Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids, (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was a British

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of the First World War. Rhys-Davids was born in 1897 to a distinguished family. His father was a professional academic and his mother a prolific author, which afforded the young Rhys-Davids thorough schooling. He showed considerable potential in all subjects and was an excellent student. At the age of 14 Rhys-Davids joined

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

as a

King's Scholar A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's School ...

. He gained his

School Certificate The School Certificate was a qualification issued by the Board of Studies, New South Wales, typically at the end of Year 10. The successful completion of the School Certificate was a requirement for completion of the Higher School Certificate. T ...

in July 1913 with higher marks than any other student. In 1914 war had broken out and in mid-1916 Rhys-Davids applied for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps. On 28 August 1916 he reported for training. Rhys-Davids completed his training in the spring of 1917 and was assigned to No. 56 Squadron RFC on 7 March 1917. Rhys-Davids gained his first victory on 23 May 1917 and began a steady run of success. Only two days later he gained his fifth air victory and became an ace. It was during the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

(July–November 1917) that Rhys-Davids scored the majority of his successes, gaining 22 more victories by the time of his death. On 23 September Rhys-Davids shot down the German ace

Werner Voss Werner Voss (; 13 April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories. A dyer's son from Krefeld, he was a patriotic young man while still in school. He began his military career in Novem ...

(48 victories), who was killed; and possibly also Carl Menckhoff (39 victories). By 11 October 1917, Rhys-Davids had shot down five more enemy aircraft for an official total of 27 aerial victories – 23 of them individual kills. Rhys-Davids had earned a reputation as a "fighter", and pursued enemy aircraft wherever and whenever he spotted them. On 27 October 1917 he pursued a group of German aircraft over

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. Th ...

, Belgium. He was never seen or heard from again. Post-war analysis suggests Rhys-Davids may have been shot down by German ace Karl Gallwitz. Despite disappearing less than five miles from the crash site of Werner Voss, shot down by Rhys-Davids one month earlier, his remains have never been found.

Early life

Family and education

Rhys-Davids was born to Thomas William Rhys-Davids and Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys-Davids in

Forest Hill, London Forest Hill is a district of the London Borough of Lewisham in south east London, England, on the South Circular Road, which is home to the Horniman Museum. History Like much of London, Forest Hill was only sparsely populated until the m ...

. His father was of Anglo- Welsh descent and his mother was English. Thomas Rhys-Davids was born in 1843 the son of a Congregational minister.Revell 2010, p. 13. After schooling at Brighton he refused to be trained as a solicitor and he enrolled at Breslau University to study

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

in which he took a PhD. While there, he learned

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

and studied Buddhism. In 1864 he joined the Ceylon Civil Service as acting secretary to the Governor. While acting as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

Rhys-Davids ruled in favour of a native over an Englishmen during a land-ownership dispute leading him to be ostracised by the British community on the island. In 1872 he left for England. In 1877 he passed the

Bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

but practised little law. In 1877 he joined the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

and four years later founded the

Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...

, translating Buddhist literature. In 1882 he was appointed Professor of Pali at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. It was there he met Caroline Foley.Revell 2010, p. 13. Caroline Augusta Foley was born in 1859, one of ten children of Reverend John Foley and Caroline Augusta Windham. Rhys-Davids' great-grandfather was Vice Admiral William Lukin who had assumed the name Windham in 1824 upon inheriting

Felbrigg Hall Felbrigg Hall is a 17th-century English country house near the village of that name in Norfolk. Part of a National Trust property, the unaltered 17th-century house is noted for its Jacobean architecture and fine Georgian interior. Outside i ...

. Caroline joined

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and gained her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1886. She was awarded a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1889 and was elected a fellow in 1896. While reading

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, Caroline was advised by her professor to further her interests in Indian philosophy by studying Sanskrit and Pali. Upon contacting the language department she was assigned to Professor Rhys-Davids. They began a relationship which was formalised into marriage in 1894.Revell 2010, p. 14. The couple had three children within the first three years: Vivien Brynhilda Carloine Foley (b. July 1895 – 1978), Arthur Percival Foley (b. 27 September 1897) and a second daughter, Nesta Foley (1900–1973). Unlike most parents of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, the parents of Rhys-Davids spent a great deal of their time with their children, although they employed a child minder named Minna, a German woman. The first words of Arthur and his sister were German and the children often used German phrases. Nevertheless, Rhys-Davids's parents continued to be busy academics. In 1905 his father became a professor at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. His mother became a prolific author.Revell 2010, p. 17. At the age of three Rhys-Davids started

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

at the Manor Mount High School For Girls in Forest Hill. In 1905 he left Manor Mount High School, sixth in his class, before spending the summer in Switzerland by Lake Champex. On 27 September 1905 he joined the Sale, Brooklands and Ashton-Upon-Mersey High School for Boys. Excelling at school, his parents sent him to Doctor Summerfield's Preparatory School near

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Rhys-Davids stayed there until September 1910, when he completed the Scholarship examinations for

. After two and a half days of exams, Rhys-Davids was questioned by a formidable array of Eton notables. Rhys-Davids was duly elected as a ''Colleger''—a term used for successful candidates, who usually numbered 10. There were two types of pupil: Oppidans—fee-paying pupils numbering 1,000—and

s or Collegers. The distinction was held to be between money and ability; Oppidans viewed Collegers, financially poorer, as "unwashed saps, tugs and swots", while Collegers regarded Oppidans as "

philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, whe ...

" and "

hearties Hearties was a term used for athletic students (particularly rowers) at the University of Oxford and elsewhere, especially in the 19th and early 20th century. The term is often used in contrast to the less athletic "aesthetes". At Christ Church ...

". In spring 1911 he was enrolled at Eton College as a King's Scholar. Despite poor health—he was asthmatic and had other unspecified maladies—he took part in football, cricket, the

Eton Wall Game The Eton wall game is a game that originated at and is still played at Eton College. It is played on a strip of ground 5 metres wide and 110 metres long ("The Furrow") next to a slightly curved brick wall ("The Wall") erected in 1717. It is one ...

, and the

Eton Field Game The Field Game is one of two codes of football devised and played at Eton College. The other is the Eton Wall Game. The game is like association football in some ways – the ball is round, but one size smaller than a standard football, and may n ...

. He was also an accomplished

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

player. Rhys-Davids excelled at Classics—

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. In July 1913 Rhys-Davids won his Division or Class, beating his nearest rival by 53 marks. In Eton terms, he was now considered a specialist. On 12 December 1915 he was nominated for the Newcastle (Domus Exhibition) Scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford, and by 1916 was named Captain of the School. He was also inducted into the Eton Debating Society. As a person of consequence he was mentioned in ''The Eton Chronicle'', the school's newspaper. On 7 April 1916 it was announced that Rhys-Davids had won the

Newcastle Scholarship The Newcastle Scholarship is an annual prize awarded at Eton College in England for the highest performance in a series of special written examinations taken over the course of a week. It was instituted and first awarded in 1829 and is the college ...

. At this point, Rhys-Davids gave the first indication he was interested in becoming a pilot and joining the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).

Royal Flying Corps

On 28 August 1916 Rhys-Davids reported to No. 2 School of Aeronautics at Oxford and billeted in

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

. Rhys-Davids began flight training but did not enjoy life in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and complained about the "coarse and uneducated company".Revell 2010, p. 73. Rhys-Davids's time did not last long at Exeter, for he was transferred to the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at ...

Upavon Aerodrome Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993 ...

for further training. One of his instructors there was Keith Muspratt, who was the same age as Rhys-Davids and had been educated at Selborne College in East London,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. He had taken his

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

certificate in his last year of school; a talented pilot, the RFC recognised his ability and commissioned him as an instructor. Rhys-Davids became firm friends with Muspratt. Rhys-Davids completed basic training by flying three hours solo at Netheravon. He graduated to operational types. He hoped to gain his flight certificates by Christmas 1916, but that involved 25 hours solo flying, night landings, cross country, artillery observations, bomb dropping and aerial photography. At Upavon he flew Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and

Avro 504 The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

s. By December 1916 he had completed his training and was flying without an instructor regularly. By late January 1917 Rhys-Davids was flying

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying character ...

s almost exclusively. On 28 January he "looped" one for the first time. At the end of the month he was sent to Turnberry Airfield and Ayrshire for gunnery training. The course finished on 1 March 1917 and he was given leave. By 6 March he was back at Upavon awaiting a posting. On 7 March he received news he was to be posted to No. 56 Squadron RFC. The squadron boasted the most famous ace in the RFC— Captain

Albert Ball Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer b ...

, a fighter pilot with 30 air victories. The squadron had also re-equipped with the S.E.5, considered one of the most successful designs of the First World War. On 7 April 1917, Rhys-Davids left for France.

War service

From beginner to ace

Rhys-Davids' beginning as a fighter pilot was inauspicious. He misjudged a landing and totally wrecked his SE5 ''A4847'' when it overturned on landing and broke its fuselage in two. Rhys-Davids sprained his back. Lacking an aircraft he was effectively grounded for a month. After a brief test on 2 May 1917 in ''A4868'' Rhys-Davids flew his first combat mission the following morning escorting Martinsyde G.100 bombers from 27 Squadron. On 7 May Rhys-Davids took part in a disastrous sortie. The day was cloudy with thick layers of cumulus between 2,000 and 10,000 feet. Rhys-Davids's flight kept just below the cloud to avoid attack, and headed towards Cambrai. Eleven Royal Aircraft Factory SE5s of 56 Squadron ran into the experienced German airmen of

Jasta 11 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 ("No 11 Fighter Squadron"; commonly abbreviated to Jasta 11) was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 Armee's “Kampfeinsitzer” or KEKs) 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the Germ ...

of the

Flying Circus Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in ...

. One of the Squadron 56 flight commanders, famous ace

(44 victories), was killed when he likely flew into the ground after becoming disorientated in low-lying cloud. Three other British pilots were shot down, including Rhys-Davids. He came under attack from an Albatros D.V which was painted red, with a green band behind the cockpit. The pilot was Kurt Wolff, a very experienced pilot and ace with 20 victories. Rhys-Davids was unaware he was under attack until he saw Wolff's tracers pass his aircraft. He evaded Wolff's initial attack and a duel for position followed. Rhys-Davids's guns jammed but he managed to get up to Wolff's height and took evasive action. But he had taken hits to the wing, undercarriage and engine. He kept cool and continued turning, denying the German an easy shot. As Rhys-Davids was deciding just how best to escape his hazardous position, Wolff abandoned the fight and headed for

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

. Rhys-Davids headed for British lines, his engine streaming water; west of Arras his engine finally seized up. He attempted to glide to Belle Vue but had insufficient height and force-landed near La Herliere. The reason for Wolff's decision to break off combat is unknown. He may have run out of ammunition or perhaps was low on fuel. More bad luck followed as ''A4868'' seemed plagued with engine trouble and he was forced to crash-land again on 18 May. On 20 May he flew a bomber escort mission and fought off an interception by German fighters. On 23 May, Rhys-Davids gained his first victory, shooting an

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service ('' Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

fighter down out of control. On 24 May he scored three victories in an hour. One day later, he shot down another for his fifth victory and became a

. The second to fifth victories were against enemy observer aircraft; Rhys-Davids repeated the tactics of diving and eliminating the gunner before bringing down the aircraft. In late May No. 56 Squadron moved to

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...

. On 26 May he destroyed another Albatros followed by another on 4 and 7 June, the former date being the first day of the seven-day battle for Messines. On 5 June 1917, after his sixth triumph, he received a telegram informing him that along with Captain Cyril M. Crowe and Second Lieutenant Reginald Hoidge he had been awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC). During the last battle Rhys-Davids's SE5, A4563, had its propeller damaged and its right top wing's main spar was shattered by ground fire. In June, Rhys-Davids returned to England to take part in

Home Defence A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

duties. He returned to France in late June. On 12 July Rhys-Davids bounced and shot down an enemy scout then followed it up with a DFW CV which crash-landed. Its crew—Eugen Mann and Albert Hahnel—were taken prisoner. Hahnel was badly wounded. Rhys-Davids followed this success with victories against Albatros' on 13, 17 and 21 July 1917. The beginning of the Third Ypres Campaign on 31 July provided Rhys-Davids with the opportunity to increase his successes. On 3 September, he destroyed an Albatros D.V. On the 5th, he shot down two more D.Vs and drove another one out of the battle claiming it out of control, all within 45 minutes. On 9 September he scored again, downing two more Albatros' whilst dispatching another on 14 September.

A famous dogfight

On 23 September, Rhys-Davids was the victor in one of the most famous dogfights of the war. McCudden led the Squadron on a trip over the front lines at 9,000 feet. There were large numbers of aircraft, both British and German, in the air. McCudden dived on a German reconnaissance machine and shot it down. Re-grouping at 6,000 feet another German formation was spotted. McCudden was about to attack, but noticed ahead, an SE5 spinning down with a German fighter on its tail. The SE5, from No. 609 Squadron RFC, was piloted by a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Harold A. Hamersley. His aircraft mortally wounded, he spun downwards hoping to throw the German off and get closer to the ground. The German stayed behind, firing all the way. A fellow member of 609, Chidlaw-Roberts, attempted to assist, but was shot up by the German Fokker F.I pilot and retired from the fray. Squadron leader Caldwell, 609, saw the approaching SE5s of 56 Squadron. Believing odds of seven-to-one to be good odds, he "left them (the SE5's) to it". McCudden and Rhys-Davids attacked from the left and right and soon the German was in the midst of six British machines. McCudden explained;

... the German triplane was in the middle of our formation, and its handling was wonderful to behold. The pilot seemed to be firing at us all simultaneously, and although I got behind him a second time, I could hardly stay there for a second. His movements were so quick and uncertain ...

Rhys-Davids,

James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...

Geoffrey Hilton Bowman Group Captain Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman, (2 May 1891 – 25 March 1970) was a British First World War fighter ace credited with 32 victories. After attaining the rank of major in the Royal Flying Corps, he later became a group captain in t ...

, Richard Maybery, Keith Muspratt, and Verschoyle Cronyn were all now engaged in battle with the tenacious German, who made no attempt to escape. He fired on and hit McCudden in the wing, and forced Muspratt and Cronyn out of the battle with hits to their engines. C Flight arrived, led by Reginald Hoidge, as another German fighter, a red-nosed Albatros, arrived to assist the besieged triplane. Hoidge and Maybery attempted to attack the triplane but were unsuccessful, as was a counter-move by the Germans which was broken up by McCudden and Rhys-Davids. As Rhys-Davids attacked the Fokker the Albatros engaged him from astern. Maybery forced it to disengage. The triplane was now alone in the fight. The German repeatedly evaded the British fighters' attacks. Eventually he made a flat turn, enabling Rhys-Davids to get onto his tail. Bowman believed the German was momentarily distracted and intent on attacking himself, otherwise doubting Rhys-Davids' ability to get onto the Fokker's tail so easily. With his propeller "boss almost on the rudder" Rhys-Davids fired. The Fokker dived, level and straight for the first time, toward German lines. Rhys-Davids remained behind and then turned away. As Rhys-Davids turned away the German made a fatal error. He turned with the Englishman and brought his machine back into Rhys-Davids' path. Rhys-Davids fired an entire drum of ammunition at the German and broke off to avoid a collision. Climbing, Rhys-Davids saw the German machine, its engine off, heading west. Rhys-Davids made several more attacks with the Fokker going down in a shallow right-hand turn. McCudden saw the machine crash:

he was very low ... still being engaged by an SE ... the pilot being Rhys-Davids. I noticed the triplane's movements were very erratic ... I saw him go into a steep dive ... and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments.
As long as I live I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single-handed fought seven of us for ten minutes and also put some bullets through all our machines. His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent, and in my opinion he was the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight.

While McCudden watched the triplane crash, Rhys-Davids spotted the Albatros and dispatched it, firing from 100 to 30 yards and severely damaging the machine which force-landed. (The Albatros is said in some accounts to have belonged to Carl Menckhoff, but Menckhoff made no mention of this engagement in his later memoirs, and his involvement has been questioned.) Rhys-Davids then returned to base at 18:35–18:40. That evening there was much speculation about the identity of the German pilot. The Germans soon announced that an ace pilot named

had not returned from a sortie and was posted as

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...

. Rhys-Davids came in for a shower of congratulations from the Squadron upon learning the identity of his victory. Rhys-Davids was less sanguine; he lamented to McCudden; "if only I could have brought him down alive".

Final flight

During the next three weeks, Rhys-Davids would gain five more victories, his last on 11 October 1917. On 1 October 1917 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

. It was announced in the ''London Gazette'' on 18 March 1918:

2nd Lt. Arthur Percival Foley Rhys Davids, M.C., R.F.C., Spec Res. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in bringing down nine enemy aircraft in nine weeks. He is a magnificent fighter, never failing to locate enemy aircraft and invariably attacking regardless of the numbers against him.

The same day Rhys-Davids was selected by

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...

and

Maurice Baring Maurice Baring (27 April 1874 – 14 December 1945) was an English man of letters, known as a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator and essayist, and also as a travel writer and war correspondent, with particular knowledge of Russia. During Wo ...

to have his portrait sketched by artist

William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do in ...

. Orpen remembered "he hated fighting, hated flying, loved books and was terribly anxious for the war to be over, so that he could get to Oxford". His final tally was 27 enemy aircraft; one shot down in flames, one 'destroyed in flames', one 'driven down', two 'forced to land', 15 'out of control' and seven destroyed. His fighting spirit won admiration from his commanding officer James McCudden:

If one was over the salient in the autumn of 1917 and saw an SE5 fighting like hell amidst a heap of huns, one would find nine times out of ten the SE5 was flown by Rhys-Davids.

On 27 October 1917 Rhys-Davids was promoted to lieutenant, backdated to 1 September 1917. That same day he took off on a routine patrol and was last seen flying east of

chasing a group of German Albatros fighters. The ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alth ...

'' (German Air Service) credited Karl Gallwitz with shooting him down. It was not until 29 December 1917 that a report came through that a German aircraft had dropped a note to inform the RFC of Rhys-Davids's death.Revell 2010, p. 200. In March 1920 Rhys-Davids's mother presented the rudder from the plane of Werner Voss—the ace shot down by Rhys-Davids a month before his own death—to the Imperial War Museum. It had been brought back from France by Gerald Maxwell in July 1918. In October 1920 the Secretary of the War Office secured the effects of Rhys-Davids from Germany through diplomatic channels. Rhys-Davids has no known grave, but his name is engraved on the Air Services Memorial at Arras, France.

List of victories

References

Bibliography

* Franks, Norman. ''SE 5/5a Aces of World War 1''. Osprey, Oxford. 2007. * Revell, Alex. ''Brief Glory: The Life of Arthur Rhys Davids, DSO, MC and Bar''. Pen & Sword Aviation, Barnsley, 2010, . * Revell, Alex and Dempsey, Harry. ''No 56 Sqn RAF/RFC''. Osprey publishing, Oxford, 2009,

External links

Arthur Rhys Davids at FirstWorldWar
Accessed 8 September 2008.
Arthur Rhys Davids at The Aerodrome
Accessed 8 September 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys-Davids, Arthur 1897 births 1910s missing person cases 1917 deaths Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I British World War I flying aces Companions of the Distinguished Service Order English aviators Missing aviators Missing in action of World War I Missing person cases in Belgium People educated at Eton College People educated at Summer Fields School People from Forest Hill, London Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Flying Corps officers