News

DAVID JOHN LLEWELLYN
31st August 1938 - 29th May 2026
OBITUARY

David died at home at the age of 87 on 29th May 2026 with his family at his side.

He had a lifelong relationship with Llandaff Cathedral which began in 1947 when, at the age of 9, he won a scholarship to be a Cathedral chorister, boarding at the Cathedral School and becoming a Dean’s Scholar before leaving at age 13. After Choir School, David attended Blundells School at Tiverton in Devon, following in the footsteps of his Cornish cousins and joining them for idyllic extended summer holidays at Charlestown in Cornwall - fishing and sailing with his grandfather and Uncle Stan – starting a love of Cornwall and the sea which would remain with him throughout his life.

On leaving Blundells, David lived with his parents in Rhoose and read Chemistry at Cardiff University. This is where his bellringing journey began, first learning to ring on the 6 bells at Porthkerry in 1956 (under the tutelage of Les Malins) then with other University ringers at St John’s in Cardiff and then in Llandaff. Here a fledging band was being taught to ring after a long break while the bells were out of action following the extensive war damage to the Cathedral.

It was not until 1957 when he became an undergraduate in (then) University College Cardiff that he met with Trevor Lewis along with Brian Kingston, another student hailing from Builth Wells, Neil Bennet and David Walklate. At a Radyr practice they decided to form the University of Wales Bellringing Society. Many ringing tours followed around the UK and further afield - good ringing and good beer made for an enjoyable social life. He made lifelong friends who he treasured and they supported each other throughout his life.

Following the death of his parents, David’s sister Janet and her husband Tony came to his rescue and generously welcomed him into their home. David graduated with a degree in Chemistry and started his career in the Distillers Company, later taken over by BP, where he became a plastics technologist. His major role in developing the familiar, yellow coloured gas pipe was a source of particular pride to him – and when the family saw gas pipe installations on car rides, he was quick to exalt its virtues to the family – with polyethylene becoming a surprising early addition to their vocabulary.

David’s ringing and social life continued hand in hand and he regularly attended practice nights in St John’s Church in central Cardiff where post ringing social time in the pub was always part of the evening. Keen ringers from Llandaff also attended these practices and it wasn’t long before David was offering Penny, his future wife, a lift home to Llandaff. He rang several peals with her before they were married at the Cathedral on St David’s Day 1966.

They welcomed their first- born son in December the same year; a daughter followed, and as the family expanded, they moved from Rhoose to Llandaff. Soon their second son and daughter were born, completing their family. David was very proud of his children and was a constant source of love, stability and support to them as they grew up. As ever David put his family first and arranged to return from Scotland transferring to a less interesting job in BP Barry, before taking early retirement.

This was not the end of David’s working life as his self-taught expertise in IT enabled him to gain a post in the Church in Wales headquarters in Cardiff, where he spent a fulfilling and happy decade as the Information Coordinator before retiring in 2003. For many years he was custodian of the Church in Wales Constitution, an epic document derived from 1920 when the Church in Wales was disestablished. After he retired, he still visited annually the widows of Welsh clergyman to share a cup of tea and bring them a little gift, a card and an envelope detailing the pension increases.

This second retirement signalled a new chapter in their life as Penny and David travelled to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and around Europe. Always an enthusiastic traveller, David was full of ideas of places to visit and how best to see them. Probably the highlight of these travels for David was flying on Concorde to New York. As a former air cadet, and still with a keen interest in flying, David loved seeing the curve of the Earth and flying supersonic to New York faster than their grandchildren can today.

David continued to take an active role in ringing and in Cathedral life. He played a major role in the appeal to recast the 10 and make Llandaff a 12- bell tower in 1992. This was a great success, and David continued patiently teaching many new learners the art and science of bell handling. Always reliable and diligent – he would quietly just get on with whatever needed doing.

He devoted a lifetime of service to the Cathedral and to the Church in Wales in many roles as well as ringing. This has included editing the parish magazine aptly called “The Bell” and the Cathedral Music scheme. In the 1970’s and 1980’s he was Treasurer for the tower and played a vital role as steeple keeper and flag master for half a century. He spent periods covering 10 years as Tower Captain and for 9 years as Deputy Captain up to February 2026 shortly before his death. He also fulfilled many important roles in the South Wales ringing community including being Master of the Llandaff and Monmouth Association, Librarian, Peal Recorder and most recently being the editor of the Llandaff and Monmouth Association annual report. He was delighted to complete his work on this only a few days before his illness took hold. He was acclaimed for his work on this at the Association's AGM this year.

He rang his first peal of 6 doubles methods at Penarth in 1958. By 1959 he was ringing peals of Surprise Major and in the early 1960s this extended to peals on 10 and 12 bells. He was honoured to be invited to ring on Wilfred Williams’ peal tours and in later years enjoyed ringing on the "Around” Tours and as a Member of the Ancient Society of College Youths. David kept a meticulous record of his ringing and it is believed that he pealed all the towers in Glamorgan except one. He rang at many of the 12’s around the UK, mainly with Tudor Edwards. Around Tours, “Wilfred” tours, a tour to America, Welsh Days Out, ASCY dinners - all helped build his total of 1290 peals of which he conducted 64 in 358 towers with 998 different ringers.Of these peals 869 were rung for the Llandaff and Monmouth Association and 133 for the College Youths. He had a long association and friendship with Tudor Edwards with whom he rang 727 peals and Peter Bennett with whom he rang 492. He rang a wide range of methods, by far the most being 160 peals of Stedman Cinques.

David was one of those people who are quiet but always around, doing those jobs which need to be done, not necessarily high profile but which keep the cogs turning, or perhaps we should say the bearings, pulleys and bells turning. He loved the Cathedral, his bells and the church where he rang his most peals (183). He also helped with work at many local towers including In the 1970s, Radyr bells which were not going well on their plain bearings, particularly the heavier bells. Something needed to be done and by then David, as a Llandaff ringer, offered his help.

He was an excellent ringer, accurate and reliable so it was really easy to ring one’s bell round him. He was a first class teacher (not all good ringers make good teachers!) and so was able to help raw beginners with their handling through to Surprise Maximus ringers with tips about coursing bells. In short, everyone benefited from his expertise and knowledge. His speed and neatness in rope splicing left most well behind.

One of his finest achievements was to ring the whole series of iconic Pitman spliced compositions at Aberavon, the great composer’s home tower. After a delay of 25 years a peal board was erected there and dedicated at a delightful gathering of the surviving ringers with members of the Pitman family. Within a few months, the church was closed. For many years, David shared an ambition with many to ring a peal at every one of the rings of eight bells in Wales. The 12’s and 10’s were straightforward, and David used his detailed knowledge and contacts within the Church in Wales to obtain the necessary consents. However, one tower resisted all approaches, much to fellow ringers collective chagrin - it is understood that those eager to achieve that goal are still frustrated.

Throughout their long married life Penny had never known David be ill, and so it was a huge shock when his health started to deteriorate. As always, he was stoical and cheerful and he remained active through radiotherapy on his throat, the fitting of a pacemaker and the removal of a kidney. Never complaining and seemingly always optimistic, David was thrilled to receive a card from the King for their 60th wedding anniversary. The family had a joyful celebration at the Plymouth Arms, St. Fagan's in Cardiff on St David's Day this year.

Very soon after this celebration, the devastating news was received that, despite chemo and immunotherapy, David’s renal cancer was terminal. Even though his health was rapidly declining, David was adamant that he did not want to go into hospital and was nursed at home with the immeasurable support of the Marie Curie carers whose cheerful presence twice each day lifted all the family’s spirits. Until the very end David’s wonderful friends kept in touch, demonstrating the wide respect and esteem in which he was held. Visiting and taking him out in the wheelchair on good days – it meant so much especially to David and to his family.

David died at home, as he wished, very peacefully with his family around him. He was Penny’s soulmate for over 60 years – a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and a quietly exceptional man. His funeral was held at Llandaff Cathedral on 22nd June with open ringing before and after on the 12 bells with the Cathedral flag at half- mast. The service was taken by the Dean, Jason Bray, who visited him at home the day before he died. He was a true friend and gentleman and we will all miss him greatly.

Bob Woodward and Penny Llewellyn