members and the feeling was mutual.

His favourite musical instrument, however, was the organ. He was very knowledgeable about the workings of different organs and he used to visit numerous organs on the continent and in Britain. He played the organ regularly in the Church at Tredegar near his home and he, of course, was the organist here at the United Reformed Church (Castle Street, Abergavenny). This organ here is a lovely, small pipe organ and Lloyd cared for it with amazing love and faithfulness.

It was rare for Lloyd to be absent from the service on Sunday morning. He would come on Saturday mornings to practice the hymns and to see that everything was in order. He would then come again about half an hour before the service on a Sunday morning. Those who cam early to the service would be blessed with his choice of music being played. It was he who also ensured that the organ was cleaned and tuned every year. I remember one rare occasion when Lloyd was not well enough to attend at Abergavenny, his main concern was during a particularly dry spell, that a bowl of water would be placed near the organ. He wrote about the history of this organ about three years ago and gave a lecture on it here. He also composed some hymn tunes of his own.

In addition to his involvement with the harp, organ and the GBS, he also had a deep interest and knowledge of hymns and hymn writing. When I first came here as a Minister about seven years ago, Lloyd gave me a bundle of typed papers. When I looked at them when I got home, I realised that they were notes about every hymn tune and some of the hymns in the Baptist Praise and Worship (about 650 of them). His observations were penetrating and interesting. For example, on one hymn: "I cannot see how this hymn could contribute anything to the service". Another: " Rubbish". Some, however, had a "fairly vulgar bawl" written on the and yet another "I thought this old war-horse had been buried by now". His notes showed a wide knowledge of hymn writing and composing and he would give praise where it was due. The only time when we dared to sing any of the modern hymns was when Lloyd was not present at the service. This thoroughness and determination was typical of Lloyd.

He was not an argumentative man, but he could be very determined. He was an active member of the committee of the Welsh Gymanfa Ganu and was supportive throughout, helping to choose the hymns. I know that sometimes the hymns chosen were not to Lloyd's liking, but he would keep quiet until the end of the meeting, when he would then suggest one of his favourite hymns. He was particularly fond of hymn tunes by Louis Borgeois, an organist and composer with John Calvin in Geneva (the composer of the remarkable tune Navarre).

He also showed his determination in playing the organ here when he was quite unwell. He was here the Sunday before his death and was singing with the GBS on the Thursday before. He was always a considerate and able organist and singer. He was an organist who managed to make the instrument talk.

He will be greatly missed.

There is so much more I could say about Lloyd - his work with the Welsh society in Abergavenny, his support of the move to get the Welsh School to Abergavenny and his support of the Sunday School, his work with the URC in getting preachers for each Sunday. He was a supporter of everything elevating. He was a good gardener.

It has been a privilege to say a few words in Welsh. We will miss him greatly but the loss will be felt the greatest by Ann and the family. He was a gentleman and it will be impossible to replace him".