A DENBIGH man who emigrated to Canada half-a-century ago has "returned" to his hometown... without having to cross the Atlantic Ocean!

John Davies was born in Denbigh and back in 1968, he emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

"I discovered fairly soon that the was a place in Ontario also called Denbigh, but never really knew where it was," said John.

"Bear in mind Ontario is probably four times the size of UK, but sparsely populated in the northern parts.

"So, 50 years after leaving Denbigh, North Wales I arrived in Denbigh, Ontario!"

The population of the Canadian Denbigh numbers in the region of 265.

"I wonder if I am the only person to have been in both the Denbighs?" asked John.

John's father was prominent Denbigh dental surgeon Gwilym Davies and the family lived at Lyndhurst, on Vale Street.

Gwilym Davies became a town councillor and he moved to Eltham, London in 1982 to be near one of his daughters.

"I have no close relatives in North Wales but at one time one of my father’s cousins, Dorothy Kirk, wrote a book called “Are they related to me?” which was the history of the Davies family in and around Denbigh," added John.

He chose to become a chartered accountant and did his articles in Colwyn Bay with Aston, Parkinson & Gadd - now known as Aston Hughes & Co.

"They had a branch in Denbigh and were my father’s accountants," said John.

"I was 25 when I graduated in 1967 and had always wanted to travel.

"I was living in Rhos-on-Sea by this time so I got married and rented out my house and came to Toronto for two years in 1968. "(I'm) still here!"

Looking back at his time in the Vale of Clwyd, John added: "I used to love going to Denbigh Castle.

"I used to cycle extensively on some of the back roads whose names escape me.

"The only contacts I have left are Alwyn and Betty Thomas, who live on Park Street.

"Alwyn is now president of Denbigh Golf Club, which in my day was a nine-hole course.

"I keep in touch with my best man Robert Hughes, who used to work at Denbigh Smithfield Garage, now long gone, as a salesman."