Llewellyn Davies died at his farm ‘Happy Valley’ at Hillside, Bulawayo, on 29th July, 1956. He was 74 years of age.
Mr. Davies was born in East London, Cape Province. He began his career in 1898 as learner-miner with the Boomerang Syndicate before serving with the 1st Rhodesia Regiment in the Boer War; he was commissioned and decorated. Mr. Davies took a private mining course in 1902-4 and joined Kimberley Diamond Mines as a learner-miner.
In the following year, attached to the Royal Engineers, he was engaged on military surveying and mapping in Griqualand and Kalahari. He returned to mining in 1906 and until 1914 was employed as reduction officer by Forbes (Rhodesia), Ltd., except for a period as manager of Esquire mine for Morgan Gold and Exploration Syndicate. After two years at Dunravin mine from 1914 to 1916, Mr. Davies worked at the St. Amand mine of Fletcher and Williamson.
From 1917 to 1925 he managed consecutively Agincourt, Lochave, Rewe and Red Rose and Connemara Mines. He joined Baldwin (S.A.), Ltd., in 1925 on mine plant construction and in 1930 was made construction engineer to Rhodesian Mashaba Asbestos Co., Ltd. He was manager and field engineer for Rhodesian Premier Syndicate, Ltd., working at the Blackbird mine from 1931 to 1932, when he was appointed manager and consulting engineer for Turk Mine Syndicate, Ltd., Bulawayo. He managed Turk mine and others, including the Mayfair mine of Transvaal and Rhodesian Consolidated Investment Co., Ltd., and also practised privately as a consulting engineer.
In later years he had been less actively engaged in mining, having interested himself also in commerce, secondary industries and farming. He retained his honorary Vice-Presidency of the Rhodesian Mining Federation until his death, however, and had served as a member of various other bodies, including the
Native Labour Advisory Board, Native Industrial Council (Mining) and the Royalty Review Commission.
Mr. Davies was elected to Associate Membership of the Institution in 1937.
Vol. 67, Trans IMM 1957-58, p.29
