Keith Davis Funeral Arrangements
Keith DAVIS
After a short illness, Keith (formerly of Chapel Amble Wadebridge) passed away peacefully at North Devon District Hospital on 7th January 2026, aged 90 years.
Beloved husband of Maureen (deceased) and much loved dad of Kay and son-in-law John and a dear grandad and great grandad to Toby, Tristan, Alice, Jay and Jack.
Funeral service at Glynn Valley Crematorium on Tuesday 10th February at 1.30 p.m.
Family flowers only, donations in lieu for Children's Hospice South West, can be made online via Memory Giving, by retiring collection or sent or c/o R. J. Bray & Son, Funeral Directors, Egloshayle Road, Wadebridge, PL27 6AD. Tel: 01208 812626. Cheques made payable to 'R. J. Bray Donation Account', please.
Keith Davis RIP by Michael Weeks BEM
The Cornwall Cricket League is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Life Member and former Chairman Keith Davis on 7th January 2026, following a short illness. A month after celebrating his ninetieth birthday.
He was born on 5 December 1935.
Robert Jobson notes: "He was one of three cricketing brothers (Peter, Keith and John ) synonymous with Gerrans CC on the Roseland peninsula until Keith’s work with Farm Industries Ltd took him to Wadebridge. There he was to prove a trophy-winning asset, in partnership with Wadebridge and Cornwall mainstays Bill Murphy and Gerald Parsons.
Keith’s skills as a right arm pace bowler - fearsome in his youth - top order left-handed batsman and astute captain made him one of the League’s leading cricketers for decades, regularly to be found at the top of the League’s Senior 1 East bowling and batting averages in the 1960’s and 1970’s".
The Wadebridge club reports ”Keith was the Club’s most successful ever captain, leading the club in two spells from 1963-1967 and 1972-1974 in the ‘Golden Era’ of Wadebridge Cricket Club, picking up the County Champions trophy in 1965 and 1966 and the Hawkey Cup in 1964 and 1967 as well as many other Eastern League honours”.
Keith played ten championship games for Cornwall between 1963 and 1972, scoring 172 runs with a top score of 42 and taking 14 wickets at 21.79.
In 1970, he played in Cornwall’s first Gillette Cup tie, against Glamorgan at Truro. Davis bowled twelve overs in the match, taking 2-30. Future England Captain Tony Lewis captained the Welsh county, who were restricted to 171-7 in their sixty overs. Cornwall were bowled out for 99 with Davis, batting at number six, one of Peter Walker’s 5-21. Glamorgan won by 72 runs.
Keith joined the Cornwall Cricket League’s Eastern Sectional Committee in 1967 and ran the Hawkey Cup competition for a number of years.
He went on to become Chairman of the Eastern Section in 1987 when Col Ronnie Potts stepped up to become League President following the passing of Jack Littlejohns. Keith also took on the role of League Vice-Chairman.
He was deputy to Syd Trembath for twelve years until Syd retired in 1999.
Keith stepped up to become League Chairman for three years before retiring in January 2002.
It was one of the League’s more interesting periods, particularly in 2000. The East and West Sectional Committees merged to become a single administrative body. On top of that, an ECB Cornwall Premier League was formed following much debate and various meetings of clubs, formal and informal, not all of whom were in favour.
Keith oversaw it all, and despite conflicting views, it all came together, and things moved forward.
Following 35 years as a League official, Keith retired and was made a Life Member in 2003.
However, he continued as a League Management Committee member until January 2008 - 41 years of continuous service.
He was very much instrumental in working on the Centenary Season celebrations in 2005, and was a great help and encouragement to Martin Gilbert, who wrote the '100 not out Centenary Book.
He moved from Chapel Amble to Barnstaple in North Devon to be closer to his family.
However, his interest in Cornish cricket remained and he would ring me a couple of times each year to catch up with things.
He was particularly pleased to spend a day at Wadebridge in 2023 as his club closed in on a first County title since 1968.
On his retirement in 2002, Keith supplied the following amusing article, which was published in the 2002 Cornwall Cricket Yearbook.
A parting shot - so to speak. The course of Cornish cricket history could easily have changed!
ALL IN THE LINE OF CORNWALL CRICKET LEAGUE DUTY?
Here, Keith recollects a rather unusual incident when he was a member of the Eastern Sectional Committee.
During the autumn of 1971 RAF St. Mawgan applied to re-enter the League (they had been champions of the Eastern Section - season 1952). Two Eastern Section committee members, Lt. .Col. Ronnie Potts (Chairman) and Keith Davis (hereafter known as the 'party') were delegated to vet the ground and facilities. They proceeded to RAF St.Mawgan, early evening in September, whilst there was still good light. Driving down the hill to the main gate, the party was met by a coil of barbed wire across the road and an airman on duty who informed them that there were NATO operations in progress and that the camp was on 'Red Alert', with no one allowed on or off the camp, certainly not civilians. The party told the airman of their business and persuaded him to allow them to proceed to the Guard Room, where they could contact the Duty Sgt. or Duty Officer, which he agreed to.
At the Guard Room, the party informed the police that they had had an appointment with FIt.Lt Mike Bray (Officer i/c Cricket), they relayed the message to the Duty Officer, who was unable to contact the FIt-Lt, who could have been flying, but agreed for the party to proceed to the cricket ground with an escort, after no little persuasion.
The pavilion was a rectangular building, adequate for changing, teas and a bit of protection from the wind coming in off the Atlantic, a few hundred yards over the back. The party found that there were 2 grounds, and had to walk across one to get to the main one. An enormous expense of flat ground, which felt as if they were on top of the world, wondering where the ball would stop if it was really hit as there didn't appear to be anything to stop it.
Then, out of the blue, up roared a Military Police Landrover and out jumped a burly M.P. Sergeant:- "What do you think your little game. is then?" The party tried to explain with the help of their escort. It didn't sound very convincing to the M. P. Sergeant, after all, this was one of the key stations in the country with NATO manoeuvres going on all over Europe, not to mention the ever-present threat of the IRA. The Sgt. had heard enough and became aggressive. The air was cobalt when he unbuckled his light brown leather holster and brandished his revolver in no uncertain terms. Here was a man who knew who paid his wages and wasn't going to be made a fool of by some likely lads with a cock-an-bull yarn about cricket on a cold autumn evening.
" In the ******* back", motioning to the back of. the Landrover. Again, the party made a last-ditch effort to persuade him to contact the Guard Room on his onboard radio telephone, which he finally agreed to. Finally, the episode was confirmed. The Sgt. then followed the party back to the Guard Room, and they were booked off camp and home.
RAF St. Mawgan gained entry to the CCL, in spite of all this, the following season. Not surprisingly, there was no League Rule to deal with this situation.
A great servant of East Cornwall cricket.
RIP Keith
