Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

Anthony Norman Davis, (14 August 1918 – 1988) was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer who served as a pilot during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and career

Born in the

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

area of Surrey, Davis was the son of Lieutenant Colonel H. J. N. Davis. He graduated from the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

as a second lieutenant in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. In 1940, he transferred to the

(RAF) as a pilot.

RAF career

Davis served in the

. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as a flight lieutenant in 1943, and received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) as an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

in 1945. The citation for his DSO was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' of 24 July 1945, reading: When Davis announced his engagement to Dominique Gauquié in 1950 he was the air attache in Budapest."Marriages." Times ondon, England16 Mar. 1950: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. In 1963, he was promoted

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

as the air attache in Moscow."News in Brief." Times ondon, England25 Apr. 1963: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Davis appeared on British television in the 1970s as the Ministry of Defence spokesman on Unidentified Flying Objects.UFO programme 'panic' gripped ministry.
/ref> His grandson is the Franco-British actor Edward Akrout.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Anthony Norman 1918 births 1988 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air commodores Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Engineers officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People from the Borough of Waverley