Robert James Davies · Family keepsake

Family Album

Photographs of the family around Robert — the formal ones, the ordinary ones, and the objects and places that survived. Dates stay approximate where the evidence is approximate.

01

The family begins

Wedding photographs, the young household, and the early Christmases that show Robert moving from son and sailor into husband and father.

6 photographs
Robert and Donna Davies on their wedding day
Robert and Donna Davies, 5 October 1957.
Robert and Donna with both sets of parents
Robert and Donna with the Davies and Strevel parents on their wedding day.
Robert and Donna with their four daughters
Robert and Donna with Brenda, Cheryl, Judy and Sandra. Date unresolved.
Portrait of the four Davies daughters
The four daughters. From the lower left upward: Judy, Cheryl, Sandra and Brenda.
Robert Davies with his daughters at Christmas
Robert with Cheryl, Sandra, Judy and Brenda at Christmas. Exact year unknown.
Robert and Donna Davies with their young family
A young family portrait: Cheryl, Brenda, Sandra, Judy, Donna and Robert.
02

Captain Edward Davies

Robert’s father, his wartime Imperial Oil record, and surviving objects and places that connect the family back to Halifax, Imperial Oil and the sea.

14 photographs & documents
Cover of the Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review, Salute to Newfoundland
Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review, “Salute to Newfoundland” — the issue containing the feature on Captain Edward Davies and Imperial Oil’s wartime tanker masters.
Captain Edward Davies portrait and caption from the Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review
Captain E. A. Davies in the Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review, around age forty. The contemporary caption identifies him as Master of the S.S. Sarnolite.
Inside-cover map of Newfoundland and wartime Atlantic routes from the Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review
The issue’s inside-cover map of Newfoundland, showing wartime Atlantic routes and transport links. It supplies geographic context for convoy operations; it does not map Edward’s individual assignments.
Publication details page of the Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review with Memorial University archival stamp
Publication details for Vol. 29, No. 3, Winter 1945. The page identifies the St. John’s cover scene and bears the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland archival stamp.
Captains Courageous page 32 from the Winter 1945 Imperial Oil Review
“Captains Courageous,” page 32. Imperial Oil describes the wartime hazards faced by tanker crews and reproduces the Royal Canadian Navy’s appreciation of merchant masters serving as convoy commodores.
Captains Courageous page 33 showing Captain E. A. Davies
Page 33. Captain E. A. Davies is identified as Master of the S.S. Sarnolite; the contemporary caption records his O.B.E. and seventeen convoy-commodore assignments.
Davies family outside a carpenter shop in Halifax in 1904
The Davies family in Halifax, 1904 — the year before Edward was born. The family photograph is preserved here as part of the Halifax record.
Michael Lefebvre at the Carpenter's Shop in Halifax Historic Properties
Michael Lefebvre at the Carpenter’s Shop in Halifax’s Historic Properties. This should not yet be identified as the same building in the 1904 family photograph: Halifax heritage records date the present Carpenter’s Shop to 1905, after the 1904 waterfront fire.
Edward and Eileen Davies with Donna’s parents
Both sets of great-grandparents together: Edward and Eileen Davies at right, Donna’s Strevel parents at left.
Robert, Reg, Ted and Captain Edward Davies at Christmas
Four Davies men together at Christmas later in life: Robert, Reg, Ted, and their father Captain Edward “Ted” Davies.
Esso officer cap preserved with Captain Edward Davies family material
An Esso officer’s cap preserved with Captain Edward Davies family material.
Port of Halifax Commission plaque for the SS Imperial Sarnia
Port of Halifax Commission plaque to the S.S. Imperial Sarnia, dated 7 December 1964, recognizing the vessel for making the most coastwise-trade calls at Halifax that year.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Halifax
Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Halifax — where Edward Davies and Eileen Supple married on 16 February 1928.
Michael Lefebvre with Sullivan and Lainey at Saint Mary’s Cathedral Basilica
Michael Lefebvre with Sullivan and Lainey at the cathedral — a later generation at the same place.
03

St. Pat’s years

Classmates, school clothes and the teams that show Robert as an actual teenager — not yet anyone’s father or grandfather.

5 photographs & documents
Teenage Robert Davies with an unidentified friend
Robert as a teenager, probably about fourteen or fifteen, with an unidentified friend. The haircut, the two-tone jacket and the grin are doing a lot of work here.
Robert Davies with St. Patrick's High School friends in the 1950s
Robert, far right, with friends at St. Pat’s, probably in his mid-teens. Yes, teenagers really did dress like this. Sport coats, ties and school sweaters were apparently perfectly normal.
St. Patrick's High School Class Day group photograph
Class Day at St. Pat’s. Robert is somewhere in this crowd, but his exact position has not yet been confirmed. One for the family detectives.
St. Patrick's football team photograph with roster listing R. Davies
St. Pat’s football team, with R. Davies listed second in the first row. He was never the biggest guy in the room, but apparently nobody had explained that to him.
St. Patrick's basketball team and Juvenile League game report featuring Bob Davies
St. Pat’s basketball. The team caption managed to turn Davies into “Davis,” but the game report below gets it right: Bob Davies scored seven points. Apparently height was optional. Tap the image to open the full-resolution page.
04

At Allandale

The dining room, holidays, birthdays and ordinary family gatherings — the setting many grandchildren remember most clearly.

9 photographs
Robert Davies with infant grandson Brian at Allandale, circa 1981 or 1982
Robert with Brian, circa 1981–82. Aunt Judy’s scrapbook caption records the milestone as “Feeding Brian my 1st ever beer!” Apparently the education started early.
Captain Edward Davies, Robert Davies and young Greg Lefebvre on the couch at Allandale
Three generations on the basement couch, circa 1982–83: Captain Ted at left while Robert attempts to contain his grandson Greg. The scrapbook editor’s verdict: “Trying to control Greg.”
Robert Davies with grandsons Greg and Brian at Allandale circa 1983
Robert with Greg and Brian, circa 1983. Grandfather has the sunglasses; Brian appears less convinced by the whole arrangement.
Robert Davies holding infant granddaughter Laura Cannon at Allandale
Robert with Laura Cannon, his first granddaughter, at Allandale. Feeding a baby was familiar territory — and judging by that grin, he was very happy to be back at it.
Robert Davies surrounded by grandchildren in Halloween costumes at Allandale
Halloween at Allandale, late 1980s or early 1990s. The grandchildren appear to have collected their treats and then tackled Grandfather for good measure.
Family Christmas at Allandale
Christmas at Allandale: George Lefebvre holding Brian, Allen Taylor, Robert Davies and Mike Cannon — the sons-in-law before Dave McCoy joined the family.
Robert Davies surrounded by grandchildren at a birthday dinner
A birthday at Allandale. Robert is surrounded by grandchildren; Greg, at left, helps light the candles. The exact birthday is not confirmed.
Grandchildren at Christmas
The grandchildren pose for Grandfather — a Christmas page already preserved in the family album.
Robert Davies in his rocking chair with a glass raised
Robert at home in the rocking chair, glass raised.
05

A Very Davies Christmas

Christmas gatherings preserved across the family album. More can be added here as the collection grows.

5 photographs
Large Davies family Christmas portrait
Davies family Christmas in Sarnia, probably 1998. The scrapbook caption says, “We all fit in the picture!”
Early Davies family Christmas at Elsfield
Christmas at Elsfield in Sarnia: Brenda, Cheryl with the guitar, Robert, Eileen, Judy, and Captain Edward “Ted” Davies.
Robert Davies carving turkey at a Strevel Christmas
Christmas at the Strevel family home. Robert is at the centre carving the turkey — one of his enduring family roles.
Robert and Donna Davies seated together at Christmas beneath a doorway lined with Christmas cards
Robert and Donna Davies at Christmas, beneath a doorway lined with Christmas cards. Date and location not yet identified.
Brenda, Cheryl Sherry, and Sandra Davies on Christmas morning
“Brenda, Sherry + Sandra on Christmas morning.” The handwritten scrapbook caption supplies the identification; Sherry is Cheryl. Exact year and location are not yet established.
06

Pool days & gatherings

Summer, cousins and the wider Davies clan. These are less formal photographs, and that is exactly their value.

5 photographs
Grandchildren in Robert and Donna’s pool
Pool days at Robert and Donna’s home.
Robert Davies in the pool with grandchildren
Robert in the pool with grandchildren — right in the middle of things.
Davies grandchildren gathered in the pool
The grandchildren gather for a pool photograph. Family memory is that Grandpa often used teasing — and sometimes a promised treat — to get everyone to cooperate.
Robert Davies asleep beneath the family dog PJ
P.J.’s best friend Dad! — Robert asleep underneath the family’s second dog.
The four Davies sisters together in 2025
The four daughters together on their sister trip, 16 September 2025.
07

Family & later years

Wider family gatherings and later-life photographs that belong to the family story without being tied to a particular house or occasion.

2 photographs
Robert and Donna Davies later in life
Robert and Donna Davies later in life.
Large Davies family reunion group
Davies family reunion, circa 1980s — part of a regular tradition of park reunions and time with the wider family.
08

Back to Halifax

One house revisited by successive generations: Robert’s boyhood home becoming a family pilgrimage site.

6 photographs
Robert Davies at his boyhood home in Halifax around 2000
Robert at the door of the Halifax house where he grew up, about 2000.
Cheryl at the Halifax family home in 2015
Cheryl on the same steps, 2 August 2015.
Michael Lefebvre at the Halifax family home
Michael Lefebvre at the family’s Halifax house.
Michael Lefebvre with Sullivan and Lainey at the Halifax family home
Michael with Sullivan and Lainey — Robert’s grandson and great-grandchildren at the same house.
Sandra McCoy standing in front of 2545 Beech Street in Halifax
Sandra McCoy at 2545 Beech Street on a family visit.
Dave McCoy, Melissa McCoy and Sandra McCoy in front of 2545 Beech Street in Halifax
Dave McCoy, Melissa McCoy and Sandra McCoy at 2545 Beech Street on the same visit.
09

Sport through the generations

Robert’s fastball years beside the sports lives and loyalties that followed through the family.

7 photographs
1969 Sarnia Town and Country fastball champions
Sarnia Town & Country Fastball Champions, 1969. R. Davies appears in the printed roster.
Robert Davies with five grandsons wearing matching Detroit Tigers caps
Robert with Eric, Patrick, Taylor, Lee Cannon and Andrew Cannon, circa 1987–88. Five grandchildren, five Detroit Tigers caps. Grandfather’s baseball loyalties were apparently not presented as optional.
St Patrick’s junior football champions in the mid 1990s
St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish junior football champions, 1994–95 season.
Brian Lefebvre playing basketball for St Patrick’s
Brian Lefebvre (#32) with the St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish during tournament play, February 1996.
St Patrick’s basketball championship newspaper coverage
St. Patrick’s championship basketball coverage, February 1996. Brian Lefebvre is identified in the junior-team coverage.
Brian Lefebvre in high school cross-country
Brian during his St. Patrick’s high-school sports years.
Brian Lefebvre as a naval officer
A later generation at sea: Brian as a naval officer.
10

The family record

Photographs and written material that help preserve who was there, what was remembered, and what still needs careful identification.

5 photographs & documents
The five adult Davies siblings
The five Davies siblings together.
The five Davies siblings on another occasion
A second occasion with the five siblings; Robert is at the centre.
Message from Susan Chamberlain remembering her uncle Robert Davies and his reputation at Imperial Oil
Susan Chamberlain, Ted Jr.’s daughter, after reading the project. She remembered Robert as her favourite uncle — kind, fun and committed to community service — and relayed her husband Wayne’s experience working for Robert at Imperial Oil, where he remembered Robert as unusually well respected and well liked. Tap the image to read the full note.
Judy Taylor’s eulogy for her father
Judy Taylor’s eulogy for her father, May 2004 — part of the written family record.
Circular black-and-white photograph of two young men in an unidentified location
Two young men in an unidentified setting. One is believed to be Robert Davies, probably the man at right, but the identification is not yet confirmed. The location is unknown; Halifax remains a possibility, not an established fact.