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Auction: 17001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 253

Sold by Order of the Recipient

'Bugle Major Davies was now taking control of the situation and the patrol was starting to engage back. I reported what was happening to the operations room at the Forward Operating Base, and while I was doing that we were engaged from the third and fourth firing points.

Bugle Major Davies then did something remarkable. He came through the crater, spoke to us, then got up and started firing, fully exposing himself to the multiple enemy firing points. He made himself a target so that we could crawl back to the other side of the ditch. And he didn't do it once. He did it twice. I have no idea how he did not get shot, because as I was crawling back, the ground was exploding with gunfire around me. He was standing up there talking to us and firing at the same time'.

Captain N. Watson, 2 Rifles, recalls the actions of Bugle Major J. A. Davies, following the detonation of an improvised explosive device, 16 November 2011; Graham Bound, At the Going Down of he Sun, refers.

An outstanding and emotive 2011 Afghanistan 'Helmand Forward Operating Base offensive' M.C. group of nine awarded to Bugle Major J. A. Davies, The Rifles, late Royal Green Jackets, a veteran of ten Operational Tours, who following the detonation of a massive improvised explosive device which inflicted mortal injuries to a comrade and disabling injuries to the Commanding Officer, instinctively took command, turning the tide of the contact by selflessly charging through a storm of concentrated fire from four positions at close range, answering with volleys on his own, invigorating the men and enabling the withdrawal of the Patrol from the firefight - an action for which Davies was recommended for the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross

Military Cross, E.II.R., the reverse officially inscribed 'Sgt J A Davies 25031030' and dated '2012'; General Service 1962-2007, one clasp, Northern Ireland (25031030 Pte J A Davies LI); Iraq 2003-11, no clasp (25031030 LCpl J A Davies RGJ); Nato Medal, one clasp, Non Article 5, unnamed as issued; Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan, one clasp, Afghanistan (25031030 Cpl J A Davies Rifles 25031030); Jubilee 2002; Jubilee 2012; Accumulated Service Medal (LCpl J A Davies RGJ 25031030); Accumulated Service Medal 2011 (Sjt J A Davies RGJ 25031030), mounted court-style as worn, lacquered, minor edge knocks overall and light scratching to reverse of M.C. from mounting, otherwise generally good very fine (9)

M.C. London Gazette 27 September 2012:

'In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Afghanistan during the period 1 October 2011 to 31 March 2012.'

James Andrew Davies was born on 21 November 1974, and joined the Army in January 1994, completing his Phase I training at Winchester, and volunteering for Infantry service and Phase 2 training at Ousten. Following his qualification, he joined The Light Infantry, antecedent to The Rifles in June 1994, deploying immediately for his first Operational Tour to Northern Ireland. Upon his return in 1995 he was selected for, and completed Sniper training; over the course of his career he was to complete a remarkable ten Operational Tours, serving on deployment in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Operation Herrick X

Davies was deployed during the infamous 'Operation Herrick X' tour with 2nd Battalion The Rifles in Sangin, March-October 2009. As an Acting Sergeant, he was attached to the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, assisting the Afghan National Army, part of a combined force who pushed into 'The Snake's Head' of the lush Helmand Valley on foot. In conversation with the cataloguer, he commented '...I always seemed to be get put with the other Armies.'

During the Operation, the British losses totalled 69 men killed in action, 13 of these from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, the highest of any unit present. The Battalion returned home with a casualty rate of almost 25%, on 10 July losing 5 killed and 10 wounded, in what was the bloodiest day for the British Army in Afghanistan. During their tour, the men faced a vast array of improvised explosive devices which littered their patrols, in combination with the constant Taliban 'scouts' who informed and fired on patrols under the searing heat of the Afghan summer.

A short video with examples of the experiences of 2nd Battalion, The Rifles can be accessed at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjJLb7QSa8g

Operation Herrick XV- FOB Khar Nikah

Promoted Sergeant on 1 September 2011, Davies was deployed during Operation Herrick XV whilst serving with 2nd Battalion, The Rifles (November 2011-April 2012). He won his M.C. for his actions on 16 November 2011, during an operation to extend influence in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand Provence, from the Forward Operating Base Khar Nikah. The operation cost the life of Lance-Corporal P. Eustace, 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, another veteran who had served alongside Davies during the Operation Herrick X deployment.

At the Going Down of the Sun; Love, Loss and Sacrifice in Afghanistan takes up the events of Operation Herrick XV and Davies's heroism:

'Peter Eustace had been posted to FOB (Forward Operating Base) Khar Nikah, north of Gereshk in Nahr-e Saraj, in the green zone on the south side of the Helmand River. He was a mortar fire controller, and part of a mortar line of three 81 mm barrels and three 60mm barrels at Khar, which covered the area around the FOB and FOB Rahim, a few kilometres away on the north side of the river. They were there to support patrols by the men of Delhi Coy, 1 Yorks, which was reinforced with Gurkha troops and designated a ground-holding company, and their counterparts from the ANA's 3 Coy 3 Bn 3215 Brigade. The ANA were being mentored by Capt Neil Watson and Bugle Major Sjt James Davies of 2 Rifles. Capt Watson was happy with the arrangement: in his view, LCpl Eustace and his fellow mortar-men were about as good as it got.

"The 2 Rifles mortar platoon was a close-knit bunch," said Watson. "These teams tend to be made up of experienced soldiers, and they need a passion for what they do. Traditionally, the mortar guys might not be the fittest in the battalion, but they're much more robust than most of us. They need to be, because an 81 mm mortar is not a light piece of kit. They were mobilised for Afghanistan at short notice, and the real feather in their caps was that they didn't have a platoon commander at the time, so they planned their own training and went away and got themselves validated ready for deployment. They were all desperate to go. Among the nine of them at Khar were three MFC's (mortar fire controllers), and Eust was one of those. Everyone knew him. He was very much a larger-than-life character, always smiling and always cheerful - you couldn't have been in the same battalion and not know him. There was, for example, an incident in camp in which someone - and we don't know who it was - crashed LCpl Eustace's car inside the camp and actually left it hanging from a lamp post. No-one could prove anything, but LCpl Eustace had a smile on his face…But when it came to work, he was exemplary. Eust was only a lance-jack but he was very qualified and skilled. He would have got a glowing report after this deployment and been promoted. That was a no brainer to me."

Of the three MFCs at the FOB, one would go out on each patrol so that he had 'eyes-on' if mortars were needed. He would then transmit co-ordinates to the other MFCs who would do the necessary calculations, check them, and then issue the command to fire.

"The whole process can be done in a matter of seconds", said Capt Watson. ''We did have some 105mm artillery support, but it was only used once because the guns were a long way away, and firing at such a range that they'd lose accuracy. The effect we wanted could be much more easily achieved with mortars. The time-of-flight for the mortar rounds was really short, and the forward controller with us would have been calculating ranges and so on all the time as we went along, so we could bring mortar rounds in really quickly. A good MFC out on the ground is constantly moving his targets - rather than waiting for an engagement before sending the coordinates back to the mortar line. The job is made a little easier by pre-existing calculations for a number of known targets, locations that the mortars have fired on before, but in practice the men are moving the barrels nearly all the time. In addition, the mortar-men will be handling different ammunition: they might fire smoke rounds first and then high explosive, or illumination at night. It really is an art, and they were incredibly skilled at it. We could really count on them, and Khar and Rahim were the busiest mortar lines in Helmand during Herrick 15. In excess of 3,000 rounds came out of Khar in six months. The day that Eust was killed, they fired in excess of 200 rounds - probably 260 - to support his extraction."

Capt Watson and Sjt Davies spent a lot of their time with the ANA (Afghan National Army) in on-the-job training, on patrols and deliberate operations. "We would routinely be out five or six times a week, on foot patrols that would last for between three and eight hours, sometimes more," said Watson. "The patrols were about dominating the ground and supplying and providing security for a number of outlying PB's, of which there were five in our area. These small bases were a minimum of eight hundred metres and a maximum of 2.5km away from Khar Nikah."

On November 16, 2011, Neil Watson, James Davies and their ANA men were involved in an offensive operation, supported by US Cobra attack helicopters. Peter Eustace would be on the patrol as MFC, and a Royal Artillery Fire Support Team commander was back at the FOB, prepared to call on the 105mm guns if necessary.

"We had identified an area where we wanted to expand our influence," said Watson, "and we intended to push four or five hundred metres beyond where we had been before. It was an early morning patrol, and it was just starting to get light as we left the FOB. We wanted to get off the road before it was light and operate more covertly in the fields. We came out of the base heading south, towards the fields, and then started heading east-northeast. The first 400m or 500m were quiet, just us and a few people working in the fields, but we made slow progress. The fields were really wet, because the farmers had recently opened the sluice gates and were filling the irrigation ditches, and that made it relatively tough going. Every ditch was a vulnerable point that had to be cleared. It took us about an hour and forty minutes to cover about 1.8km."

"We got to an area of compounds, which was an area of interest for us, and stopped to get an understanding of our surroundings. We had a compound straight in front of us, which was occupied by what we presumed to be a family. A man and his children came outside, and the ANA and I were talking to them. We knew we were beyond the forward line of the enemy troops, but that was deliberate. We were pushing into that area to generate a reaction so the Cobras could come in and strike. It's a standard tactic - you're taking the enemy on at a time and place of your choosing. You know where you're probing their lines, who you'll do it with, and you have the helicopter support ready. The odds are stacked in your favour."

"It became clear that the people in the compound were quite uncomfortable with us being there. They were nervous and, seeing this and being aware of previous enemy firing points in the area, I left the ANA guys talking to the locals and walked back to have a chat with LCpl Eustace. I wanted his opinion about where he would lay his mortars. My concern was that we might be about to receive small arms fire, and if that happened I wanted to be able to respond quickly. I remember he smiled and said, "That's already done, boss. Don't worry about it." He was completely relaxed."

"We received some intelligence suggesting that the Taliban were setting us up for small arms. We'd stopped for long enough. We weren't going to go any further, and we were ready to head back to the base. The insurgents' modus operandi was to attack when we're turning back. They watch you, and play their hand when they think they have the best chance of getting away. They probably assume that's when we're ready to head back.

"So we moved off back into the fields. Rfn Suman, a Gurkha, was in front with the Vallon, the section commander was in front of me and then came LCpl Eustace in fourth place. Initially, we tried to force a route through some really dense scrub but that wasn't passable, so we turned north towards a ditch. We stopped for a very short time while I went forward to brief the Vallon man about the point at which we wanted to cross the ditch. This was clearly a vulnerable point. It was about four foot deep with about six inches of water. The metal detector guy went forward, he cleared one bank, then he cleared the ditch, then the other bank. Then he was out in the opposite field, and going back towards the FOB.

"The section commander was next to cross. The distance between us was just four or five feet. I stepped onto the near bank of the ditch, then stepped across. I don't remember putting my foot down on the other side. There was a massive ringing in my ears and I was thrown forward into the field. I found out later that I'd been blown at least fifteen feet, maybe twenty."

Just behind Capt Watson, Peter Eustace had triggered a large, hidden IED.

"It was huge," said Watson. "I'm quite a small guy, and the Gurkhas are pretty small, but Cpl Eustace was a big chap, probably twenty-five stone with his kit. We determined afterwards that it was a 40kg-plus IED, pressure-pad operated, and probably designed to immobilise the Danish armoured vehicles that had previously been deployed in the area. We think that the Vallon didn't pick it up because of the depth it was buried to. Some of us had successfully walked over it, but Eust was the first big guy to walk across it and he initiated it."

"The irrigation ditch at the point we had tried to cross was now a crater at least six feet, if not seven feet, deep and eight feet across. He would have been killed absolutely instantly. The one thing that you hope for in a situation like this is that no one suffers, and he absolutely did not suffer. He wouldn't have known anything about it."

"I started to come around - I don't think I lost consciousness - with my ears still ringing. I looked around and there was a scene of absolute devastation. I saw my weapon about eight feet away from me. It was in three pieces and the barrel was embedded in the ground. There was stuff scattered absolutely everywhere. I had my daysack over my head, my right leg somehow up under my chest, and I was unable to feel my left arm. By this point the guys in the patrol behind me were shouting.

The bugle major was trying to shout to me. I heard him talking to the rest of the multiple, and he was saying, "It's the boss. He's dead." At that point, I shouted back at him to say I was okay. And, in fact, my injuries were pretty minimal. I had some shrapnel in my hand and was knocked about a bit, but I was incredibly lucky. To be four feet from a guy who didn't make it, well, whatever you believe in, it wasn't my day to go."

"I was still trying to work out what had happened. The two in front of me had also been blown off their feet - the section commander was struggling quite a lot, the blast had burst both his eardrums - and, as 1 looked up, we were engaged by small arms fire from two points. One weapon was a light machine gun, a PKM, which is a variant of the AK47."

"Having realised I was alive, BMaj Davies was now taking control of the situation and the patrol was starting to engage back. I reported what was happening to the ops room at the FOB, and while I was doing that we were engaged from third and fourth firing points. Bugle Major Davies then did something remarkable. He came through the crater and spoke to us, then got up and started firing, fully exposing himself to the multiple enemy firing points. He made himself a target so that we could crawl back to the other side of the ditch. And he didn't do it once. He did it twice. I have no idea how he did not get shot, because as I was crawling back, the ground was exploding with gunfire around me. He was standing up there talking to us and firing at the same time."

Bugle Major Davies was later awarded the Military Cross for his extraordinary bravery that day; the Vallon operator was Mentioned in Dispatches. The surviving men had by now scrambled down into the bomb crater, and Capt Watson got on the net to the ops room back at the FOB to discuss options.

"This was at 08.03," he said, "and we didn't break contact until 09.50. There was a suggestion that Brimstone, the EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) people, would come out, but had they done so they wouldn't have been able to do anything without serious risk to life. There in the crater, it seemed like the entire world had opened up on us. So between myself and the company commander back in the FOB, we decided we would extract. Meanwhile, the FOB was sending out a QRF (quick reaction force) to help us."

"There were other call signs trying to get to us, but really importantly, as soon as we reported the incident to the FOB, the mortar line there began firing. They knew one of their own had been killed, but all they were concerned about was helping us. And without their help, I think we would have lost more men. They brought eight to twelve rounds into the tree line where the attackers were, using the coordinates Eust had pre-selected for them shortly before he was killed. This was remarkable: it really seemed that LCpl Eustace was helping us from beyond the grave. It wasn't easy, but thereafter, by using the company net, BMaj Davies and myself, and Sjt Nicholls in the observation tower at the FOB, were able to adjust the fire. The two US Cobra gunships also came in to assist, but they couldn't put down any fire because the smoke being generated by the mortar rounds was obscuring the targets. The pilots did, however, hover low over us, acting as a deterrent, and that was hugely risky, because if the insurgents had had an RPG it could have gone very, very wrong."

"I crawled out of the crater and gave the orders to the guys. I was thinking, We've had a difficult day, but we're going to get back. We placed LCpl Eustace into a bivvie bag - I wanted people to be able to concentrate on the task in hand, rather than on the gore of his injuries - put him onto a stretcher, and off we went. We did a classic fire-and-manoeuvre extraction over a distance of about 600m until we were able to link up with the QRF that had been sent out from the FOB. At that point, we were able to place LCpl Eustace on a quad."

They made it back to the FOB with no further mishap. The mortar line was still working, their barrels almost red hot as they laid down a carpet of fire to assist the withdrawal of Capt Watson's flanking call sign.'

A page on social media was established in memory of Lance-Corporal Eustace shortly after his death, with Davies posting the moving words:

"I kissed him and gave him a hug. I said the Lord's Prayer and closed his eyes."

Eustace, a popular career soldier, was repatriated to the United Kingdom on 24 November 2011, being buried in Liverpool Allerton Cemetery. His funeral service was held in Liverpool Cathedral.

Davies was recommended for the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross by Brigadier P. Sanders, D.S.O., O.B.E., but in the event was presented the Military Cross at Buckingham Palace by Prince Charles on 20 February 2013.

For Queen and Country

One charity which benefitted from 2014's hugely impressive 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red', by artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, was the Haig Housing Trust. The evolving instillation surrounding the Tower of London which commemorated all those who fell during the Great War provided funds to a number of charities, including Haig House, which assists and provides housing for former servicemen and women. Subsequently, General The Lord Dannatt, as Constable of the Tower, selected the Trust as his charity of 2015. As a result, images raising awareness for the cause and taken by photographer Rankin of Davies and Lance-Corporal S. Yarrington were beamed onto the walls of the Tower of London. The event saw a week of fundraising in support of the centenary of the charity and a commemorative reception. Lord Dannatt said:

"The images projected onto the Tower of London show two brave soldiers who both dedicated themselves to serving Queen and country. I hope these amazing photographs by Rankin will further raise the profile of Coming Home. I very much hope it will raise a great deal of money to provide specially adapted housing for those who have been wounded in past conflicts, and who need a home of their own."

The charity subsequently published the book For Queen and Country, featuring photographs of servicemen taken by Rankin to support the Haig Housing Trust.

James was discharged from the Army in January 2016 and resides in London. Upon his discharge, Lieutenant-Colonel C.W. Boswell, Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion, The Rifles completed his Certificate of Service, reporting:

'Serjeant Davies MC joined the Army in January 1994 and attended Phase 1 training at the Army Training Regiment in Winchester. Having been successful at Winchester, Serjeant Davies volunteered for the demands of the Infantry and completed Phase 2 training at the Infantry Training Centre in Ousten. Here Serjeant Davies was taught the characteristics of a good Infantry soldier through an intensive training programme designed to push him to the limit. He finished his training as a fully qualified Infantry soldier in the British Army. This achievement was instantly enhanced by his decision to serve with The Light Infantry, an antecedent regiment of The Rifles; a regiment whose ethos is based on promoting the thinking Rifleman and where self-discipline is a key component of The Regiment's values.

Serjeant Davies joined his battalion in June 1994 and immediately deployed on his first operational tour to Northern Ireland. In 1995, after coming back from operations in Northern Ireland, Serjeant Davies was selected to attend sniper training. Over the course of this demanding training he demonstrated shooting marksmanship, navigation and the ability to work unsupervised in austere conditions.

During his career Serjeant Davies deployed on operational duty ten times, a truly impressive achievement. He served in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo. Deploying away from home for long periods of time requires physical courage and the ability to work as a team in the most demanding environments. Serjeant Davies conducted himself extremely well during all of his operational tours of duty. He also deployed on a series of demanding overseas training exercises to the Falkland Islands, Cyprus, Jordan, Belize, Kenya, America, Canada, France and Germany. During this time his performance was well above the standard expected of that of someone of his rank and experience.

Due to his outstanding performance Serjeant Davies was employed in a large variety of roles. He served as part of both the Mortar Platoon and the Machine Gun Platoon - specialist platoons with increased responsibility which demand the highest professionalism. Later in his career Serjeant Davies was appointed as the Battalion Bugle Major, a hugely prestigious appointment. In this role Serjeant Davies was always at the forefront of the Regiment, demonstrating personal discipline and the highest of standards.

After a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011 Serjeant Davies received national recognition for his actions in the face of the enemy during a hostile and demanding seven month operational tour. For his exemplary gallantry and utmost valour he was awarded the Military Cross.
Serjeant Davies is an intelligent and hardworking individual who has decided that he has achieved all he aspired to in the Army and is now looking forward to the fresh challenge of a new career. Over the course of his long and illustrious career he proved himself to be the finest of soldiers, serving his country with selfless commitment, courage and dedication. He will have gained an exceptional amount of work and life experience from his time in the Army and it is clear that he has been tested and never found wanting. He is a likeable, trustworthy man who will bring much to his future employers.


He is thanked for his outstanding service.'

Sold with a the recipient's uniform and a quantity of original material, comprising:

(i)
The recipient's full dress tunic, leather gloves, cap and plume, the tunic named 'Bugle Major Davies' to the label, with Bugle Major's insignia and Croix de Guerre riband to the shoulders
[NOTE: During the Great War the 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. With subsequent regimental amalgamations, the honour has passed to the uniform of The Rifles.]

(ii)
Field map for the area surrounding FOB Khar Nikah used by the recipient in the M.C. action, including annotations demonstrating points of contact and extraction route.

(iii)
Four photographs of his investiture.

(iv)
His Certificate of Service.

(v)
Eight letters of congratulations upon the award of the M.C., including 'Philip, Colonel-in-Chief', dated 28 September 2012.

(vi)
A copy of The Drummer's Handbook, featuring an image of the recipient.

Further images and reports may be accessed via:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/5805524/On-patrol-with-2-Rifle-in-the-Sangin-valley-where-five-British-soldiers-were-killed.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/veterans-recall-british-armys-bloodiest-day-in-afghanistan-8458865.html
http://europe.newsweek.com/photographs-wounded-veterans-be-projected-tower-london-332062
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11825128/Rankin-photos-of-wounded-veterans-to-be-projected-onto-Tower-of-London.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3229941/Carol-Vorderman-cuts-authoritative-figure-RAF-uniform-opens-new-Tower-London-War-Memorial-display-honouring-soldiers.html


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Sold for
£13,000

Sale 17001 Notices
The Lot as described no longer includes the uniform.