Most of us knew him as “Budgie” (which may not be the correct spelling of his nickname), but we now know his full name is Percival Erlin Davis, from the leaflet of the Service of Thanksgiving for his life celebrated at the Wesley Methodist Church on Tuesday, 1st December, 2009. Budgie died last Thursday, 26th November. He was 93 years old.
Most of his contemporaries have predeceased him and not many remember that he was one of Belize’s best athletes as well as a very fine gentleman.
He was not tall and slim like most sprinters; rather, he was small and stocky, but Percy “Budgie” Davis was Belize’s fastest man in the 1950s. He had inherited that mantle from Charles “Speed” Card after years of running close seconds to the great “Speed” in the 100-yd and 220-yd sprints in the annual track meet at the Newtown Barracks. Those were the glory days when sports ruled during the St. George’s Caye Day celebrations.
Budgie reigned until Chester Kuylen and Roy Canton came along and dethroned him. But, amazingly, Budgie helped to train them, teaching them some of his methods of preparation.
Budgie was an all-around athlete. He and his older (and much bigger) brother, Lloyd “Bulldog” Davis, played for the famous Crimson football club, national champions for many years, and the Cambridge Cricket Club, almost as prominent in that sport.
In his later years, Budgie took the job of bartender at the CBA club, where he enjoyed very good relations with the members of CBA, which was difficult to do because the members were always complaining about their bar bills before his arrival. No one complained when he took over. Perhaps it was because he kept the records straight, but I believe it was that they held him in very high regard.