ittle is known about Davy’s early life so I’ve weaved together the different strands from the few documents available in the public domain.

Thomas Daniel Humphry Davy, Humphry to his family, was born in Shanghai on 3 May 1920. His parents both worked at the North China Daily News where his father, Thomas, was a printing manager and his mother, Georgina, was a typist.

His father, Thomas Daniel Davy, was born in Clerkenwell, London, on Christmas Day 1875, the eldest of eight children. He left school at 15 and became a reading boy with a printing firm. He progressed to compositor where his job was to set, compose and arrange type in order for printing. He was 38 when the Great War broke out in 1914 so, according to army regulations, was too old to enlist. Perhaps it was a desire to travel, fuelled by his brother Septimus’s tales of war, that encouraged Thomas to apply for a job overseas, but so it was he joined the North China Daily News.

His mother’s family were already settled in Shanghai where her father, George Pearson, was a marine engineer, a more than useful occupation in a place whose name literally means the “City on the Sea”.

Thomas and Georgina were married in the British Consulate General on 29 July 1919 and settled in an apartment at 17 Yuen Ming, Yuen Road where Humphry was born 10 months later.

Shanghai was a vibrant place to live and was called “The Paris of the East, the New York of the West”. The Old City remained under Chinese control, while foreign concessions to its north and west had developed into new urban areas. What set it apart from other Chinese cities was that merchants controlled it rather than warlords. As such it was a creative haven for art and architecture and boasted the strongest economy in Asia. With dance halls, plush restaurants, international clubs and even a foreign-run racetrack, Shanghai was a city that catered to every whim of the rich.

The North China Daily News, the first English-language newspaper in China, was thriving during this time. In 1924 the owners moved its headquarters to a new building, North China Daily News Building, at Number 17 on the Bund (a waterfront area in central Shanghai), which was the tallest building in the city.

But poverty ran alongside opulence, and the lower-class Chinese population provided much of the cheap labour that kept the city running. Against this background the Communist Party of China was founded by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao in the French concession of Shanghai in 1921.

On 24 May 1922 the Davy family set sail for England aboard the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) ship Novara. The three week journey took in Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Bombay, Aiden, Port Said, Marseilles, Gibraltar and Southampton, arriving at Tilbury Docks, London.

They headed for central London and the Strand Palace Hotel, before staying at 6 Handel Mansions, Brunswick Square, their stated residence for the duration of their stay. I can only speculate that the purpose of their visit was to spend the summer in England and introduce two year old Humphry to his family. His mother had given him the nickname Chippy which had been abbreviated to Chips, the name he was known by for the rest of his life.

On 18 August 1922 the Davy family boarded the P&O ship Mantua bound for Yokohama and returned home to Shanghai.

Humphry’s next recorded visit to England was in the summer of 1928 when he was eight years old. His journey began on 27 July 1928 aboard the P&O ship Ranpura. The family stayed with his uncle Septimus, aunt Maude and cousins Pamela and Beryl at 67 Onslow Gardens, Muswell Hill, London. On the passenger list, Humphry’s father had registered their intended residence as the United Kingdom, so it could be that they were in London for a job interview.

They returned to Shanghai on 19 October 1928 on the P&O ship Naldera. Humphry’s father still listed their intended residence as the United Kingdom on the passenger list, stating his occupation as newspaper manager. It would seem that he was still working for the North China Daily News.

Living in Shanghai but with the regular trips to England, it’s hard to imagine that Humphry, in common with children of many colonial British upper middle class families scattered across the world, felt he had any kind of geographical roots as he entered his teenage years.  The eighteen year age difference between his parents was beginning to cause a strain on their marriage which may also have affected him.

Humphry finally settled in England in 1934, travelling with his parents on 23 May. This time they did not use P&O. Rather, they sailed with the German shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, embarking from the port of Tianjin in northern China and sailing to Dover via Hamburg on the Fulda. With Adolf Hitler having been appointed Chancellor of Germany the previous year and the shipping company run by a National Socialist, the signs of Nazism’s rise must have been present throughout the voyage. Alighting at Hamburg to make the connection to Dover, the gathering storm over Germany would have felt ominous.

Humphry went to live with his uncle Septimus at 30 Oakington Avenue, Harrow. It’s likely that Septimus made a huge impression Humphry. Being almost 20 years younger than his father, he had fought in the Great War with Victory and British War medals to prove it. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in September 1915 as an Air Mechanic First Class and was posted to Egypt as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force shortly after the Battle of Jerusalem in 1917.

Humphry continued his schooling, travelling in to London to attend college every day.

Around this time Septimus, who worked for Dunlop Rubber Co Ltd in London, accepted a job as a Divisional Manager in the Export Department at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham so moved the family to “The Weald”, Little Sutton Lane, Four Oaks in Sutton Coldfield.

Having completed his education, Humphry enlisted with the RAF on 14 February 1938 aged seventeen.

Humphry commenced his ab initio training on 6 October 1938, passing through 12 FTS at RAF Spitalgate, Lincolnshire, in December 1938. He started flying training at 11 FTS at RAF Shawbury on 31 December 1938.

On completion of his course he joined No. 35 Squadron at Cottesmore on 22 July 1939. The squadron was equipped with Fairey Battles but at the outbreak of war in September 1939 it was designated a training unit so supplemented its Battles with Avro Ansons and Bristol Blenheims.

On 30 September 1939 he joined No. 98 Squadron at Hucknall which was also equipped with Fairey Battles. However, during the first nine months of the war, it served as a reserve squadron so did not fly operationally.

Humphry’s appointment as a Pilot Officer was confirmed on 6 October 1939.

Before the Second World War the governments of the United Kingdom and France agreed that in case of war, the light bomber force of the RAF would move to airfields within France from which it could operate against targets in Germany should the decision be taken to do so. To achieve this, the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) was formed on 24 August 1939 from No. 1 Group, and its ten squadrons of Fairey Battles were dispatched to airfields in the Rheims area on 2 September 1939.

It was against this background that, on 3 January 1940, Humphry was posted to No. 150 Squadron of the AASF where he was attached to No. 12 Squadron at Amifontaine on 6 January 1940. The aircrews expected an immediate attack from German forces and with the extreme cold that winter, their sense of foreboding grew. As the “Phoney War” dragged on, Humphry was taken on to the strength of the squadron on 31 March 1940.

As it turned out, no decision was taken to bomb targets in Germany before the enemy finally began their Blitzkrieg in the West on 10 May 1940. The AASF bomber force would have to be used against the advancing Wehrmacht and its lines of communication, with No. 12 Squadron and Humphry leading the way.

The Battle of France had begun.

Accounts of the raid of the 12 May 1940 are varied but using the squadron Operational Record Book (ORB), a contemporaneous account and some well researched sources, I’ve made an attempt to tell an authoritative version. What is unquestionable is that Humphry completed a mission for which he was decorated and which marked him out as an exceptional pilot.

On 10 May a brilliantly executed German raid by glider-borne, elite 7th Flieger Division paratroopers captured the reputedly impregnable Fort Eben-Emael on the Belgian-Dutch border near the Albertkanaal, meaning German ground forces were free to enter Belgium unhindered. The ensuing Blitzkrieg had all but obliterated the Aéronautique Militaire Belge on the ground. So, the following day, they sent out their remaining bombers, nine Fairey Battles and six Gloster Gladiators, in a brave but doomed attempt to knock out the strategically important concrete bridge at Vroenhaven on the Maastricht-Tongres road and the metal bridge a mile or two farther north at Veldwezelt, on the Maastricht-Hasselt road.  Destroying the bridges over the Albertkanaal would delay the German advance. However, both bridges where defended by very heavy anti-aircraft artillery and Messerschmitt Bf.109’s. Few of the bombs hit their intended targets and they were massacred.

On 12 May 1940, No.12 Squadron was given the task of succeeding where the Belgians had failed and destroying these two vital bridges. As the first two days’ raids had been so brutal, the CO asked for volunteers to conduct what was clearly going to be a hopeless mission. The Operation Order required six aircraft to carry out the raid and not surprisingly the whole squadron stepped forward. The CO put the names of all the pilots in a hat and drew six. As each name was called the others wished him luck.

Three aircraft were to attack each of the bridges, but the odds of success were reduced even further when the wireless in Pilot Officer Brereton’s machine failed to work.  Flying Officer Thomas and Humphry circled the aerodrome a couple of times but had no option other than to leave in the hope that Pilot Officer Brereton might catch them up as they were scheduled to rendezvous with fighters. On changing to another aircraft Pilot Officer Brereton found that the hydraulic gear on the bomb racks was jammed, grounding him and his crew. The raid commenced around 08:18 with only five crews;

Target Vroenhaven Bridge,

• Flying Officer Norman Thomas in PH_F P2332 with Sgt Carey and Corporal Campion
• Humphry in PH_G L5241 with Sgt Mansell and LAC Patterson

Target Veldwezelt Bridge

• Flying Officer Donald Garland in PH_K P2204 with Sgt Gray and LAC Reynolds
• Pilot Officer I A McIntosh in PH_N L5439 with Sgt Harper and LAC McNaughton
• Sargent Fred Marland in PH_J L5227 with Sgt Footner and LAC Perrin

Fighter cover was to be provided by eight No.1 squadron Hurricanes led by Squadron Leader John “The Bull” Halahan. They were tasked with clearing enemy fighters over the target and to fly with the low level Battles. Halahan and his pilots were quickly outnumbered by a swarm of Bf.109s from JG27 but, despite suffering heavy attack (Halahan was forced to bail out), they cleared the way for the bombers. Their squadron ORB has a typically haughty description of events;

“The C.O. S/Ldr Halahan led a patrol over Maastricht on the border of Belgium and Holland and the flight had much excitement in combat with various types of enemy aircraft. The C.O. (S/Ldr Halahan) destroyed an ME.109 and an Arado but being hit in the engine he force landed successfully wheels up. F/O Lewis got an ME.109 but was himself on fire and leapt nimbly overboard and landed safely by parachute minus one eyebrow. Kilmartin collected an HE.112. The C.O. (S/Ldr Halahan) had a grandstand seat after landing and witnessed a battle royal between French and German tanks and remarked that the Belgian troops were running faster than the refugees. F/O Lewis aroused doubts in the minds of the simple locals and was slung in the “cooler” for an hour or so. He was later released and speeded his way back to the squadron in a French car.”

Flying Officer Thomas led Humphry into the attack on the Vroenhaven Bridge. Thomas’s bombs hit one end of the structure but his aircraft was damaged and he had to make a forced landing. Thomas and his crew were all safe but captured by German troops. Humphry, following in on the attack, bombed short of the target. He was engaged by a Bf.109, probably flown by Feldwebel Otto Sawallisch of 2./JG27, and hit in the port petrol tank. The Bf.109 came in for the kill but was hit by return fire and seen to be emitting black smoke when it disappeared through a gap in the clouds.  Humphry’s crew reported that the port petrol tank was now billowing white smoke and flames so he gave his crew an executive order to bail out as he struggled to save his burning aircraft. It was an incredibly brave and selfless call by Humphry as he must’ve known the damage would lead to a crash that he may not survive. Mansell came down north east of Maastricht and got back to the aerodrome on a bicycle but Gordon Patterson broke a bone in his left foot when it hit the tail of the aircraft and eventually became a prisoner of war after treatment in the Hospital des Anglais at Liège. Humphry crashed landed his burning aircraft at St. Germain-les-Mons and was taken back to the aerodrome by the French. The CO retrieved the aircraft from the field where Humphry had put it down but as it was damaged beyond repair he burnt it so preventing it falling into enemy hands when the squadron inevitably evacuated.

Flying Officer Donald Garland was to lead three aircraft against the Veldwezelt Bridge. They flew below the cloud base at 1,000 feet and, on reaching the Veldwezelt area, started a shallow bombing run. There were estimated to be some three hundred guns entrenched in a defensive ring around the bridge, and the aircraft was simply blasted out of the sky but not before releasing its bombs. It came down in the village of Lanaken with no survivors. The bodies of the crew were recovered by locals before the German troops could find them. Flying Officer Garland may well have died in a Maastricht Hospital.

The second aircraft flown by Pilot Officer McIntosh, was hit in the main fuel tank, caught fire and went down on the run in to the target. Jettisoning his bombs, McIntosh made a successful crash landing and he and his crew were taken prisoner.

The final Battle of Sgt Marland was also hit when banking after his bomb run, but he lost control and his aircraft dived into the ground with the loss of its crew.

When the smoke had cleared it was evident that the western end of the Veldwezelt Bridge was destroyed. This was attributed to Garland and Gray who were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). In a typically bureaucratic and insensitive decision, the third man of the crew, Leading Aircraftman Lawrence Reynolds, did not receive any medal because he was deemed not to be occupying a “decision making” position. He was not even mentioned in the citation for Garland and Gray’s VC. Published in the London Gazette of 11 June 1940 it read in part:

“Much of the success of this vital operation must be attributed to the coolness and resource of Sgt Gray who navigated Flying Officer Garland’s aircraft under most difficult conditions in such a manner that the whole formation was able to successfully attack the target in spite of subsequent heavy losses.”

Humphry received the immediate award of a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in the field and his citation, published in the London Gazette on 31 May 1940, read as follows;

“Pilot Officer Thomas Daniel Humphry DAVY (41383).

During May, 1940, this officer was engaged in a bombing attack on bridges over the Albert Canal. In the face of intense machine-gun and anti-aircraft fire the bridges were bombed, but the result could not be observed. After delivering a dive-bombing attack on the target, Pilot Officer Davy’s aircraft was attacked by a Messerschmitt 109. The attack was broken off when smoke appeared to be emerging from the enemy. The port petrol tank on his own aircraft was thought to be on fire and Pilot Officer Davy gave orders for the crew to jump clear, but he himself continued the flight for the base until compelled to make a forced landing about 8 kilometres away“.

According to Leading Aircraftman Michael Pitt, a fitter with the squadron, many believed that the hasty decision to decorate Humphry in the field denied him the chance of a VC. Humphry had only turned twenty the previous week.

It’s not certain if Humphry’s heroics were reported in his father’s newspaper, The North China Daily News, but they did make The Straits Times, an English language broadsheet published in Singapore, of 31 May 1940.

LAC Patterson was awarded a Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) which was published in the London Gazette of 31 May 1940. His was the first Canadian DFM of the Second World War.

A contemporaneous account of the raid from Humphry’s aircraft was given by Sgt Mansell to Charles Gardner, a war reporter with the AASF, and published in his book First Blood to the RAF in 1941.

“We were given a fighter escort of 3 aircraft, but when we were about 20 miles from our target, 30 Messerschmitts tried to intercept us. We continued on our course while the 3 fighters waded into the attack. The odds were 10 to 1, but several of those Me’s were brought down, though as a result, we arrived near Maastricht with no company except more enemy fighters and the AA barrage. The Me’s attacked us from the rear. The first I knew about them was when our rear-gunner shouted “Enemy fighters on our tail”. Our pilot turned, and took evasive action, while the gunner shot one of them down. That seemed to frighten the others for they soon sheared off.

The barrage was terrific and as we neared our target we saw the first flight of 3 bombers, now returning home, caught in the thick of the enemy’s fire and all 3 were lost. The big bridge looked a sorry mess and was sagging in the middle, hit by the bombs dropped by the 3 bombers ahead of us. When we delivered our attack, we were about 6000 feet up. We dived to 2000 feet – one aircraft close behind the other – and dropped our bombs. On looking down, we saw that our bridge now matched the other. It sagged in the centre and its iron girders looked far from intact.

Immediately after we had dropped our bombs we turned for home, but the barrage was there waiting for us. It was even more intense, and our aircraft began to show signs of heavy damage. The pilot gave orders to abandon aircraft. The rear gunner jumped first and we have seen nothing of him since. Then I jumped. The pilot remained with his aircraft and managed to bring it down safely.

When I bailed out we were near Leige, and on the ground I saw hundreds of people all pointing at me. As I got nearer I realised the mob was angry; they were gesticulating and waving their fists. I landed and found myself in a small cottage back-garden. Before I had time to disentangle myself from my gear the crowd stormed into the next door garden and dragged me over the fence shouting “Salle Bosche.“

For all the bravery the crews displayed on this raid and the medals awarded after it, the cold, hard numbers tell their own story; five aircraft destroyed, six crew killed, seven crew taken prisoner and only two crew lived to fight another day; Sgt Mansell and Humphry.

The squadron was back in action on 14 May and continued with missions on 15 May, 19 May and 20 May. By now though, the British had begun planning for Operation Dynamo and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force via Dunkirk. The AASF were forced to move from one airfield to another in an effort to keep ahead of the German advance.

In its engagements with enemy aircraft the Fairey Battle had been found to be vulnerable to attack, especially from below and behind, so they were forced to fly at low level which accounted for the heavy losses they experienced. The bravery of the crews was without question.

Humphry’s next mission was on 23 May. The Operations Order called for the squadron to attack a column of 150 tanks on the Arras-Doullens road. Four crews were sent out and Humphry flew Battle PH_D L5249 with Sgt Spiller as his Observer and LAC Akehurst as his Gunner. However, he failed to locate the target because of a cloud bank rising from 3,000 to 8,000 feet.

Humphry was in action the following evening when he was ordered to night bomb the town of Givet and try to cause maximum disruption to the communications there. Once again he flew Battle PH_D L5249 with the same crew. Setting off at 22:05 hours he found visibility was poor so dropped his bombs over enemy territory without being able to see any results.

On 28 May Humphry was ordered to attack and cause maximum damage to the aerodrome at St Hubert. Still flying Battle PH_D L5249 with the now familiar crew, he was unable to locate the target so dropped his bombs on enemy territory.

On 31 May/1 June Humphry flew Battle PH_D L5249 with his regular crew on a night bombing mission to Libramount railway junction. He had difficulty in seeing the target so dropped his bombs over enemy territory and saw a house take a direct hit. He arrived back at the airfield at 03:30.

On 2 June the squadron moved from Echimines to Souge.

On 4 June 1940 Humphry flew Battle N2150, with Sgt. McCathie replacing Sgt. Spiller as his Observer, and dropped incendiary bombs over woods north of St Michel.

On 8 June in Battle N2150 and with the same crew, Humphry attacked tanks and a column of troops in the Abbeville area. Bombs were dropped at the head of the column destroying the road and scattering the troops.

On 13 June Humphry flew Battle L 5383 with the same crew, one of 4 aircraft on a night bombing mission to destroy a pontoon bridge at Les Andelys. However, he had to return because of bad weather conditions.

On 18 June the inevitable happened when No.12 Squadron were forced to leave France. Battles that were serviceable flew home whilst the ground crews made their way the best they could, rendezvousing at RAF Finningley before arriving at RAF Binbrook on 3 July. It was refurbished with Battles and still flew offensive sorties. Amongst other missions it carried out anti-invasion strikes against shipping in Boulogne harbour.

The crews undertook further training in both day and night flying, ready to commence night operations on 23 July.

On the night of 25/26 July Humphry, with Sgt. McCathie and LAC Akehurst, in Battle L5359, were ordered to bomb Evere aerodrome near Brussels but were forced to turn back by bad weather over enemy territory. It was to be his last sortie with the squadron.

With the beginning of the Battle if Britain in July 1940, Fighter Command was in need of extra pilots so volunteers were sought from other commands. Among those who stepped forward was Humphry who received a posting to 12 Operational Training Unit (OTU) Benson in Oxfordshire on 12 August before joining No.19 Squadron, at Fowlmere, on 18 August. It was one of the first squadrons to test out the cannon-armed Spitfire, but the 20mm cannon were beset by stoppages and withdrawn after a short time. Humphry too was only there for a short time and was posted back to Bomber Command with No.226 Squadron at RAF Sydenham, Belfast, on 22 August.

As the squadron were equipped with Battles, it’s highly likely that Bomber Command required pilots experienced in flying them for a particular type of mission. They were asked to fly regular dawn and dusk patrols along the entire coast of Northern Ireland looking for any unusual activity, as a precaution against possible landings by enemy agents. During his first two weeks he also participated in different tactical exercises involving troops, fighter aircraft and bombing with the Battles.

On 3 September 1940 Humphry was promoted to the rank of Flying Officer.

On 8 September the squadron was put on “immediate standby” because of concerns about invasion. Indeed plans were drawn up to move the squadron in the event of the Germans landing.

On 15 September, two massive waves of German attacks were decisively repulsed by the RAF, who deployed every aircraft at their disposal in doing so. Two days later Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion, his plan for the invasion of Britain. On 16 September, the Germans began a new phase of the Battle, night time bombing of British cities.

Humphry was posted to No.72 Squadron at Biggin Hill on 28 September. The squadron had been in the thick of the action since August so there was little time for him to acclimatise. He flew his first patrol in Spitfire N.3229 on 1 October and was up again twice in the following afternoon in Spitfire X.4483.

Control of the skies above was Kent and East Anglia remained crucial so the squadron maintained regular patrols. Humphry twice took to the air in Spitfire X.4483 on 9 October and again in Spitfire K.9935 on the morning of 12 October, the day Hitler issued a directive releasing forces from Operation Sea Lion for combat on other fronts, effectively cancelling the invasion. He was up again in Spitfire R.6881 on 13 October 1940.

Humphry made his final operational flights of the Battle of Britain on 28 October when he flew two patrols in Spitfire R.6881.

Humphry’s promotion to the rank of Flying Officer was confirmed in the London Gazette of 12 November 1940.

The squadron was taken out of the front line and moved north to RAF Leuchars, Fife, on 29 November, with Humphry proceeding there by air. They then moved to RAF Acklington, Northumberland, on 15 December 1940. Enemy activity was now minimal during the day so the squadron resigned itself to training flights with the occasional patrol during which they did not encounter any enemy aircraft.

On 29 January 1941 Humphry was posted to No. 315 (Polish) Squadron as a Flight Commander.

No. 315 (Polish) Squadron formed at RAF Acklington 21 January 1941 and was equipped with Hurricanes. Initially it was commanded by Squadron Leader HD Cooke with Humphry and Flight Lieutenant Edy taking charge of A Flight and B Flight respectively. Humphry would have found some commonality with his Polish comrades as many of them were veterans of the Battle of France, where they served with the French Armée de l’air. In recording his posting the squadron ORB stated Humphry had three confirmed victories to his credit but I have been unable to verify this in my research.

On 13 March 1941 squadron moved to RAF Speke where its principal task was to fly patrols over naval convoys. Humphry flew his first patrol in Hurricane P.3112 on 18 March, most likely as cover for the Harlingen cargo ship that departed Liverpool that day.

On 30 March he flew an operational patrol in Hurricane V.7003 and found himself under fire from local anti-aircraft guns. Fortunately he wasn’t hit.

The Luftwaffe had stepped up their bombing of Liverpool in the first two weeks of March. Indeed the Speke area was hit on 14 March but after this raid the attacks slackened off and nothing of note was reported for the remainder of the month.

On 15 April the squadron experienced its first heavy air raid and personnel were involved in extinguishing incendiary bombs around the aerodrome and putting out fires outside the camp. On 24 April Humphry led A Flight on a patrol in Hurricane V.6920, most likely covering ships QSMV Dominion Monarch, Highland Chieftain and Reina Del Pacifico that all left Liverpool that afternoon. On 26 April he flew Hurricane P.3112 at the head of A Flight on another patrol, most likely protecting convoy OG.60 that departed Liverpool that day.  However he may have covered any of the following ships also left Liverpool independently; Beaverhill, Belpareil, Chateauroux, Clan Macquarrie, Imperial Star and Ixion.

May 1941 saw a renewal of the air assault on Liverpool with a bombardment on the first seven nights of the month that left the city devastated. Consequently Humphry flew more patrols. On 1 May he took Hurricane V.7003 up to patrol over the aerodrome. On 7 May he flew as escort for convoy OB.319 in Hurricane V.3835. The following day he patrolled over base in Hurricane P.3835. On 13 May was airborne at 0635 to patrol base in Hurricane P.3835 and on 17 May scrambled to meet enemy aircraft in Hurricane P.3112. On 25 May he took Hurricane P.4200 up on patrol and on 27 May he again flew as escort for the Lanarkshire and Port Wyndham in Hurricane V.6979.

The squadron’s aim of becoming all Polish was considered desirable as Polish personnel were ready to replace their British counterparts. So on 20 June 1941 Humphry was posted to the Merchant Shipping Fighter Unit, still at Speke.

In the last couple of months he had received news from his parents which would surely have affected him.

Since his parents had left Humphry in England and returned to Shanghai, their marriage had begun to break down. Without him as a focus, the 18 year age gap may have become more pronounced. According to documents included with his father’s last will and testament, his parents divorced on 28 March 1940. His mother re-married an RH Shrap, described in the papers as a German or Austrian, something that may not have sat well with Humphry.

His father passed on 16 March 1941 but hadn’t re-arranged his affairs post-divorce so Humphry’s mother was still executor of his will. The only provision made for Humphry was for a sum of money to be placed in trust for his education. His mother renounced her right of probate of the will then was required to retract it in the absence of anyone else to administer the legalities.

At the conclusion of her ex-husband’s affairs, Humphry’s mother lived in retirement as Mrs Georgina Shrap at the Palace Hotel in Shanghai.

Following the Nazi invasion of Europe, witnessed at first-hand by Humphry, British merchant shipping was unable to use the English Channel. Liverpool therefore became the principal trans-ocean port with Greenock, in Scotland, the second. Convoys crossing the Atlantic with food and supplies came to Britain via the north-western approaches.

But increased activities of U-boats, surface raiders and long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, like the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Kondor, meant British shipping losses in the North Atlantic grew alarmingly in the latter half of 1940.

On 5 March a directive from Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated that “In view of various German statements, we must assume the Battle of the Atlantic has begun.” Among the measures that his directive called for was “extreme priority to fitting out ships to catapult or otherwise launch fighter aircraft against bombers attacking our shipping.” Such was the urgency Churchill’s request that proposals were required within a week.

The previous October the Directorate of Research and Development (Air) had asked Hawker Aircraft to investigate the feasibility of modifying the Hurricane Mk1 for catapult launching. They came up with catapult spools and a modification kit that would convert the Hurricane MkI into a Sea Hurricane MkIA. Concurrently, work was put in hand to install a specifically designed catapult on the bows of 35 selected merchant vessels. The astonishing thing about the launching pad of each catapult was that it was powered by rockets. The firing of the catapult accelerated the Sea Hurricane to 75 miles per hour in just 70 feet at the end of which the carriage was arrested by a hydraulic buffer leaving the aircraft to continue on its way. The catapult vessels became known as Catapult Aircraft Merchantmen or CAM ships.

In May 1941 with the technology in place, Fighter Command sent out a call for volunteers. The circular made it clear that the work was of a very hazardous nature and that once a Hurricane had been launched out of range of land the pilot had no other choice but to bale out or ditch in the sea.  Pilots stood a chance of being picked up by an escort vessel, but all were aware that they had reached the point of no return. They were known as Britain’s “suicide pilots.”

Even so, there was no shortage of volunteers, among who was Humphry. It’s no surprise he stepped forward as he must’ve been aware of the Unit’s formation given that operations were to be run from Speke and his Commanding Officer in No.315 Squadron had been involved in discussions with naval personnel over convoy patrol difficulties. A veteran of convoy patrols and a proven sailor, having spent much of his early life on voyages between China and England, volunteering for MSFU was a logical step.

The MSFU’s ORB set out its purpose as follows;

“The Unit was formed at RAF Station Speke on 5/5/41, the circumstances of the initial formation of the Unit is to implement the policy of providing merchant shipbourne fighter aircraft for the protection of shipping against air attack.”

Despite being a fully operational and decorated fighter pilot, Humphry still had to undergo a rigorous training schedule consisting of lectures, flying and ground training.

Lectures encompassed; general talk on arrival, procedure at sea and pay, discipline and conduct in neutral countries, operational aspect of MSFU, intelligence, radio communication (R/T) and description and operation of High Frequency Homing organisation maritime radios.

Flying training comprised of three launches on land and one on a ship, interceptions and homing practice and air firing practice on a drogue.

Ground training consisted of; parachute and dinghy drill, launching drill, navigation and combat tactics when attacking Fw 200 and He111.

Each team was comprised of one pilot for Atlantic runs (or two pilots for voyages to Russia, Gibraltar, or the Mediterranean Sea), with one fitter, one rigger, one radio-telephone operator, one Fighter Direction Officer (FDO), and a seaman torpedoman who worked on the catapult as an electrician. The CAM ship’s chief engineer would be responsible for the catapult, and the first mate would act as Catapult Duty Officer (CDO), responsible for firing the catapult when directed. The relationship between pilot and FDO was crucial because the FDO’s role was to direct the pilot onto his target and home him back to the convoy after combat.

Having sat through the lectures, on 30 June Humphry completed R/T training with his FDO Sub Lieutenant Pickwell.  On 4 July he took over his crew and a Sea Hurricane, V.6751, commenced checking all equipment and test firing the guns. On the morning of 5 July, Humphry flew the Sea Hurricane to test R/T and the performance of the guns in a dummy air attack. He carried out some local flying practice in the afternoon. All that was needed now was a successful rocket launch.

At 3pm on 6 July fifty one year old First World War pilot, Squadron Leader Louis Strange (DSO, OBE, MC, DFC and Bar), carried out the first rocket powered launch from RAF Speke in Hurricane V.7253. After leaving the launching platform, the aircraft dropped two feet, leaving only four feet ground clearance but accelerated and climbed well. As the launch was considered satisfactory, the order was given for the training of pilots and crews to commence forthwith. A second launch was carried out on 8 July that all pilots and their crews attended under instruction.

On 7 July Humphry continued local flying practice in Hurricane R.4177.

On 9 July Humphry worked with his FDO on homing practices and R/T tests that were successful over a distance of 80 miles. Later that day Humphry departed for Abbotsinch, Greenock, in Hurricane R.4177. His FDO, Sub Lieutenant Pickwell, took their crew, allocated No 21, to meet up with Humphry by rail.

On 22 July Humphry completed his training with a catapult launch off the deck of the SS Empire Eve. He settled into the cockpit of Hurricane W.9218 which was hoisted from the dockside by crane onto the catapult trolley. The rockets were placed in position and the circuits were tested. The ship weighed anchor and sailed down the Clyde to an appropriate launch point. On the bridge, at the catapult and in the firing hut, all preliminary checks were completed. Then, with a startling eruption of pyrotechnics, the Hurricane rocketed on its trolley along the rail accelerating with a force approaching 3.5G. Humphry’s head will have been pressed back against a heavily padded head-rest that absorbed the jerk and he will have suffered a slight blurring of vision. On take-off the aircraft swung violently to the left and dropped slightly before Humphry was able to gain full control and climb away from the bow of the ship. Although R/T test was quite successful, the ORB described Humphry’s effort as “a very poor launch.”

On 27 July Humphry embarked from Gourock on his first voyage on the SS Empire Eve to join Convoy ON.1, which had departed from Liverpool the previous day, bound for Nova Scotia.

His crew consisted of Sub Lieutenant Pickwell as his FDO, Corporal Avent, AC1 Stowe, AC1 Wheatley and AC1 Rafferty. Humphry’s aircraft was Sea Hurricane R.4177, Squadron Code NJ-V. No combat launch was necessary during the six and a half week round trip but that didn’t mean he and his crew could relax and assume they were off duty. Renowned New Zealand pilot Squadron Leader Bob Spurdle, DFC and Bar, devotes a few pages of his book The Blue Arena to his time with MSFU, including a description of a sea trip. It’s reasonable to assume that his account is typical of those undertaken by Humphry.

He will have spent the first couple of days checking and storing aircraft spares, tools and ammunition and supervising the arming of the rocket sled. Escort vessels circled the convoy and land based fighters flew patrols on the days the convoy was in range of their aerodromes. Humphry had flown such patrols himself from Speke. Once the convoy was beyond the range of land based fighters, Humphry was “stood to” in full flying kit from dawn to dusk. Every few hours he started the Hurricane’s engine and warmed it up to ensure it was ready for immediate take off.

Each convoy was limited to speed by that of its slowest ship and the time must have dragged as Humphry spent the daylight hours scanning the grey skies for enemy aircraft. Once out of range of the Condors, Humphry was “stood down” but was now required to stand regular ships’ watches as the convoy was still vulnerable to attack by U boats.

On arrival at Halifax, on 12 August, Humphry will have found it cold but, with relaxed licensing laws, inviting. The Green Parrot was a popular bar with British servicemen. By now Halifax had become a primary convoy assembly port, being assigned the fast or priority convoys largely carrying troops, essential materiel and foodstuffs, so it didn’t take long for the crew to be recalled for the return journey. She departed, carrying a cargo of grain, with Convoy HX 146 on 21 August.

Humphry would have been back on watch and ensured his crew re-armed his aircraft and that the rocket sled was functional. The aircraft was at the mercy of the wind and rain so, depending on the severity of the weather, needed constant attention to ensure it was flight ready. Once in range of the Condors, Humphry will have donned his full flying kit and been in a constant state of readiness. Once the convoy could be protected by land based fighters, Humphry will have been “stood down”.

They returned to Abbotsinch on 7 September and attempted two catapult launches that both failed because of fault with the electrical circuits. Evaluation of the sea trip concluded that food and accommodation were “not bad” and that relations with the Merchant Navy were “good, with all except Captain”.

On 3 September Humphry was promoted to Flight Lieutenant.

On 11 September Humphry flew back to Speke.

Regulations said that on return from a sea trip pilots were to spend one month ashore to allow seven days leave and fifteen hours minimum amount of flying. Refresher courses were considered essential and Humphry commenced his 12 September, with some local flying in Hurricane AE.965.

On 20 September Humphry and his crew were put on standby for embarkation. However, on 25 September, Humphry was instructed to proceed to RAF Wilmslow on Special Duty. On arrival there he was told to pack his kit as he was to be posted as Officer Commanding the MSFU detachment in Gibraltar. The one convoy bound for Gibraltar around this time was OG.75 which departed Milford Haven on 26 September, arriving on 13 October. The Empire Gale is the only CAM ship that docked there so it’s safe to assume Humphry was aboard.

The National Archive holds an ORB from the Gibraltar pool that covers Humphry’s time there but, peculiarly, he’s not mentioned in it. After six months he was replaced by Flight Lieutenant Redman.

On 5 April 1942 Humphry left Gibraltar on the Empire Gale, which was carrying iron ore, as part of convoy HG 81.  He arrived back at Speke on 17 April 1942.

After a period of leave Humphry completed his first flight since returning from Gibraltar on 2 May. He took off in Hurricane L.1889 to re-familiarise himself with local flying conditions. His practice regime continued the next day as he carried out some aerobatics in Hurricane in AG.211 and Hurricane V.7166 at over 5,000 feet. On 4 May he conducted some navigation practice in Hurricane V.7166 before flying to RAF Woodvale and back in a light aircraft in preparation for a refresher catapult launch which he completed on 4 May in Hurricane V.7162.

The intense post sea trip flying training continued throughout the rest of the month. Details of the type of flying and aircraft he flew can be found here.

On 31 May Humphry and Sub Lieutenant Earnshaw travelled by road to Liverpool to meet up with their Crew No.2 and prepare for embarkation on the SS Empire Ocean as part of convoy ON.100 bound for Halifax.  He departed Halifax on 21 June as part of convoy HX.195 and arrived back at Speke on 5 July having not been required to launch on either leg of the voyage.

After his obligatory period of rest Humphry began flying again on 18 July and details can be found here.

On 23 July he flew to Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and back in Hurricane V.7644. The purpose of the fIight is not recorded but it would be nice to think he took the opportunity to “beat-up” his famly’s home in Four Oaks just a few miles away.

After a fortnight’s rest Humphry resumed flying with the purpose of building up his hours and details can be found here.

On the morning of 13 September, Humphry had carried out practice flying, air to air firing with cine camera, in Hurricane V.7166 as he had many times before. He was back up again in the afternoon, this time in Hurricane P.3868,  and was detailed to fly in an interception exercise simulating a bomber for the fighters to attack.  The Unit’s ORB describes what happened;

F/Lt T D H Davy DFC was killed in a flying accident at approx. 15.25 hours today at the Old Racecourse, Babel, Hollywell, Flintshire when flying Hurricane IA P.3868. The pilot was detailed to fly as bomber aircraft for an interception exercise, and as the aircraft approached the fighters, it was seen to carry out a steep turn to the right at about 2,000 feet and a few seconds later was seen spinning and to crash into the ground and catch fire. The cause of the accident is at present obscure.

The official Air Ministry’s Accident Report Form 1180 stated that the cause of the accident was “due to failure to recover from a flat spin after a high speed stall induced by a steep turn.”

The ORB went on to describe Humphry’s service;

This officer has been with the Unit since 20.6.41 and had completed 3 sea trips. He was for six months at Gibraltar in charge of MSFU Detachment there.

F/Lt Davy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for the part he played in one of the most famous raids of the War – that on the two bridges across the Albert Canal, near Mastricht – made by six Fairey Battles on 12 May 1940 during the Battle of France. To quote “Bomber Command” – the crews which manned them were chosen by lot, since everyone had volunteered. They went in low disregarding the enemy fighters above and the AA fire below. Five of the six were shot down. The sixth (piloted by P/O Davy) crashed on fire inside our lines, the pilot having instructed his crew to jump. One end of the bridge was demolished. Two Victoria Crosses were awarded to the crew of the leading Battle.

Humphry’s funeral took place on 17 September and was described in the Unit’s ORB like so;

F/Lt Davy DFC was buried at Anfield Cemetery. A funeral service was held at Garston church, attended by W/C Pinkerton, 20 officers and 40 airmen representing MSFU. Squadron Leader Mattias represented the Station Commander. Mr and Mrs Davy, Uncle and Aunt of the deceased officer, were the chief mourners. After the service at Garston Church the cortege proceeded to Anfield Cemetery where the body was interred with service honours. The service was conducted by the Vicar of Garston Church, assisted by Squadron Leader Sheppard, the O.D. Chaplain, Speke.

He was laid to rest in Section. 5. Church of England Collective, grave 85, alongside three other casualties of war*, and remembered on Screen Wall Panel 2 of the War Memorial.

Thomas Daniel Humphry Davy fought in the Battle of France and was awarded the DFC before the age of twenty. He fought in the Battle of Britain on the front line at Biggin Hill, helped integrate Polish pilots into the RAF, volunteered to be fired off a merchant ship by a jet propelled catapult and was killed in a flying accident. Yet there are no photographs of him in the history books and little was known of his life outside of his service.

During my research I was able to trace Humphry’s last living relative for whom he is a memory, his cousin Pamela.  She graciously agreed to meet me so I was able to fill in some of the gaps of his life. We have agreed to organise the placing of a memorial on his unmarked grave.

*Laid to rest in collective grave with Humphry

• Herbert Watkin, Private 3765771 , 30th Bn., South Lancashire Regiment who died on 26 June 1942. No other details are available.
• Norman Grenfell Hastings, Able Seamen C/JX 125488, HMS Havock, who died of wounds on 18 October 1942. He was the son of Charles Henry Grenfell Hastings and Mary Ellen Hastings, of Carlisle.
• Alexander Adams, Gunner 6290842, 2 Battery, 1 Maritime Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery who died on 19 October 1942 age 22