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Auction: 22001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 374

Pair: Sister A. M. Davies, Territorial Army Nursing Service, who was killed in action when the S.S. Stentor was sunk by U-509 en-route back to Britain from West Africa

Defence and War Medals 1939-45, in named and addressed box of issue with named slip of issuance, good very fine (2)

Annie Mildred Davies was born in 1909. Having trained as a Fever Nurse at Bucknall Infectious Diseases Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent from 1928-30 she did another two years at The Royal Infirmary and Dispensary, Doncaster from 1930-32 before qualifying as a Nurse. She was one of the nurses who left Freetown, West Africa in late October 1942 aboard the S.S. Sentor having seen a year’s service in Nigeria. The ship was struck by a torpedo fired by U-509, the ship was carrying palm oil which ignited causing an explosion. Quiet Heroines and After tells us of Davies last minutes:

‘I was joined by “Taffy” Davies, a Territorial Army Sister. When we found our lifeboat had already been launched and that we would have to jump about thirty feet to reach it, Taffy went back to a boat amidships which had not yet been launched. I climbed on to the rail and jumped into the water. When I surfaced, covered it oil, the Stentor was no more and Taffy Davis was not seen again’

Davies was one of four nurses killed in the disaster, she is commemorated upon the Brookwood Memorial and an Aldershot Garrison Church Memorial Plaque; sold together with extracts from Quiet Heroines and After, a Barry and District newspaper article and Commonwealth War Graves Details as well as an article upon the Stentor and its sinking along with a Territorial Nursing Service cape badge.

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Sold for
£250

Starting price
£70