Richard Roden DAVIES (1886-1963)

2nd Lieutenant Richard Roden Davies (1886-1963) was a colleague of Cyril Sladden in the 9th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment.

Richard Davies was born in 1886 in Worcester, the third of four children of Edward Davies and his wife, Clara Elizabeth. He was baptized on 6th July 1886 at St Peter the Great, Worcester. At the time of the 1911 census, the family lived at Malvern Road, St Johns, Worcester. Richard worked as a printer.

During the First World War, Davies obtained a commission with the Worcestershire Regiment on 23rd February and went to Gallipoli in October 1915 when he would have first met Cyril Sladden.

In a letter of 22nd January 1916, Cyril described his fellow officers: “The next in seniority is Davies, a Worcester man, a little older I think than me, whom I first met at the details camp. He is one of those people who are shaky on pronunciations and Hs occasionally, but such a real good fellow, and so absolutely devoid of “swank” that he gets on well with everybody. He is moreover a most competent officer who knows his work excellently, and also understands how to make people do things, and is altogether most useful, and a reliable person who never plays the fool though very cheery. I have not discovered what was his work in a civil capacity; business of some kind I believe.”

In April 1916, the 9th Battalion was engaged in the campaign to relieve the British garrison besieged by the Turks in the city of Kut-al-Amara on the River Tigris in Mesopotamia. Davies was injured during this campaign. In a letter of 3rd May 1916, Cyril wrote: “R R Davies of my regiment is to go to England. He lives in Worcester and I told him if he should be in Evesham to look you up any time. He is not a very polished sort of man, but I always get on very well with him and he is a very useful fellow at his job.” Cyril, who had also been wounded, was sent to India to recuperate, but Richard Davies’ injuries were of a more severe nature, necessitating a return to England. Davies did go to visit the Sladdens as a letter of 18th July 1916 comments on the trip.

Davies was later attached to the 8th Battalion Dorset Regiment as Captain. At the end of the war he was issued with the Silver War Badge, indicating that he had been honourably discharged from military service due to wounds or sickness.

Richard Davies married Gladys Rose Webster in Worcester in 1920. He remained in Worcester for the rest of his life, dying there on 29th March 1963.