Shammy Davies Junior

From Wales Online: Is the window cleaner’s son called ‘Shammy Davies Junior’ Wales’ funniest nickname?

There was a time when every Welsh town had a Dai the Milk or a Jones the Bread, the kinds of characters who would do the rounds in their local community or keep the town fed from a small family-run store. More inventive names include Wil Eighteen Months, who was left with an ear and a half after a fight, and a watchmaker from Criccieth called Dick the Tick. But Shammy Davies Jr or Dai Fine Talk are two less common nicknames which may soon gain fame after a bid to find Wales’ funniest nickname was launched.

“One of my favourites comes from Blackwood just after the war, where a local window cleaner, Samuel Davies, was known to everyone as Shammy Davies. When his son joined the business, he was known to everyone as Shammy Davies Junior.”
Born from the need to distinguish between the countless numbers of people in Wales who share the same surname – Jones, Evans and Thomas, to name just three – historians say nicknames here date back to before the 13th century.

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