LLOYD, DAVID JOHN (1886 - 1951), headmaster

Born 6 March 1886 son of Daniel and Jane Peregrine Lloyd, Swansea, Glamorganshire. He was educated at Swansea Grammar School, 1894-1904; University College, Cardiff, 1904-07, where he graduated in Classics; and Oriel College, Oxford, 1907-11, where he was an exhibitioner, gaining B.A. in 1911 and M.A. in 1914. From 1911-19 he was a teacher at Liverpool Collegiate School except for 1917-19 when he served with the R.N.A.S. and R.A.F. He was headmaster of the County School, Port Talbot, 1919-20, and Newport Secondary School, 1921-35. He moved to Wrexham in 1935 to be headmaster of Grove Park School, where he remained until his retirement in 1946 when he moved to Menai Bridge, Anglesey. He married Olwen Beynon in 1914, and died 2 November 1951. They had 4 sons and a daughter.

During his headship at Grove Park School, where he succeeded J.R. Edwards, who was appointed headmaster at Liverpool Institute High School, he became very prominent in the field of education in Wales, and he was acknowledged to be an experienced and effective headmaster. He was a member of the Headmasters' Conference until the 1944 Education Act was passed, reducing the power of headmasters and school governing boards. He was also a member of the council of the Welsh Secondary Schools Association and the Headmasters' Association, which was of great benefit to the school. He was three times elected to represent the headmasters of secondary schools in Wales on the Burnham Committee. He was also associated with many good causes in the public life of the town of Wrexham.

Grove Park School was very successful during this period under the leadership of the learned and cultured headmaster who succeeded in winning the support of the governors and co-operation of his staff as well as the admiration of his pupils. He sacrificed much to ensure that the school overcame the difficult problems which arose during World War II, particularly in the changes to school staff. There was a noticeable increase in the number of pupils in the Sixth Form, making Grove Park one of the schools with the largest Sixth Form in Wales. The headmaster took pride in the school's success both academically and on the playing field. Football was reintroduced into the curriculum in 1941 and the school cricket team won considerable fame in 1944 at the final match in the McAlpine cup competition. On the occasion of his retirement in 1946 the governors' tribute to him was entered in the school records.

Author

• Dr William Gareth Evans, (1942 - 2000)

Sources

• Who was who?
• papers and records of Grove Park School at Wrexham Public Library and the Record Office, Ruthin
• The Wrexhamian, 1935-46
• The Wrexham Leader, 1935-46
• information from Mrs Anita M. Thomas, M.Ed., former teacher at Grove Park Grammar School for Girls, and E. Haddon Roberts, former headmaster of Grove Park Grammar School

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20821417

Published date: 2001

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