William Davis (Royal Navy officer)
Sir William Wellclose Davis was a British Royal Navy officer who went on to be Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.
Early life and education
Davis was the elder son of Walter Stewart Davis, JP, of the Indian Political Department, and Georgina, daughter of David Ross, CIE. The Davis family were landed gentry, of Well Close, Brockworth, Gloucestershire; Davis's middle name came from the family estate. Davis was educated at Summer Fields School in Oxford, the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.Naval career
Davis joined the Royal Navy in 1915, during the First World War.He also saw active service in the Second World War, initially as Executive Officer on the battlecruiser. From 1940 he was Deputy Director of Plans at the Admiralty and then, from 1943, returned to sea as Commander of the cruiser HMS Mauritius, in which capacity he was involved in the Sicily landings, the Normandy landings, and the action at Audierne Bay. From November 1944 to February 1946 he was appointed Director of Torpedoes and Mining.
After the War Davis was made Director of Underwater Weapons at the Admiralty and then, from 1948, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. He became Naval Secretary in 1950 and Flag Officer, Second in Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1952. He went on to be Vice Chief of the Naval Staff in 1954 and Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet and Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic Area in 1958. He was First and Principal Naval Aide-de-camp to the Queen from 1959 to 1960. He retired in 1960.