A GREYHOUND trainer based at Wheatley has died aged 77.

John Davies began training dogs after he left the RAF and raced them at meetings around the country.

Over the course of his career he trained more than 100 dogs and had an average of 100 winners a year.

He first became involved in greyhounds professionally when the company he worked for as a lorry driver was sold and he moved to Oxford Stadium to work as a kennel hand.

He then got a trainer’s licence and raced dogs at Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Reading and Coventry.

Most recently he was at Harlow, commuting from Cuddesdon where he lived and from Wheatley where his kennel was.

He trained his dogs seven days a week and did so on his own, without any help.

By the time had retired from training greyhounds he had 21 dogs.

John Davies was born in the Gower, South Wales, on October 6, 1936.

He grew up in South Wales before joining the RAF first as a fireman and then changing trades in the 1960s to be part of air traffic control. In March 1960 he married Avril Chambers.

During his time in the military he was stationed for a year on Christmas Island where Britain was carrying out weapons tests of early hydrogen bombs.

After 12 years in the RAF, he left in 1966 to give his family a more stable life.

When he came out of the military he lived with his family in Lincolnshire and that is when he became involved in training greyhounds.

He first became interested in the profession through someone he met as a lorry driver and when the company he worked for was sold, he moved to Oxford to become a kennel hand.

Last year he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was forced to retire.

John Davies died from cancer on December 4 and is survived by his wife Avril, three children, Glyn, Glenda and Alun, 10 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

His funeral took place yesterday at All Saints Church, Cuddesdon.