The Passing Of A Great Friend....

Our dear friend Glynne Davies, a long standing stalwart of the expat community here in Brussels, passed away in his sleep last week, at the grand age of 99.

Born in Wales in 1914, a year of great significance of course, he spent much of the 1930s in London, before joining the London Welsh some months before the outbreak of the Second World war. Having taken part in the shooting down of his own commanding officer during an air raid at RAF Wattisham (where I myself served from 1979-1983, but sadly never had the opportunity to repeat Glynne's acheivement, as much as I may have wanted to...) he went on to take part in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, and was a part of the British force, serving under Montgomery, that liberated Brussels from the Germans in September 1944. He liked to keep busy....

He stayed in Brussels after the cessation of hostilities, where he married,  and raised his family. A highly cultured man, he loved literature (which he taught to a high level), music, and rugby. He was also quite partial to a glass of the amber nectar, and loved his fish n chips on a Friday lunchtime. I think that half the cod I have eaten in my lifetime has been in Glynne's company.

 

To the end, Glynne never lost his singing voice. He loved to sing, and would do so at the drop of a hat. He also loved to recite poetry. I discussed with Glynne the writings of Richard Llewellyn and Dylan Thomas, and the poems of Rupert Brooke and John McGee endlessly. The years were kind to Glynne, and although he could become melancholic sometimes, his mind remained very sharp, as did his sense of humour. He was very unhappy when he fell and hurt himself, and had to celebrate his 98th birthday in hospital. He hated hospitals, but it was a lovely afternoon, involving champagne and welshcakes (and rather too much chocolate cake!)

I will miss him very much.

Glynne survived both his wife and daughter, and he loved them dearly until his final day.

The funeral will take place at 12.30 on Thursday August 1st at Uccle. If any of Glynne's friends from the European Parliament or Place Lux need details, you will know how to contact me.

 

 

Many thanks to Randall Calvin for the photos, and if you want to hear about the Normandy landings from a man who was actually there, you can find Randall's interview with Glynn here....