by Laura Bray
Merthyr has produced many notable people over the years and John Lloyd is one of the more recent ones. Indeed, some of you may remember him. My mother certainly talks fondly about him – her childhood companion.
John was born in Cyfarthfa Row, Georgetown in 1930. He was an only son – and indeed brought up as an only child, as his sister sadly died in childhood.
John had a normal upbringing and after leaving school joined the Merthyr Express, moving from there to the South Wales Echo and Western Mail. He left Merthyr in his late 20s and went up to London to join the Daily Express as a sub-editor on the sports pages, where he remained for 40 years. But John was so much more than that – he had a flair for reporting and for making contacts so much so that he occasionally acted for as PR for the big Welsh names such as Dorothy Squires, who was a life-long friend, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones. There are reports of his London flat being so packed with visitors during the Rugby Internationals that he slept in the bath or at the office.
By all accounts he was an incredibly generous man, and one who could get tickets for almost event – from theatre tickets to Wimbledon, rugby matches to FA Cup final. There was almost nobody in London John did not know – from sportsmen to show business to mostly anyone who was part of the London Welsh!
But the story that mostly is told about him is how he delayed the departure of the Intercity 125 train from Paddington for 6 minutes, log enough to enable the Cardiff City Players to catch up after a match against Leyton Orient. And did so, just by standing on the platform chatting to the driver! Only he would have had the nerve!
But John was not just a journalist – he was also the Secretary of the Dorothy Squires fan-club and owner of a newsagents in London’s Gray’s Inn Road. It was his local paper shop and he bought it because it was about to close down and it was so handy for colleagues and friends at The Times, and for where he lived in nearby Trinity Court.
John died in April 2016, aged 87, an ambassador for Wales and for Merthyr to the end.
Do you have any memories of John? Please share them in the comments box below.
John was a family friend. My aunt and me stayed at his appartment in Grays Inn Rd whilst researching our family history, back in the 70s.
He got us tickets for shows at the Talk of the Town, The Albert Hall and the Palladium where we saw Donald Oconnor and Ginger Rogers perform. She was in her 60s but could still kick her leg over her head.
Every Christmas I used to get a signed Giles cartoon book, so looked forward every christmas to receiving one from John.
When my dad died i was holidaying in South Africa. John tracked me down to give me the sad news.
When my aunt died I phoned him in london to let him know. Unfortunately John was in the early stages of cancer so was unable to make her funeral.
He and my aunt would both party together in london. Naturally they would attend important sporting events together like the Wimbledon final, football cup finals etc.
A very humble man and a generous soul. He would come to Merthyr to visit his mum who lived in Caedraw flats. My aunt used to look after her and report back to John. He was a good friend of the family. They spoke nothing but good things about him.
It’s great to hear that you knew John. He seems to have been so well liked. Thank you for sharing your memories