| Richard Bell-Davies | |
|---|---|
| 19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966 | |
 Bell-Davies during World War I |
|
| Place of birth | Kensington, London |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Rear-Admiral |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Air Force Cross |
Rear-Admiral Richard Bell-Davies VC, CB, DSO, AFC (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966), also known as Richard Bell Davies, was a British First World War fighter pilot and Royal Navy officer, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the British and Commonwealth armed forces.
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Background
Born in Kensington, London, Bell-Davies was orphaned by the age of six and was brought up by an uncle, a doctor. Davies then enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1901, and in 1910 took private flying lessons, and in 1913 he was accepted into the Royal Naval Air Service. In the early days of the war, Davies took part in a number of raids on the German submarine bases at Zeebrugge, earning a DSO.
He was awarded the Victoria Cross on 1 January 1916 for an action at Ferrijik Junction, Bulgaria on 19 November 1915. He was 29 years old, and a Squadron Commander in 3 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service. 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.[1]
Bell-Davies achieved the rank of Vice-Admiral upon retiring on May 29, 1941, his last appointment being Rear Admiral, Naval Air Stations (HMS Daedalus). He then joined the Royal Naval Reserve with a reduction in rank to Commander, and served as a Convoy Commodore and then as commissioning captain of the escort carrier HMS Dasher and the trials carrier HMS Pretoria Castle. He died at RNH Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire. His Victoria Cross is on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovil, Somerset.
Written works
His memoirs Sailor in the Air; The Memoirs of Vice-Admiral Richard Bell Davies, VC RN were published posthumously in 1967.
This book is out of print but well worth reading if it can be obtained. It is a fascinating account of life in the pre-WW1 Royal Navy as well of the air war in Flanders in 1914, and then in Gallipoli, and of the development of the aircraft carrier in 1916-18. As with many autobiographies of Victoria Cross winners, he does not mention the award at all, and gives a highly understated account of the action involved.
References
- Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - Air VCs (P G Cooksley, 1999)
- VCs of the First World War - Gallipoli (Stephen Snelling, 1995)
External links
- Location of grave and VC medal (Hampshire)
- Richard Bell-Davies at Find a Grave
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