Why the surname "Powell-Davies" ?
When I was a boy, my double-barrelled surname stood out as being unusual – and perhaps a bit ‘posh’. However, I just knew it to be part of my family history, one which had been told to me from an early age. My Dad was in no doubt that his surname’s origin was linked to his father being an illegitimate child. My grandfather had been brought up by the Davies family as Tom Davies. He then discovered that his real mother’s name was Mary Powell, so then combined the two to make “Powell-Davies”. But was this tale based on fact? Thanks to so many genealogical records now being online, it has become much easier to find out. Thomas Davies - Born at St.Donat’s Castle My grandfather, Thomas, had passed on more details to his sons, including my father, Dillwyn. They were certain that their father had been born at St.Donat’s Castle, on the Glamorganshire coast at Llantwit Major. The buildings are now the grounds of Atlantic College but had been owned - and ostentatiously developed - by the US ty