Frederick Charles "Tenby" Davies (12 April 1884 – 23 July 1932) was a Welsh athlete who became the half-mile world professional champion in 1909 after a race against Irishman Beauchamp Day.

Biography

Frederick Charles Davies was born at South Parade in

Tenby Tenby () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, Wales, the son of John Gwynne Davies (1854–1910), a stonemason and builder, and Sarah Phillips (1852–1935). Freddy Davies went on to achieve recognition as one of the greatest runners Wales has yet produced and was regarded as one of the finest half-milers ever seen, winning the World 880 yds championship at Pontypridd in 1909. Fred Davies’ versatility as a world-class athlete is underlined by the fact that as well as excelling at the half-mile, he also won events throughout Britain at distances from 100 yds up to a mile. He was a regular competitor in the Welsh Powderhall 130 yds handicap sprints, organised by the

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

Athletic Club and held at

Taff Vale Park Taff Vale Park is a rugby union ground and former greyhound racing track in Treforest, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Taff Vale Park is situated on the River Taff at the end of Nile Street in Treforest. It was originally fields adjacent ...

in the town during the early part of the twentieth-century. But ‘Tenby’ is probably best remembered for taking on his great rival, Irishman Beauchamp R. Day of Blackpool, at Pontypridd on Monday 23 August 1909 where he decisively beat him over the half-mile distance, clocking an impressive 1 min. 57.6 seconds in the process, which was one of the fastest times recorded in the World for that year.‘World Championship, Half Mile Test at Pontypridd, Tenby Runner’s Easy Win’, ''The Tenby and County News and Visitors’ List'', Wednesday 25 August 1909, p. 3; ‘Great Victory for Tenby Runner, Freddy Davies Half-Mile Champion of The World’, ''The Tenby Observer and Weekly List of Visitors'', Thursday 26 August 1909, p. 3. In 1911 he married Agnes Emily Ferguson (1888–1945) at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin in Tenby, and in the years that followed the couple moved to Cardiff where they had three children. F. C. Davies died at his home of 9 Preswylfa Street in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, aged only 48.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Tenby 1884 births 1932 deaths People from Tenby Sportspeople from Pembrokeshire Welsh male sprinters British male sprinters Welsh male middle-distance runners British male middle-distance runners