Interviewer

Could I ask your name?

Ann Davies

Ann Averil, A-V-E-R-I-L.. My father couldn’t spell. Davies.

Interviewer

And could I ask how old you are, Ann?

Ann Davies

87.

Interviewer

Excellent. You don’t look it, I have to say. And could I ask, which friends groups have you been mainly involved in, in Wales over the years?

Ann Davies

The Prestatyn Central Surgery.

Interviewer

Okay, thank you. Now, what first inspired you to get involved with Leagues of Friends?

Ann Davies

Well, I started work, getting money for the hospital in Gorseinon when I was 12 years old. That’s the first time I raised money. As I say, I didn’t have a mother, and a friend, well a friend next door, helped me get some things together, and we had a stall, and I raised money because at Land was the Chairman of Gorseinon Hospital Friends, Friends of the hospital. We were not National Association then, this is going back 19, I don’t know, a year before the NHS became NHS, 1948. And in 1949, they decided, all the Leagues got together, decided to become National Association. I’d been a member of the League, of a League before that of the Friends anyway. And I suppose really from then on, I had a family and got married, and didn’t do much with the Friends until I met June Whitaker, And she lived in the same house as me when I got married and she was involved with the League and I said, oh yes, I used to raise money for the hospital. Oh, she said, well you should join the League again. And I got involved for a little bit with, before I left the Wirral, with what’s the hospital over there?

Interviewer

So this, this in Wales or in Shrewsbury?

Ann Davies

Oh no, on the Wirral

Interviewer

Oh, on the Wirral.

Ann Davies

South Wirral, where my children were born, I should remember shouldn’t I, Clatterbridge Hospital? I knew, I don’t remember the names of the people there, but  I was quite friendly with the people there as Chairman. And anyway, then I moved to North Wales to live many years after that. And the first thing I did, I thought if I want to get on and meet people, I must join a League properly. So I joined the Glan Clwyd League of Friends, and they welcomed me with open arms because they always wanted helpers. And I hadn’t been in there two minutes and they said, “would you like to come on the team, on the Tea bar?” And I went on the team there, and became supervisor, and I went from there to, oh, will you come on the committee? So within six months I was Chairman of the fundraising committee because that’s my walk in life, fundraising.

Ann Davies

I have done all my life,  still doing it. Doing it for other sources now, like the Bible Society, and various churches. And that is where I became involved with the League of Friends. After I’d been on the committee in Glan Clwyd for seven years, and been going to Welsh meetings, the Welsh meetings they had then, they weren’t the National Association meetings, and somebody rang me and asked me, “would I consider being a Chairman?” They were making regional Chairman, for the first time. Would I consider becoming a regional Chairman for Wales? And I said, “what is that?” I was thinking it’d be just same as real staff, four meetings a year and you know, chair the meeting. But it wasn’t, I had a rude awakening. I met the National Vice Chairman, a gentleman from Yorkshire, and he came up here and he told me all about it.

Ann Davies

Poor man died quite young. He had his dog with him. I don’t remember his name now. I became Welsh Chairman. I enjoyed, it was hard work. It was traveling all the time up and down to, to the south and there were more, far more Leagues in the south, than we got in the north. So I was spending quite a lot of time down there. But I’m from South Wales so I didn’t mind, I enjoyed every minute of my almost 10 years and I enjoyed every minute of it. I can say I worked hard, but I enjoyed it.

Interviewer

So when you were the Chairman for Wales, did that mean that you went round to other, other regions too?

Ann Davies

All the, all the Leagues I visited, I made sure that I visited every League in Wales every year, once every year. Some I went to more than once, if they needed anything. I wanted, I did all kinds of things. I’ve got a book upstairs, I’ll show you after,  a whole thing I did. And I brought it down actually earlier to look at it. Thinking, can I see your face for me to recognise you? But you’re not on it because it is only at the end of this say. But I’ve got wonderful memories, because I, I really have, it was, it was a wonderful 10 years, it really was. I was sorry to give up, but I did have the League in Prestatyn Central Surgery that I carried on with for 21 years.

Interviewer

Tell me about that League?

Ann Davies

Well we, we ran a car service. Anybody who, who needed a car, or couldn’t drive, or were too elderly to drive, and they would ring our coordinator. We had a coordinator, we had a committee of about eight, and the coordinator would have the numbers of all our drivers. At the height about running it, we had 14 drivers on the books. I used to interview all the drivers and tell them what they had to do. They had to keep, you know, records of who they’d taken, and where they’d been. So we used to check, I used to check the mileage every month, meet the Treasurer every month to write cheques, for the mileage they would do. We had one or two funny ones who tried to put more mileage up than they’d done. But they had me to face because I knew the mileage. I’d made sure, I checked every mileage. So, you know, they couldn’t put anything on it really. Yes. it was hard work, but I enjoyed it. And I was very, very upset when the hospital took over the Leagues and we had to finish. They didn’t want us anymore.

Interviewer

So one of the things I associate with you, is your fundraising, and you mentioned that I can remember card stalls at conferences and things like that.

Ann Davies

I get the book to see him. I got photos of them. Yes.

Interviewer

So tell me a bit about the fundraising that you’ve done over the years.

Ann Davies

Well, I used to do Open House on my birthday always. I opened the house here, and we had a coffee morning one day, I think it was when I was 70 or I may have been 60, I don’t know. But I opened the house for the whole day, and friends came and helped me. I had people in for coffee in the morning, and they had a choice of coffee, or they could come to dinner and have a buffet, or they could come and have a cup of tea, or they could come in the evening, and have another buffet. And there was no price, there was no charge. They came for nothing. But, there was a box by the door for donations, for the League of Friends. And believe you me, I got enough to run my conferences more or less between that and my card stalls. Most people who came to my conferences, didn’t have to pay very much, very, very little. And they were all found accommodation. I found accommodation for them all either with, not with friends really… I went to the hospitals and found who they thought, would like to earn a little bit of money to put people up. And that’s the way we did it. Yes. But it was hard work.

Interviewer

So it was a real community thing though.

Ann Davies

Yes, very much so.

Interviewer

But when you describe it, I mean I, I’ve just driven in to your house and it’s a beautiful little row, a terrace of houses, and you talk about everybody coming in and out, and it feels like there’s a real sense of community and support.

Ann Davies

Well, I don’t think so much of in the village because people in the village didn’t know me.  I  was never here.

Interviewer

<Laugh>.

Ann Davies

I lived somewhere else. As I said, I came back to sleep occasionally. See I worked for the Pearl Assurance before I came. And that was the same. I was an inspector. I was, and I was covering the whole of North England and North Wales. So I was traveling like mad, coming back a weekends, and off again to meet another agent, to work with some different man every week, which was a bit of a nuisance. But there we are. So I, I was used to not being here. So it’s only now really that I know. So they’ve retired completely and I’m getting to know people in the village, and the village has changed now anyway. Because, the people who were here when I came here all spoke Welsh. And they don’t speak Welsh, you know, nobody does. They come from England.

Interviewer

So we were talking earlier about your, your era with the national body means, that you met some of the what I would call, great names in our history. So we, we talked a little about Fiona Aird. Oh yes. And I did a recording with Fiona before she died. Ann,  do you have any memories of Fiona?

Ann Davies

Do I remember Fiona?

Interviewer

Yes. Do you have any memories of working with Fiona?

Ann Davies

Well, yes, she was, she was a very good speaker. I always ask them to speak for five, 10 minutes at my conferences. And she came to a few conferences. I remember she came to Llanelli, and she came, I got photos again at the conferences. And yes, she was, she was a great friend. And I remember going to now then I was having lunch with, I think it was Doreen Miller in the House of Commons. I think it was there. And I, I don’t remember exactly, Fiona was passing and she said, “oh, hello Ann, how are you?” I said, “I’m all right. Thanks. How are you Fiona?”, “Yes, I’m doing fine.” And somebody who knew me saw and said, “how do you know her?”, She’s a… oh, was it her? She was an MP ,Wasn’t she?

Interviewer

Fiona? No, Margaret Jay was an MP.

Ann Davies

Ah, that’s who it was. Jay. It was, it was her. She was passing and she said, “oh, how are you Ann? I haven’t seen you for a while.” And, and somebody said to me, “how do you know her?” Well I said, “and I’m used to coming to the House of Commons regularly.”

Ann Davies

I knew a lot of people.

Interviewer

Now just before we started recording, you were telling me a story about how you were asked to come and visit the London conference?

Ann Davies

Yes, that was Fiona. I went down and she asked did I want to come to be at conference, say a few words like in my conference. That was fair enough. I said, yes, it’s okay. And I got there 10 o’clock starting, and she said, “I’m awfully sorry, I’ve got to ask you a very big favour.” And I said, “oh, what’s that?” She said, “well, I’ve got to go to a funeral and have to leave at 11 o’clock. Could you take over the conference this morning?”, “What?” I said, “A London conference there are about 200 people there.” I said, “more than comes to my conference, but a hundred came to my conference.” I says, “massive.” And I said, “and I’ve got an awful Welsh accent.” Oh. She said, “they’ll love your accent.” So I did it.

Interviewer

Excellent.

Ann Davies

Which was very successful.

Interviewer

One of the things I have to say about the ladies that I meet, is that you can all rise to a challenge. You, nothing ever fazes you, you can, you can just get on with it. So do you have any favourite stories of your time, be it something very local or something national that you were involved in?

Ann Davies

I remember having, the first thing I was ever asked to do at National, I’d only been probably Chairman for about two months, six months maybe. And our first Chairman lady, again… I’d have to get the book down… I don’t remember the name. And she was, she was coming up to 70 then.

Interviewer

Would that be Lady Robson?

Ann Davies

Lady Robson? That’s her. She smoked like a trooper. I remember that. She came to my conference and I had met her like, and the first conference we ever did in oh, here we go again. It wasn’t in Cardiff it was the next one, near Newport . And she remembered she came and spoke there, and they said to me, oh, the Chairman, the national Chairman said to me, “do you think you could as you’re the last member of the… the youngest member?” Because I wasn’t the last, because I came in right at beginning. You’re the youngest member we’ve got here. I said, “oh, what do you want me to do? Being the youngest?”, “I’d like you to do the presentation to Lady Robson who was retiring.” She was 70, and she’d made the rule that they should retire when they were 70. And she was a bit annoyed she’d made the rule, I think because she wasn’t ready to go. But anyway, they said, would you do the presentation? And that knocked me back a bit. I thought good luck, you know, presenting Lady Robson with a… and I did it, and I have got a photo of that actually. That was one thing that…

Interviewer

And did you ever meet the Queen Mother?

Ann Davies

Oh yes, yes. As a matter of fact, I got a lovely story to tell you about that, We were 11 Chairman, and we were all there. I think everyone was there, got photos of that. And she said “I haven’t got…”, well we had lunch, we had a buffet lunch there. And she said, “well I haven’t got time to speak to you all, all the Chairman. No, but I would like to speak to, I think I should speak to the Scottish Chairman, and the Welsh Chairman.” So we had about 20 minutes, Rose and myself, with the Queen Mother. And my son had warned me when I told him I was going, whatever you do, don’t ask her,  don’t mention horses to her,  because her horse fell in the race this weekend. But Rose did. Rose, I believe, went racing at the weekend, you know, and she did talk to Rose a bit about racing.

Ann Davies

I wasn’t interested anyway, but I did say to her, she said, “Ann, one thing I regret about my life” said the Queen Mother. “We never had a home in Wales. We have a home in Scotland, we have a home in, you know, plenty in England, but we never had a home in Wales.” And I said, “oh, but you, you came a lot to Wales during the war, because I remember the war.” I said, and she said, “do you my dear?” “Oh yes. I said, I was born before the war, unfortunately.” And she said, and I said, “I remember I’ve seen photographs in books and things of…I’ve got a book full of about the first World War.” I said, “and you were there with the King then loads of times.” “Oh yes.” She said, “oh, you’ve got that book. oh you look after that?” She said, “it’ll go down in history”, but I hate to tell you, but my family aren’t interested in it, my children aren’t interested in it.

Interviewer

Oh really?

Ann Davies

They’re not interested in the old war.

Interviewer

No. Okay. So, and do you, do you still have any involvement with Friends now? Or is that…

Ann Davies

No, because all the Chairman that I was very friendly with, that I can think of, they’ve all died. It is hard to believe it. You see, I was not old as a Chairman. I was quite young when I came into it. So they’d be a little older than me and well, if I’m 87, I mean, they’ve gone, you know.

Interviewer

But you still volunteer in other ways.

Ann Davies

I volunteer, not, not in the League of Friends. I can’t, because I’m too old. If you’re over eighty you can’t. But yes I do all kinds of…

Interviewer

So tell me a bit about your other volunteering that you still do?

Ann Davies

Well, not so much since my legs are going and I can’t, I read in church regularly, and I have my own choir, ladies, it’s called  Ffynnon Lady Songsters And they’re not a big choir. There are 12, 11, 12 in it now, Ladies. And we do concerts, we do a few a year, we raise money for the church, and for charities. We’ve given to the hospice a few times, and you know, I think we do very well. Really, you know, we got a uniform. They wear cream blouses with different colours, that’s Christmas.

Interviewer

And when we came in for us to sit down, you had to move a piece of embroidery. Tell me about that, your cross stitch?

Ann Davies

Well, I’ve got, I’ve got so many things wrong with me. You know, I, I just can’t get away from it to have, and I bought this chair the best thing ever, well it was the third one I’ve had, I’ve had them for years. I couldn’t do without them, because when my legs are really bad, this will put me to standing position so I don’t have to rush to get up. You know, this is why somebody comes to the door and I’m in this position. It takes me quite a while to get the chair to come back down for me to get up. And that’s what you were waiting for.

Interviewer

And you, but you do cross stitch still?

Ann Davies

Oh yes, Hours and  hours a day. And I could show you piles of them

Interviewer

And, and you make them into cards?

Ann Davies

Is that birthday cards, Easter cards get well cards, sympathy cards, all kinds of cards. I’ve got a few them have done this week or in the last week or so. That’s the one for that one I think. Yes. I find you one.

Interviewer

Beautiful.

Ann Davies

And then I put a verse inside as well.

Ann Davies

I put a computer, you know, that is, I didn’t know what I was going to put on that, but it says time for a good book and a cup of tea. It’s in the birthday, it says, just says best wishes. If anybody wants one with a, you know, the one I’ve just done, particular one, I’ve done. And it is a nice one. I’ve got a little boyfriend in the choir who helps me a bit when we’ve got stalls or something. She comes and takes, carries things. I can’t carry the weight of it, I can’t carry the boxes to the car. And so she comes in and does that, and her little grandson is seven on Sunday… is three on Sunday! So I’ve done Peter Rabbit for him.

Interviewer

That is fantastic. And how long does it take you to do something like that?

Ann Davies

That, a couple of days. And it’s a, it is a lot bit that it was quite difficult because of all the filling in the black bits and the…

Interviewer

So….

Ann Davies

And his, his name is Gethin, he’s Welsh. So that’s for him. And next week, oh, this week!

Interviewer

So when you knew that we were coming to visit you…

Ann Davies

Yes.

Interviewer

Was there anything that you wanted to tell us that you haven’t had the chance to tell us yet?

Ann Davies

I don’t think so. I’m not getting married again or anything if that’s what you thinking. no way. Never, ever.

Interviewer

Excellent. Well thank you ever so much. It’s been lovely to see you again.