In memory of Meirion Davies

June 05 2023

In memory of Meirion Davies, written by Kevin Seal

It is with great sadness that I write about the life of one of our dear friends and colleagues who has passed. This is but a snapshot and there will be many of us that will have memories which we can cherish about Big Mei.

Meirion Davies was and will be forever remembered as a Gentleman of the highest order and in all aspects of his life both personal and professional.

His professional career which spanned just short of 50 years began in Swansea in 1974 and he was still in practice at the end and a loved and valued member of our chambers and a welcome participant in  chambers social functions including the dinner in January of this year which was sadly to be his last.

In Court he was a consummate professional and discharged his duties as Counsel with fear or favour from those who sat in judgement and never shied from ensuring that those he represented had a fair hearing before the Court.

Never lost for words on his feet and always willing to share his knowledge of classical and contemporary history and literature I am sure everyone has a story to recount in respect of our dear friend

Meirion had a wide range of interests outside of his professional life including football when he played for the Cardiff Academicals , rugby and snooker in particular. He was also an avid reader and loved his cars .

Perhaps his greatest love outside of his partner Vic was food. Prior to his being diagnosed with diabetes he was a shareholder in Thorntons and was a daily visitor to that shop to endow himself with copious amount of chocolate. Whenever you wished to visit any restaurant it would always be a good idea to check with Meirion whether it was worth visiting or not. In another life Meirion would have been a reputable food critic and he was not limited to Wales but enjoyed road trips in France where again he sampled all food on offer.

As a friend Meirion always had an ear for listening and would impart his solid advice when asked. He was particularly keen to assist junior members of the Bar who may be struggling with their practices.

What you never got from Meirion was judgement or criticism and its true to say that unlike many Meirion did not indulge in idle gossip or rumours and never had a bad word to say about any person always looking for positives which was in line with his optimistic outlook on life in general.

Kindness flowed from Meirion to all of those who came into contact with him and perhaps his lasting legacy from which many of us could learn a lesson was to be kind to all and polite and treat others as you would want to be treated yourself.

Kipling certainly had Meirion in mind when he wrote The Thousandth Man which could have been titled Meirion

Meirion never sought sympathy for himself even when illness came and soldiered on working to the end in the same professional manner that he had always done.

It can safely be said that they broke the mould after Meirion and we will probably never see another like him again. Meirion wouldn’t wish us to be sad at his passing but we will despite that which is a tribute to him in itself.

Whatever the arrangements are in Heaven lets hope that there are plenty of good restaurants and sweetshops for him .

Au Revoir Meirion notre ami