Obituary – P.O. Davies

The funeral of P O Davies will be held at 10:40 am on Tuesday 26 November 2013 at Llwydcoed Crematorium, Aberdare, CF44 0DJ. At Phil’s request there will be no flowers or hymns, so it will be a short committal service.

Phil Davies, from Mountain Ash, passed away at the age of 87 on 14th November 2013 at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil.  Phil, formerly a long standing member of Aberdare Camera Club, was one of South Wales’ early pioneers of Audio Visual.  Some may remember him with Nigel Flowers and David Hawkins carrying Kodak Carousels and loads of kit to give shows at camera clubs throughout South Wales.

I recall some years ago when I bought a Dataton dissolve unit from him, and on asking for help on how to use it, he went straight into Headmaster mode including calling me “boy”, before giving me a good clear lesson.  The encouragement he gave Linda and I meant a lot to us and we always enjoyed showing him our latest AV production and receiving his inevitable critique.  Despite ill health, Phil still remained a member of the Royal Photographic Society’s Audio Visual Group and took a keen interest in the progress of Audio Visual along the digital route.

Until prevented by ill health, Phil was a regular attender at various photographic events from the early 1970s onwards, including the RPS South Wales Audio Visual Group and AV courses run by Richard Tucker FRPS, at what was Dyffryn House Conference Centre; the house and gardens now managed by the National Trust.  Richard Brown FRPS said “I have fond memories of Phil from all the years at Dyffryn.  He was a lovely man, so thoughtful and helpful to everyone he met, one of the world’s true gentlemen.”

It is a remarkable co-incidence that we were attending the last of Richard Tucker’s AV courses and watching his retrospective AV about Dyffryn called “The Finale”, on the very same day and time that Phil died.

Edgar Gibbs FRPS, MPAGB, AV-AFIAP