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{{short description|British naval aviator and VC winner}}
{{Other people|Richard Davies}}
{{Other people|Richard Davies}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography/Military]]. -->
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
|name=Richard Bell Davies
|name= Richard Bell Davies
|birth_date= 19 May 1886
⚫
|birth_place=[[Kensington]], [[London]], [[England]], UK
|death_date= 26 February 1966 (aged 79)
|death_place=[[RNH Haslar]], [[Portsmouth]]
|image= Richard Bell-Davies VC IWM Q 69475.jpg
|image= Richard Bell-Davies VC IWM Q 69475.jpg
|image_size=
⚫
|caption=Richard Bell Davies during World War I
|alt=
⚫
|allegiance= {{UK}}
⚫
|caption= Richard Bell Davies during the First World War, {{circa}} 1916–18
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|serviceyears= 1901 – 1944
|nickname=
⚫
|rank=[[Vice Admiral]]
|birth_date= {{birth date|1886|05|19|df=yes}}
|branch={{navy|United Kingdom}}
⚫
|birth_place= [[Kensington]], [[London]]
|commands=
|death_date= {{death date and age|1966|02|26|1886|05|19|df=yes}}
|unit=[[No. 3 Squadron RNAS]]
|battles=[[World War I]]<br>[[World War II]]
|death_place= [[RNH Haslar]], [[Portsmouth]]
|placeofburial=
⚫
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]]<br>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br>[[Distinguished Service Order]]<br>[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<br>[[Croix de Guerre]] (France)<br>[[Order of Michael the Brave]] (Rumania)
⚫
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[Royal Navy]]
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|serviceyears= 1901–1944
⚫
|rank= [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]]
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= {{HMS|Pretoria Castle|F61|6}} (1943–44)<br/>{{HMS|Dasher|D37|6}} (1942)<br/>[[Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations]] (1939–41)<br/>{{HMS|Cornwall|56|6}} (1933–35)<br/>{{HMS|London|69|6}} (1929–30)<br/>[[No. 3 Squadron RNAS]] (1915)
|battles= [[First World War]]
* [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]
* [[Gallipoli campaign]]
⚫
[[Second World War]]
⚫
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]]<br/>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Distinguished Service Order]]<br/>[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]]<br/>[[Knight of the Legion of Honour]] (France)<br/>[[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre]] (France)<br/>[[Order of Michael the Brave]] (Rumania)
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
}}
[[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] '''Richard Bell Davies''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|VC|CB|DSO|AFC}} (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966), also known as '''Richard Bell-Davies''', was a senior [[Royal Navy]] commander, [[naval aviator]], and a [[First World War]] recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.


==Early life and career==
[[Vice Admiral]] '''Richard Bell Davies''' [[Victoria Cross|VC]] [[Companion of the Order of the Bath|CB]] [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]] [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|AFC]] (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966), also known as '''Richard Bell-Davies''', was a British [[Royal Navy]] officer and [[World War I]] fighter pilot. He was a recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]].
Born in [[Kensington]], [[London]], Davies was orphaned by the age of five and was brought up by an uncle, a doctor. He attended [[Bradfield College]] in Berkshire between September 1899 and April 1901.<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/107226 |title=Davies, Richard Bell |last=May |first=Alex |year=2014|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/107226 |isbn=978-0-19-861411-1 |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> Davies enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1901 joining {{HMS|Britannia|1860|6}}, and on 15 September 1902 was posted as a naval cadet to the [[protected cruiser]] [[HMS Diana (1895)|HMS ''Diana'']], serving with the [[Mediterranean Fleet]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=25 August 1902 |page=8 |issue=36855| }}</ref> In 1910 he took private flying lessons, and in 1913 he was accepted into the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS) and was appointed a squadron commander.<ref name=ODNB/>


==Background==
==First World War==
⚫
===Distinguished Service Order===
Born in [[Kensington]], [[London]], Davies was orphaned by the age of six and was brought up by an uncle, a doctor. Davies enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1901. In 1910 he took private flying lessons, and in 1913 he was accepted into the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS).

⚫
==Distinguished Service Order==
In the early days of the war, Davies and [[Richard Peirse]] carried out a number of raids on German submarine bases at [[Ostend]] and [[Zeebrugge]]. Both were awarded the DSO:
In the early days of the war, Davies and [[Richard Peirse]] carried out a number of raids on German submarine bases at [[Ostend]] and [[Zeebrugge]]. Both were awarded the DSO:
{{quote|For services rendered in the aerial attack on Dunkirk, 23rd January, 1915:—
{{blockquote|For services rendered in the aerial attack on Dunkirk, 23rd January, 1915:—
Squadron Commander Richard Bell Davies<br />Flight Lieutenant Richard Edmund Charles Peirse
Squadron Commander Richard Bell Davies<br/>Flight Lieutenant Richard Edmund Charles Peirse
These Officers have repeatedly attacked the German submarine station at Ostend and Zeebrugge, being subjected on each occasion to heavy and accurate fire, their machines being frequently hit. In particular, on 23rd January, they each discharged eight bombs in an attack upon submarines alongside the mole at Zeebrugge, flying down to close range. At the outset of this flight Lieutenant Davies was severely wounded by a bullet in the thigh, but nevertheless he accomplished his task, handling his machine for an hour with great skill in spite of pain and loss of blood.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=29123|supp=yes|date=9 April 1915|startpage=3550|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref>}}
These Officers have repeatedly attacked the German submarine station at Ostend and Zeebrugge, being subjected on each occasion to heavy and accurate fire, their machines being frequently hit. In particular, on 23rd January, they each discharged eight bombs in an attack upon submarines alongside the mole at Zeebrugge, flying down to close range. At the outset of this flight Lieutenant Davies was severely wounded by a bullet in the thigh, but nevertheless he accomplished his task, handling his machine for an hour with great skill in spite of pain and loss of blood.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29123|supp=y|date=9 April 1915|page=3550}}</ref>}}


==Victoria Cross==
===Victoria Cross===
Davies was then posted to the [[Gallipoli Campaign|Dardanelles]], and was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] on 1 January 1916 for an action at Ferrijik Junction, in [[Bulgaria]] near the border with [[East Thrace|Ottoman-controlled Europe]], on 19 November 1915. He was 29 years old, and in command of [[No. 3 Squadron RNAS]]. His citation read:
Davies was then posted to the [[Gallipoli campaign|Dardanelles]], and was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]] on 1 January 1916 for an action at Ferrijik Junction, in what was then part of [[Bulgaria]] near the border with [[East Thrace|Ottoman-controlled Europe]], on 19 November 1915. Today, Feres (Ferecik in Turkish) is in the Evros region of modern Greece. Davies was 29 years old, and in command of [[No. 3 Squadron RNAS]]. His citation read:
{{quote|The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Squadron-Commander Richard Bell Davies, D.S.O., R.N., and of the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]] to Flight Sub-Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, R.N., in recognition of their behaviour in the following circumstances:—
{{blockquote|The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Squadron-Commander Richard Bell Davies, D.S.O., R.N., and of the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]] to Flight Sub-Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, R.N., in recognition of their behaviour in the following circumstances:—
On the 19th November these two officers carried out an air attack on Ferrijik Junction. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie's machine was received by very heavy fire and brought down. The pilot planed down over the station, releasing all his bombs except one, which failed to drop, simultaneously at the station from a very low altitude. Thence he continued his descent into the marsh.
On the 19th November these two officers carried out an air attack on Ferrijik Junction. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie's machine was received by very heavy fire and brought down. The pilot planed down over the station, releasing all his bombs except one, which failed to drop, simultaneously at the station from a very low altitude. Thence he continued his descent into the marsh.
On alighting he saw the one unexploded bomb, and set fire to his machine, knowing that the bomb would ensure its destruction. He then proceeded towards Turkish territory.
On alighting he saw the one unexploded bomb, and set fire to his machine, knowing that the bomb would ensure its destruction. He then proceeded towards Turkish territory.
At this moment he perceived Squadron-Commander Davies descending, and fearing that he would come down near the burning machine and thus risk destruction from the bomb, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie ran back and from a short distance exploded the bomb by means of a pistol bullet. Squadron-Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine, took up Sub-Lieutenant Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy, and returned to the aerodrome, a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=29423|supp=yes|date=1 January 1916|startpage=86|accessdate=22 April 2011}}</ref>}}
At this moment he perceived Squadron-Commander Davies descending, and fearing that he would come down near the burning machine and thus risk destruction from the bomb, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie ran back and from a short distance exploded the bomb by means of a pistol bullet. Squadron-Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine, took up Sub-Lieutenant Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy, and returned to the aerodrome, a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29423|supp=y|date=1 January 1916|page=86}}</ref>}}


This was the first [[combat search and rescue]] by aircraft in history. Like the search and rescue efforts of the future, Davies' action sprang from the fervent desire to keep a compatriot from capture or death at the hands of the enemy; unlike most of those future efforts, it was a one-man impromptu action that succeeded because of a peculiarity in construction of his aircraft. The [[Nieuport 10]] he was flying was a single seat model which had had its front cockpit decked over. When Davies picked him up under rifle fire, Smylie wriggled past Davies and through his controls into the tiny roofed-over front compartment. Smylie was so thoroughly wedged among the controls that, upon landing, it took two hours to extricate him.<ref>{{cite book|title=Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue|page=5-6}}</ref>
This was the first [[combat search and rescue]] by aircraft in history. Like later search and rescue efforts, Davies' action sprang from the desire to keep a compatriot from capture or death at the hands of the enemy; unlike most of those future efforts, it was a one-man impromptu action that succeeded because of a peculiarity in construction of his aircraft. The [[Nieuport 10]] he was flying was a single seat model which had had its front cockpit decked over. When Davies picked him up under rifle fire, Smylie wriggled past Davies and through his controls into the tiny roofed-over front compartment. Smylie was so thoroughly wedged among the controls that, upon landing, it took two hours to extricate him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Galdorisi|Phillips|2010|pp=5–6}}</ref>


Davies was [[mentioned in despatches]] after the Gallipoli campaign.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=29507|supp=yes|date=14 March 1916|startpage=28680|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref> At the end of the war he was awarded the Air Force Cross<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=31592|supp=yes|date=7 October 1919|startpage=12527|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref> and the [[Croix de Guerre]] with Palm.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=31519|date=22 August 1919|startpage=10724|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref>
Davies was also [[mentioned in despatches]] for his Gallipoli service.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29507|supp=y|date=14 March 1916|page=2868}}</ref>


In early 1916, Davies was transferred to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], conducting bombing raids behind German lines, and then as wing commander in the seaplane carrier [[HMS Campania (1914)|HMS Campania]], attached to the [[Grand Fleet]]. He remained with the Royal Navy when, in April 1918, the RNAS was incorporated into the [[Royal Air Force]].<ref name=ODNB/> At the end of the war, he was awarded the [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31592|supp=y|date=7 October 1919|page=12527}}</ref> and the French [[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre]] with Palm.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31519|date=22 August 1919|page=10724}}</ref>
⚫
==Post World War I==
⚫
Davies was first lieutenant of HMS ''[[HMS Lion (1910)|Lion]]'' in 1919-20; in charge of the Air Section of the Naval Staff 1920–24; and [[executive officer]] of HMS ''[[HMS Royal Sovereign (05)|Royal Sovereign]]'' in the [[Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Atlantic Fleet]] 1924–26. He was promoted to [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] in 1926 and was again in charge of the Air Section of the Naval Staff 1926–28.


==Interbellum and Second World War==
⚫
He was Chief Staff Officer to the Rear-Admiral commanding [[1st Cruiser Squadron]] in the [[Mediterranean]] 1929–30, and Liaison Officer for the [[Fleet Air Arm]] at the [[Air Ministry]] 1931–33. He commanded HMS ''[[HMS Cornwall (56)|Cornwall]]'' on the [[China station]] 1933–35 and the naval base at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]] (HMS ''Drake'') 1936–38. He was promoted to [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|Rear Admiral]] in 1938 and from 1939–41 was Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations, based at [[RNAS Lee-on-Solent]] (HMS ''Daedalus''). He was appointed [[Order of the Bath|CB]] in the [[King's Birthday Honours]] of 1939.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=34633|supp=yes|date=6 June 1939|startpage=3853|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref>
⚫
Davies was first lieutenant of {{HMS|Lion|1910|6}} in 1919–20; in charge of the Air Section of the Naval Staff 1920–24; and [[executive officer]] of {{HMS|Royal Sovereign|05|6}} in the [[Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Atlantic Fleet]] 1924–26. He was promoted to [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]] in 1926 and was again in charge of the Air Section of the Naval Staff 1926–28.


⚫
He was Chief Staff Officer to the Rear Admiral commanding [[1st Cruiser Squadron]] in the [[Mediterranean]] 1929–30, and Liaison Officer for the [[Fleet Air Arm]] at the [[Air Ministry]] 1931–33. He commanded {{HMS|Cornwall|56|6}} on the [[China station]] 1933–35 and the naval base at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]] (HMS ''Drake'') 1936–38. He was promoted to [[Rear Admiral (Royal Navy)|rear admiral]] in 1938 and from 1939 to 1941 was [[Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations]], based at [[RNAS Lee-on-Solent]] (HMS ''Daedalus''). He was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in the [[King's Birthday Honours]] of 1939.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34633|supp=y|date=6 June 1939|page=3853}}</ref>
⚫
Davies was promoted to [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] upon retiring on 29 May 1941. He then joined the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] with a reduction in rank to [[Commander (Royal Navy)|Commander]]. As an RNR officer, he served as a [[convoy commodore]], and as commissioning captain of the escort carrier HMS ''[[HMS Dasher (D37)|Dasher]]'' and the trials carrier HMS ''[[HMS Pretoria Castle (F61)|Pretoria Castle]]''. He left the RNR in 1944.{{cn|date=May 2017}}

⚫
Davies was promoted to [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|vice admiral]] upon retiring on 29 May 1941, aged 55. He then joined the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] (RNR) with a reduction in rank to [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]]. As an RNR officer, he served as a [[convoy commodore]], and as commissioning captain of the escort carrier {{HMS|Dasher|D37|6}} and the trials carrier {{HMS|Pretoria Castle|F61|6}}.<ref name=ODNB/> He left the RNR in 1944.


==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
He died at [[RNH Haslar]] in [[Gosport]], [[Hampshire]]. His Victoria Cross is on display at the [[Fleet Air Arm Museum]] in [[Yeovil]], [[Somerset]].
He died at [[RNH Haslar]] in [[Gosport]], [[Hampshire]]. His Victoria Cross is on display at the [[Fleet Air Arm Museum]] in [[Yeovil]], [[Somerset]].<ref name=ODNB/>


On 19 November 2015, he was remembered at a memorial service in central London, and a memorial stone was laid in his home town of Chelsea.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Naval aviator VC honoured with memorial in London|url=https://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/13695|website=navynews.co.uk|accessdate=15 December 2015}}</ref>
On 19 November 2015, he was remembered at a memorial service in central London, with a memorial stone laid in [[Sloane Square]], Chelsea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/13695 |title=Naval aviator VC honoured with memorial in London. Archived copy |website=[[Navy News]], 19 November 2015|accessdate=9 January 2022 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304125738/https://navynews.co.uk/archive/news/item/13695 |archivedate=4 March 2016}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[List of firsts in aviation]]
*[[List of firsts in aviation]]
*[https://books.google.com/books/about/Sailor_in_the_air.html?id=w0pAAAAAIAAJ ''Sailor in the Air: The Memoirs of Vice-Admiral Richard Bell Davies, VC RN''], Richard Bell Davies, 1967. Republished as [http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-in-the-Air/p/1652/ ''Sailor in The Air: The Memoirs of the World's First Carrier Pilot''], Seaforth Publishing, 2008, ISBN 1848320116


==References==
==References==
;Footnotes
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==Sources==
;Sources
* {{cite book|first1=George|last1=Galdorisi|first2=Thomas|last2=Phillips|title=Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue|year=2010|place=Minneapolis|publisher=Zenith Press|isbn=978-0-7603-2392-2}}
⚫
*[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersD.html#Davies_RB Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945]

*''[[Monuments To Courage]]'' (David Harvey, 1999)
==Further reading==
*''[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]]'' (This England, 1997)
* {{cite book|first=Richard|last=Bell Davies|title=Sailor in the Air: The Memoirs of the World's First Carrier Pilot|year=2008|orig-year=First published 1967|place=Barnsley|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1848320116}}
*''[[VCs of the First World War - Air VCs]]'' (P G Cooksley, 1999)
*''[[VCs of the First World War - Gallipoli]]'' (Stephen Snelling, 1995)
*[https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0760323925 ''Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue'']. George Galdorisi, Thomas Phillips. MBI Publishing Company, 2009. ISBN 0-7603-2392-5, ISBN 978-0-7603-2392-2
*Vice-Admiral R. Davies, V.C. (obituary), ''The Times'', London, 28 February 1966, page 12


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Richard Bell Davies}}
{{Commons category|Richard Bell Davies}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210053535/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/hampshir.htm Location of grave and VC medal] ''(Hampshire)''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210053535/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/hampshir.htm Location of grave and VC medal] ''(Hampshire)''
⚫
*[http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersD.html#Davies_RB Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945]
* {{Find a Grave|10432564}}

{{wwi-air}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]]
[[Category:Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave]]
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[[Category:Convoy commodores]]

Latest revision as of 13:58, 8 April 2024

For other people named Richard Davies, see Richard Davies (disambiguation).

Richard Bell Davies
Richard Bell Davies during the First World War, c. 1916–18
Born(1886-05-19)19 May 1886
Kensington, London
Died26 February 1966(1966-02-26) (aged 79)
RNH Haslar, Portsmouth
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1901–1944
RankVice Admiral
Commands heldHMS Pretoria Castle (1943–44)
HMS Dasher (1942)
Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations (1939–41)
HMS Cornwall (1933–35)
HMS London (1929–30)
No. 3 Squadron RNAS (1915)
Battles/warsFirst World War Second World War
AwardsVictoria Cross
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Air Force Cross
Mentioned in Despatches
Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)
Croix de guerre (France)
Order of Michael the Brave (Rumania)

Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies VC, CB, DSO, AFC (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966), also known as Richard Bell-Davies, was a senior Royal Navy commander, naval aviator, and a First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life and career[edit]

Born in Kensington, London, Davies was orphaned by the age of five and was brought up by an uncle, a doctor. He attended Bradfield College in Berkshire between September 1899 and April 1901.[1] Davies enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1901 joining HMS Britannia, and on 15 September 1902 was posted as a naval cadet to the protected cruiser HMS Diana, serving with the Mediterranean Fleet.[2] In 1910 he took private flying lessons, and in 1913 he was accepted into the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and was appointed a squadron commander.[1]

First World War[edit]

Distinguished Service Order[edit]

In the early days of the war, Davies and Richard Peirse carried out a number of raids on German submarine bases at Ostend and Zeebrugge. Both were awarded the DSO:

For services rendered in the aerial attack on Dunkirk, 23rd January, 1915:—

Squadron Commander Richard Bell Davies
Flight Lieutenant Richard Edmund Charles Peirse

These Officers have repeatedly attacked the German submarine station at Ostend and Zeebrugge, being subjected on each occasion to heavy and accurate fire, their machines being frequently hit. In particular, on 23rd January, they each discharged eight bombs in an attack upon submarines alongside the mole at Zeebrugge, flying down to close range. At the outset of this flight Lieutenant Davies was severely wounded by a bullet in the thigh, but nevertheless he accomplished his task, handling his machine for an hour with great skill in spite of pain and loss of blood.[3]

Victoria Cross[edit]

Davies was then posted to the Dardanelles, and was awarded the Victoria Cross on 1 January 1916 for an action at Ferrijik Junction, in what was then part of Bulgaria near the border with Ottoman-controlled Europe, on 19 November 1915. Today, Feres (Ferecik in Turkish) is in the Evros region of modern Greece. Davies was 29 years old, and in command of No. 3 Squadron RNAS. His citation read:

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Squadron-Commander Richard Bell Davies, D.S.O., R.N., and of the Distinguished Service Cross to Flight Sub-Lieutenant Gilbert Formby Smylie, R.N., in recognition of their behaviour in the following circumstances:—

On the 19th November these two officers carried out an air attack on Ferrijik Junction. Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie's machine was received by very heavy fire and brought down. The pilot planed down over the station, releasing all his bombs except one, which failed to drop, simultaneously at the station from a very low altitude. Thence he continued his descent into the marsh. On alighting he saw the one unexploded bomb, and set fire to his machine, knowing that the bomb would ensure its destruction. He then proceeded towards Turkish territory.

At this moment he perceived Squadron-Commander Davies descending, and fearing that he would come down near the burning machine and thus risk destruction from the bomb, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smylie ran back and from a short distance exploded the bomb by means of a pistol bullet. Squadron-Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine, took up Sub-Lieutenant Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy, and returned to the aerodrome, a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry.[4]

This was the first combat search and rescue by aircraft in history. Like later search and rescue efforts, Davies' action sprang from the desire to keep a compatriot from capture or death at the hands of the enemy; unlike most of those future efforts, it was a one-man impromptu action that succeeded because of a peculiarity in construction of his aircraft. The Nieuport 10 he was flying was a single seat model which had had its front cockpit decked over. When Davies picked him up under rifle fire, Smylie wriggled past Davies and through his controls into the tiny roofed-over front compartment. Smylie was so thoroughly wedged among the controls that, upon landing, it took two hours to extricate him.[5]

Davies was also mentioned in despatches for his Gallipoli service.[6]

In early 1916, Davies was transferred to the Western Front, conducting bombing raids behind German lines, and then as wing commander in the seaplane carrier HMS Campania, attached to the Grand Fleet. He remained with the Royal Navy when, in April 1918, the RNAS was incorporated into the Royal Air Force.[1] At the end of the war, he was awarded the Air Force Cross[7] and the French Croix de guerre with Palm.[8]

Interbellum and Second World War[edit]

Davies was first lieutenant of HMS Lion in 1919–20; in charge of the Air Section of the Naval Staff 1920–24; and executive officer of HMS Royal Sovereign in the Atlantic Fleet 1924–26. He was promoted to captain in 1926 and was again in charge of the Air Section of the Naval Staff 1926–28.

He was Chief Staff Officer to the Rear Admiral commanding 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean 1929–30, and Liaison Officer for the Fleet Air Arm at the Air Ministry 1931–33. He commanded HMS Cornwall on the China station 1933–35 and the naval base at Devonport (HMS Drake) 1936–38. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1938 and from 1939 to 1941 was Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations, based at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus). He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the King's Birthday Honours of 1939.[9]

Davies was promoted to vice admiral upon retiring on 29 May 1941, aged 55. He then joined the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) with a reduction in rank to commander. As an RNR officer, he served as a convoy commodore, and as commissioning captain of the escort carrier HMS Dasher and the trials carrier HMS Pretoria Castle.[1] He left the RNR in 1944.

Death and legacy[edit]

He died at RNH Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire. His Victoria Cross is on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovil, Somerset.[1]

On 19 November 2015, he was remembered at a memorial service in central London, with a memorial stone laid in Sloane Square, Chelsea.[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b c d e May, Alex (2014). "Davies, Richard Bell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/107226. ISBN 978-0-19-861411-1. Retrieved 19 November 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36855. London. 25 August 1902. p. 8.
  3. ^ "No. 29123". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 April 1915. p. 3550.
  4. ^ "No. 29423". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1916. p. 86.
  5. ^ Galdorisi & Phillips 2010, pp. 5–6
  6. ^ "No. 29507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 March 1916. p. 2868.
  7. ^ "No. 31592". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 October 1919. p. 12527.
  8. ^ "No. 31519". The London Gazette. 22 August 1919. p. 10724.
  9. ^ "No. 34633". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1939. p. 3853.
  10. ^ "Naval aviator VC honoured with memorial in London. Archived copy". Navy News, 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
Sources
  • Galdorisi, George; Phillips, Thomas (2010). Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue. Minneapolis: Zenith Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2392-2.

Further reading[edit]

  • Bell Davies, Richard (2008) [First published 1967]. Sailor in the Air: The Memoirs of the World's First Carrier Pilot. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1848320116.

External links[edit]

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