Richard Bell-Davies

Richard Bell Davies
Richard Bell Davies during World War I
Born	19 May 1886 Kensington, London, England, UK
Died	26 February 1966 (aged 79) RNH Haslar, Portsmouth
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1901 – 1944
Rank	Vice Admiral
Unit	No. 3 Squadron RNAS
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Victoria Cross Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Air Force Cross 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 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 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).

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.

Davies was then posted to the Dardanelles, and was awarded the Victoria Cross on 1 January 1916 for an action at Ferrijik Junction, in Bulgaria near the border with Ottoman-controlled Europe, on 19 November 1915. He was 29 years old, and in command of No. 3 Squadron RNAS. His citation read: