Biography
George William Davies was born in Liverpool on October 29, 1941 to sausage maker George Snr, and seamstress Mary Davies. Davies cites his mother as his motivation to succeed in life in fashion:
| “ | You don’t realise as a boy the influences you go through, but I remember in the late 40s and early 50s my mum, my auntie and cousin would sit cutting out dress patterns at home. My mum always said she wouldn’t buy from the high street because it was rubbish. You obviously inherit genetic traits as well and that’s probably why I ended up going into fashion | ” |
His grandparents lived on a farm in Thornton, Crosby, and his parents moved closer to the coast when he was 11, when his mother took over a Post Office and his father became a sausage factory manager. Davies attended Bootle Grammar School, where he enjoyed sports including golf, football and tennis.
Asked recently by The Sunday Times if he had ever been "hard up" he responded "No. When I got pocket money as a young boy, I would save it. Apart from a blip when I was first in business, I’ve always had money. From the age of 16, I worked as a milkman in my holidays and saved to buy my first car, a Mini van". In the same article, Davies was asked if he was better off than his parents had been. "Financially, I am. But “better off” should be measured by more than finance. My parents were an amazingly happy couple and never wanted for anything. My father was the manager of a sausage factory and my mother bought and ran a post office in her fifties".
A passionate supporter of Liverpool FC through his father (nowadays he is frequently seen watching from the Director's box) Davies had trials for the club during the reign of Bill Shankly but was unsuccessful (in 1995 he told The Independent that as things as turned out, it was probably for the best). However, he did go on to play centre forward for Bangor City, and also represented England Universities and England Under 18's at football and scored twice against Scotland.
Read more about this topic: George Davies (retailer)
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