Remembering Lloyd Clifford Rees (1927-2010)

Lloyd Rees second from right. 2004

Lloyd was a very special person to me, the first people whom I met "on-line", and eventually met in person.

It was through his Lance Cove research on Bell Island, that we first connected, helping me discover my own Pitts family roots in Newfoundland. His publication of a history of Lance Cove which included pictures of the Pitts family homes, opened an interest in my own roots there. When in St. John's with my family in 2004 we arranged to meet Lloyd at the Bell Island ferry terminal as he guided on our first visit to Lance Cove.

His concern for the state of the graves of James Pitts Sr., and others in Lance Cove led to more regular contact as Lloyd led a campaign to have the grave restored. With his leadership I opened a bank account and we started soliciting support from others. Reaching our financial goal Lloyd oversaw the creation and placement of the replica stone. Eventually with visitors from Ireland, and several Canadian provinces as well as a grand Newfoundland contingent on July 27, 2005 the new memorial was dedicated in a well planned community ceremony at which Lloyd's role was recognized.

I continued to stay in touch with Lloyd and as my research progressed his encouragement and support was vital. Our friendship had became more personal and he had revealed to me his ongoing battle with Prostate Cancer. In 2007, he was one of the first persons I contacted when I received my own diagnosis. My decisions on treatment (which has been 100% successful) were assisted by his sage advice.

Fearing that his research could be lost - I contacted him when I learned of the closure of Geocities where his work was hosted, and am pleased to know that his work is still available through the Internet Archives.

Lloyd was a leading light - and inspiration to many.

I feel a better person for having known him and will continue to cherish his role in caring for, and conveying a great love of both the natural world as well as the rich field of local history in Newfoundland.

Since the closure of GeoCities his history of Lance Cove has become exploited with malicious pop-up scams, malware that must be avoided. Thanks to the Internet Archive most pages can still be accessed intact through: 

• An Outport Revisited: Lance Cove, Bell Island
• An listing of the pages that they have archived is also available

As well his two blogs continue to exist:

• Lloyd's Newfoundland Pictures

• Lloyd's Newfoundland Sunset Photos

A major piece of research called Remembering 1942 By Lloyd C. Rees is also available in pdf format as a 32 page document with a foreword by Catherine Rees, the eldest daughter of Lloyd C. Rees, who inherited his love of memoir and poetry. The document is an account of the torpedoing of the ore carriers S.S. Saganaga and the S.S. Lord Strathcona by U-boat 513 in the waters off Lance Cove, Sept. 5, 1942, and the similar dispatching of the PLM 27 and the S.S. Rose Castle by U-518 in the same location the following November 2nd. 

Having inspired others to research and document the history of Bell Island and its settlers, the historical site Historic-Wabana created by Gail Hussey-Weir in 2016 is a wonderful resource that is updated on an ongoing basis.

Lloyd was a man of great depth and simply put - he was a good man. I will miss our contact and continue to treasure the friendship that we have shared. I want to extend my sincere condolences to all of Lloyd's family.

Lloyd's memorial site, with his obituary is available.

Tony Francis, Lloyd Rees, Ian Scott - July 27, 2005