Second World War

In mid-1944, Davis was based on the island of Vis in the Adriatic off the coast of the Former Yugoslavia (in present-day Croatia) as commander of a flotilla of Landing Craft (Assault) (LCAs). In June some of his reinforcements were ambushed in the mountains during a mission and only twelve men escaped to shore. Davis, who was on an LCA, took the chance to recover their weapons and rescue another officer who had been wounded.^[1] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 13 March 1945 for his actions that day.^[2]

Later career

After the war, Davis was sent to Germany to oversee the establishment of the Royal Marines Demolition Unit along Rhine, intended to be a deterrent against the Soviets in the East. During the 1960s he was a company commander in 40 Commando deployed to the jungles of Borneo for the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. He led "Pugforce", an amalgam of Royal Marines, Ghurkhas, Sarawak Rangers and Iban trackers deep in the jungle and managed to capture several rebels.

Later in his career Davis became an amphibious warfare instructor. He retired in 1971.