Monday Mystery: Thomas Davies drives into the new century

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The year is 1903. The motorcar is still in its infancy, and only a small number of wealthy industrialists can afford such a revolutionary machine. In North Wales, James Coster Edwards, a successful entrepreneur in the brick and tile industry around Ruabon, belongs to that forward-thinking elite. From his impressive Bryn Howel estate near Llangollen, he decides to acquire one of the latest marvels of modern technology: an automobile.

Maintaining such a complex machine requires someone who is not only dependable but also mechanically gifted. Edwards finds that person in Thomas Davies, a young man who began his working life as an apprentice blacksmith in Llangollen. According to family recollections, Thomas was known as someone who was “good with his hands”. His practical insight and craftsmanship made him the ideal candidate for an entirely new profession: chauffeur and mechanic.

Before the car could be put into service, Thomas was sent to France. There he learned not so much how to drive as how to maintain and repair the vehicle's intricate mechanical systems. He may even have received training directly from the manufacturer. A surviving French driving licence from 1904 suggests that his education extended beyond simply operating a motorcar and may also have included certification of his technical abilities.

A family photograph from that period captures the result of this remarkable undertaking. Thomas Davies stands proudly beside the new automobile, while what is believed to be James Coster Edwards sits at the wheel, surrounded by family members. In the passenger seat sits a young boy accompanied by a dog. If this is John Francis Coster Edwards, the industrialist's son, the photograph acquires a particularly poignant historical significance. Fourteen years later, he would be killed in action as a captain on 11 November 1918, the final day of the First World War, just hours before the Armistice came into effect.

For Thomas, the arrival of the motorcar marked the beginning of a remarkable career. By 1908, at the birth of his son, his occupation was officially recorded as “motor driver” – one of the earliest job descriptions for an automobile chauffeur. He remained in Edwards' employment for many years, developing into an experienced driver and mechanic at a time when such expertise was exceptionally rare.

His interest in automotive technology extended far beyond his daily duties. Thomas became involved in the early years of British motor sport and worked as a mechanic at races held at Brooklands, the famous circuit widely regarded as the birthplace of British motorsport. He also followed with great interest the land-speed record attempts at Pendine Sands, where pioneers of automotive engineering pushed the limits of speed and reliability.

The connection between the Davies and Edwards families endured for many years. As late as 1922, the Davies family was still living in a modest cottage on the Bryn Howel estate.

More than a century later, Thomas's story continues to fascinate, and his great-grandson is searching for further information. What car did he actually drive? Where in France did he receive his training? And how did his journey unfold from village blacksmith to chauffeur, mechanic and motoring pioneer? These are questions that invite further research, yet they already paint the portrait of an extraordinary life.

Words: Laurens Klein, Photograph: Rhys Davies (great-grandson)

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