The truly outstanding and unique Australia Station Naval Commander’s 1890 to 1892 Western Pacific Exploration and Territorial Expansion proclamation of the Gilbert Islands as a British Protectorate New Years Honours 1894 Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Great War Sussex Ambulance Column Organiser’s March 1920 Officer of the Order of the British Empire, and South Africa 9th Xhosa War and Zulu War group awarded to Admiral E.H.M. Davis, C.M.G., O.B.E., Royal Navy.
Davis originally from Galway, Ireland, would latterly end up in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. His active naval career spanned near enough four decades between 1860 and 1905, as whilst on the Retired List through to 1929, he was appointed a Nautical Assessor in the House of Lords.
As a Midshipman he first saw combat during the Anglo-Japanese hostilities when present during the Anglo-Satsuma War and at the bombardment of Kagoshima on 15th to 17th August 1863, and then during the subsequent Shimonoseki campaign of 1864 and the second and final Battle of Shimonoseki Straits.
During the 1860’s and through into the 1870’s he would spend a considerable period of time out on the China Station, but he would next see active service in South Africa during the 9th Xhosa War when the 1st Lieutenant of the corvette Active, the flagship at the Cape, he saw service under Commodore Sullivan with Active’s Naval Brigade during the various operations against the Galekas, Gaikas and other Kaffir tribes from 26th September 1877 through to 28th June 1878, that included the battle of Quintana. Davis also particularly distinguished himself during this conflict, when he repeatedly risked his life in landing amongst heavy surf on a dangerous coastline to repair telegraph cables which had been cut by the hostile natives, thus maintaining vital communications. He carried out this work often un-armed and with a very small escort, and displayed zeal and courage whilst enduring the inevitable hardships and risks. Specifically for this work, he was noticed by both the Admiralty and the Colonial Officer, and ‘specially promoted to Commander for service at the Cape of Good Hope’ his promotion being made on 14th August 1878.
Davis then volunteered to return to South Africa owing to the outbreak of the Zulu War, and when borne on the books of the flagship Boadicea, he saw service with the Naval Transport Service at Durban and later Port Durnford, being praised for his services. Having contracted fever he was sent home in October 1879. In having been present with Active during the 9th Xhosa War and Boadicea during the Zulu War, Davis would be unique in more ways than one. Only 122 South Africa Medals with the clasp 1877-8-9 were awarded to the Royal Navy, of which only five were to officers, with Davis the only man to be awarded it in the relatively senior rank of Commander. Davis’ medal is also unique in that it was issued to him named to two ships, namely Active and Boadicea, though it was for the latter ship that his name is included on the medal roll, he being one of three from Boadicea to claim the clasp 1877-8-9 and the only officer to do so!
In early 1885 he assumed his first seagoing command when out at Hong Kong, the sloop Daring, which he sailed in the Pacific. He would return to Oceania when appointed to the Australia Station and to his important command of the sloop Royalist between 1899 and 1893. With her and in-command, Davis would conduct a number of important surveys on three voyages in the Pacific, at Vanuatu and New Caledonia during April to November 1890, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during June to December 1891, and the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands and Ellice Islands during April to August 1892.
In September 1891, several Kalikoqu tribesmen killed a European trader operating on Uki Island. In response, the Royalist launched a punitive expedition against the village responsible, which was located in the Roviana Lagoon on the southern side of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, killing several of the tribesmen who were involved in the murder along with burning the village and destroying several of its canoes. His name will forever be remembered for his having claimed no less than thirteen islands of the Gilbert Group for the British Crown, and in doing so claimed the Gilbert Islands as a British Protectorate on 27th May 1892.
In addition, his ethnographic collection accumulated during this period in Oceania was of great significance, and artefacts from it are now housed in a number of institutions including the British Museum, the Horniman Museum, and the National Museum of Scotland, with a book having been published in the collection and its significance.
It was “for services connected with certain islands in the Western Pacific” in making the Gilbert Islands a British Protectorate that he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in January 1894.
As a Commodore, Davis was latterly in command at Jamaica during 1900 to 1901, when he became a member of the Legislative Council there, and having been promoted to Flag Officer, was ultimately promoted to Admiral in November 1908. For the rest of his life he was a Nautical Assessor to the House of Lords, and during the Great War found employment as the Organiser of the Bexhill-on-Sea Transport and Ambulance Column which transported the casualties and sick to the hospitals in that area of Sussex. It was for this important war work that Davis received his final honour, being appointed an Officer of the Civil Division of The Order of the British Empire in March 1920.
Group of 4: The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Companion, C.M.G., 1st type breast badge in silver-gilt and enamels, and converted for wear as a 2nd type from the neck with full length of appropriate ribbon and neck ties, this housed in its original 1st type Garrard & Co ‘To The Crown’ fitted presentation case; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Officer, O.B.E., 1st type, Civil Division, hallmarks for London with date letter ‘d’ for 1919; South Africa Medal 1877-1879, Clasp: 1877-8-9; (COMMR. E.H.M. DAVIS, H.M.S. “ACTIVE” & “BOADICEA”); Jubilee Medal 1897 in Silver. Last three mounted swing style as worn, and housed in and old box.
Condition: enamel work on first very good, insignia and all now tarnished, overall Nearly Extremely Fine.
Together with a very fine original Great War period photograph printed as a postcard, showing the recipient in full dress uniform as an Admiral, wearing the insignia of the 1st type companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, mounted together with his South Africa Medal and the Jubilee Medal 1897.
Edward Henry Meggs Davis was born on 18th August 1846 in Galway, Ireland, the son of Edward Davis. He entered the Royal Navy as a Naval Cadet in September 1858, before passing out from the Naval College as a Midshipman in 1860. So began a long and distinguished naval career, though up into 1866 his records are patchy.
Anglo-Japanese hostilities - the Anglo-Satsuma War of 1863.
What is however known is that he was out on the China Station and then present during the Anglo-Japanese hostilities, called the Anglo-Satsuma War, at the bombardment of Kagoshima on 15th to 17th August 1863, which occurred as a result of the Namamugi incident in 1862.
On 14th September 1862, a confrontation occurred in Japan between a British merchant, Charles Lennox Richardson , and the entourage of Shimazu Hisamitsu, father and regent of Satsuma daimyo Shimazu Tadayoshi. After Richardson ignored warnings to stay out of the entourage's way while travelling on a road near Kawasaki, Kanagawa, he was killed by Hisamitsu's retainers under the traditional Kiri-site gomen right, which allowed samurai to kill anyone in a lower social class for perceived disrespect. Richardson's murder sparked outrage from Westerners in Japan due to its violation of the extraterritoriality they enjoyed under terms of the “unequal treaties”.
Edward St. John Neale, the British chargé d'affaires, demanded from the Bakufu (the central government of the Tokugawa shogunate) an apology and indemnity of £100,000 as reparations for Richardson's murder; the sum demanded by Neale represented roughly a third of the annual revenues of the Bakufu. Neale also threatened to the Japanese capital of Edo with a naval bombardment if the indemnity was not paid, and further demanded that the Satsuma Domain arrest and place on trial the perpetrators of Richardson's murder, along with £25,000 compensation for the surviving victims of the incident and the relatives of Richardson.
At the time, the Bakufu was led by Ogasawara Nagamichi, governing in the absence of Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi, who was then in Kyoto. Eager to resolve the dispute over Richardson's murder, Ogasawara entered into a negotiation with France and Great Britain on 2nd July 1863 onboard the French Navy warship Sémiramis. The European participants in the negotiations were Neale, the French diplomat Gustave Duchesne, Prince de Bellecourt, the French naval commander, Benjamin Jaurès, and Admiral Sir Augustus Leopold Kuper, the Royal Navy commander out in the Far East. Ogasawara issued an apology for the murder and paid the indemnity demanded by Neale.
However, the Satsuma Domain refused to comply with Neale's demands for an apology, £25,000 in compensation and placing the two samurai responsible for Richardson's murder on trial, arguing that disrespect to the daimyo was typically sanctioned by the death of the offending parties. Legally, their argument was invalid, as Westerners in Japan were exempted from Japanese laws and customs due to extraterritoriality due to various treaties signed between the Bakufu and Western powers since the beginning of the Bakumatsu period. Traditional Japanese laws did not typically apply to foreigners in Japan, but the Satsuma Domain felt it could not be seen submitting to Western demands during a heightened period of anti-foreigner sentiment in Japan; Neale, for his part, was keen to take a stand against attacks against foreigners on Japanese soil. Following protracted and fruitless negotiations with the Satsuma Domain that had taken over a year, Neale eventually had had enough. Under instructions from his superiors in the British government, he ordered Kuper to use military action to compel Satsuma into complying with his demands.
After being informed of the British plans, the Bakufu asked for a delay in its implementation: “On receipt of your despatch of the 3rd of August, we fully understood that you intend to go within three days to the territory of the Prince of Satsuma with the men-of-war now lying in the Bay of Yokohama, to demand satisfaction for the murder of a British merchant on the Tokaido last year. But owing to the present unsettled state of affairs in our empire, which you witness and hear of, we are in great trouble, and intend to carry out several plans. Supposing, now, something untoward were to happen, then all the trouble both you and we have taken would have been in vain and fruitless; therefore we request that the said departure may be delayed for the present.” Edo, 4th of August, signed by four Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Shogunate. On the 5th, a Bakufu vice-minister from Edo visited Neale, but far from further opposing the planned British expedition against the Satsuma Domain, actually informed Neale that the Tokugawa shogunate intended to send one of its warships to join forces with Kuper's squadron. The steamer in question, however, ultimately did not join the expedition.
Several violent confrontations between Westerners and the Japanese had already occurred throughout the country during this period, spurred on by Emperor Kōmei's 1863 “Order to expel barbarians". The Kanmon Straits had witnessed several attacks on American, Dutch and French merchant ships, which prompted punitive expeditions by these countries, with U.S. Navy frigate USS Wyoming, Dutch Navy warship Medusa, and French Navy warships Tancrède and Dupleix launching attacks on Japanese positions. Eventually, on 14th August, a multinational fleet consisting of American, French, British and Dutch warships commenced the Shimonoseki campaign to prevent further attacks on western shipping there, which succeeded.
Kuper’s Royal Navy squadron left Yokohama on 6th August 1863. It was composed of the flagship Euryalus (with Neale on board), Pearl, Argus, Coquette, Racehorse and the gunboat Havock. They sailed for Kagoshima and anchored in the deep waters of Kinko Bay on 11th August. Satsuma Domain envoys came aboard Euryalus and letters were exchanged, with Kuper pressing for a resolution satisfactory to his demands within 24 hours. The Satsuma Domain prevaricated, refusing to comply for various reasons.
After Kuper's deadline expired without a satisfactory conclusion to his demands, he decided to proceed with the plans to punish the Satsuma Domain. His squadron weighed anchor and proceeded to seize three British-built merchant steamers lying at anchor in Kagoshima harbour which were owned by the Satsuma Domain: the Sir George Grey, Contest and England, with the ships having an aggregate value of £200,000. Kuper intended to use the three seized merchantmen as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations.
In response, the Satsuma Domain's military forces responded by waiting until a typhoon started before launching an artillery bombardment from their coastal batteries towards the British (the city had been evacuated prior to the engagement). Surprised by the hostility, Kuper's squadron responded by confiscating as much valuable materiel as possible from the three captured steamers before setting them on fire.
The British then spent approximately two hours readying their ships for battle (as they had not expected to enter into a military confrontation) before forming a line of battle, which sailed along the Kagoshima coast and fired a combination of shells and round shot towards the coastal batteries. Artillery fire from the Havoc set five Ryukyuan trading junks, which were not involved in the engagement, on fire. The Satsuma coastal batteries were slowly silenced by the British, though the fact that Kuper's squadron was not expecting protracted resistance meant his ships slowly ran low on supplies and ammunition, and eventually he gave the order to retreat. The engagement resulted in 5 killed on the Satsuma side and 13 killed and 69 wounded on the British side, including Captain Josling of the Euryalus and his second-in-command Commander Wilmot, both decapitated by the same cannonball.
Additionally, roughly 500 Minka houses in Kagoshima, making up approximately 5% of the city's urban area, was destroyed by the bombardment, along with the Ryukyuan embassy. The British retreat was face-saving for the Satsuma Domain, who claimed the engagement as a victory by taking into account the relative number of casualties. Kuper's squadron did not land marines or seize cannons from the coastal batteries (which would have signalled a clear British victory), Kuper having decided that the bombardment was enough.
Satsuma eventually decided to give in to Neale's demands and paid £25,000 to the British (which they borrowed from the Bakufu and never repaid due to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1869 and its replacement by the Meiji government). They never identified or placed on trial Richardson's killers, but despite this, the reparation received was enough for Britain to sign a treaty with the Satsuma Domain to supply the latter with steam warships. Ironically, the conflict became the starting point of a friendly relationship between the Satsuma Domain and Britain, which became major allies in the ensuing Boshin War. From the start, the Satsuma Province had generally been in favour of the opening and westernisation of Japan.
Anglo-Japanese hostilities - the Shimonoseki campaign of 1864 and the second and final Battle of Shimonoseki Straits.
Having participated in the Anglo-Satsuma War and been present at the Bombardment of Kagoshima on 15th to 17th August 1863, Davis once again found himself in action against the Japanese in the following year when once again aboard one of the Royal Navy warships of Admiral Kuper’s squadron and involved in the Shimonoseki campaign and engaged between 5th and 6th September 1864 during the fight for control of the Shimonoseki Straits of Japan.
On 17th August 1864, a squadron consisting of nine British warships: Euryalus, Cnqueror, Tartar, Leopard, Barrosa, Perseus, Argus, Coquette, and Bouncer, together with four Dutch, and three French warships, together with 2,000 soldiers, marines and sailors, all under the command of Admiral Kuper, steamed out of Yokohama to open Shimonoseki Strait. This was an extension and finale to the campaign of 1863 which had originally begun owing to Emperor Kōmei's 1863 “Order to expel barbarians”, but is separate to that which saw punishment being meted out to the Satsuma Domain, and instead was aimed at the Chōshū Domain, in what was known as the Shimonoseki campaign, which took place off and on the coast of Shimonseki.
Against the orders of their Shogunate, the Chōshū clan, under the daimyō Mōri Takachika, began to take action to expel all foreigners after the deadline of the 10th day of the 5th month, by the traditional Japanese calendar. Openly defying the shogunate, Takachika ordered his forces to fire without warning on all foreign ships traversing Shimonoseki Strait. This strategic but treacherous 600-meter waterway separates the islands of Honshu and Kyushu and provides a passage connecting the Inland Sea with the Sea of Japan. Initially it was the United States who acted in response to the trouble caused by Takachika, as a result of which the USS Wyoming fought the first Battle of Shimonoseki Straits on the 20th July 1863. It was however in the following year during the second and final Battle of Shimonoseki Straits on the 5th to 6th September 1864 that Davis next saw action.
Kuper’s force did what the previous battle of July 1863 could not; it destroyed the Chōshū Domain's ability to wage war on the western powers. Unable to match the firepower of the international fleet, and amid mounting casualties, Takasugi Shinsaku negotiated peace with the four Western powers and Chōshū forces finally surrendered two days later on 8th September 1864. Allied casualties included 72 killed or wounded; although Ernest Satow describes only 8 killed and 30 wounded for the British and two damaged British ships. In this action no less than three Victoria Crosses were won.
The stringent accord, drawn up in the wake of the ceasefire and negotiated by U.S. Minister Pruyn, included an indemnity of $3,000,000 from the Japanese, an amount equivalent to the cost of about 30 steamships at that time. The Tokugawa shogunate proved unable to pay such an amount, and this failure became the basis of further foreign pressure to open Japanese ports; Japan was forced to choose between paying compensation of three million piastres and opening another port on the Inland Sea. The harbour of Hyōgo was opened to foreign trade.
Sadly for this period of hostility in Japan, it is not year clear which ship Davis was aboard despite his being confirmed as present. No campaign medals were given for these actions.
On 5th December 1866 he was appointed as an Acting Sub Lieutenant, and he was subsequently confirmed in that rank on 13th November 1867 whilst serving aboard the 32 gun frigate Doris. At this time his vessel was commanded by Captain Charles Vesey and was on service in the West Indies, and in January 1868, Captain The Honourable Henry Carr would assume command. Davis would remain with Doris though to the end of her commission in June 1869.
Davis was next appointed as an “additional” aboard the 24 gun armoured frigate Ocean on 25th October 1869, travelling out to join her at sea, and as such he saw service with her out on the China Station, when she was commanded by Captain late Vice Admiral Sir William N.W. Hewett, V.C., K.C.B., K.C.S.I., which officer had won the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War. During her time on the China Station between 1867 and 1872, Ocean did not dock once, and from 1869 to 1872 she acted as the flagship to Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, K.C.B., the distinguished Arctic explorer and China hand, a veteran of the First Opium War back in the early 1840’s.
Davis was aboard Ocean when he was promoted to Lieutenant on 4th April 1870, and whilst remaining on the China Station, he transferred to 4 gun gunboat Elk in June 1870, and on this vessel being ordered to sail for home, he was then posted off her and to the 4 gun gun-vessel Frolic on 22nd August 1873. As such he continued to see service out on the China Station as her 1st Lieutenant when serving under Commander Claude E. Buckle, and remained with her for the commission under this officer who would hand over command in April 1876. Davis would then leave this ship in May, and be posted aboard the 12 gun corvette Tourmaline as her 1st Lieutenant from 25th October 1876 which was being commissioned at Sheerness ready for service in the Pacific.
The outbreak of trouble in South Africa would however intercede.
South Africa - the 9th Xhosa War.
Davis was appointed as the 1st Lieutenant aboard the 10 gun corvette Active in July 1877, she being the flagship at the Cape of Good Hope at stationed at Simon’s Bay, and then commanded by Commodore Francis Sullivan who had assumed his position the previous year. His flag captain aboard Active was Captain Charles R.F. Boxer.
In September 1877 a Naval Brigade that comprised some 20 seamen and marines from Active, under Commander H.T. Wright, R.N., landed at East London, and then took part in the various operations against the Galekas, Gaikas and other Kaffir tribes from 26th September 1877 through to 28th June 1878 in what became known as the 9th Xhosa War, including the battle of Quintana.
During this campaign the 200 strong Naval Brigade was used primarily in a mobile artillery role, and when landed they took with them 6x 12 pdr. Armstrong field guns, 1 Gatling gun, and 2 x 24 pdr. rocket tubes, 50,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, 900 x 12 pdr. shells and 40,000 rounds for the Gatling gun. This was deemed sufficient for a three month expedition. They were no re-supplied for nearly six months and were by this time dangerously low on all stores.
Davis formed part of this Naval Brigade and endured its hardships, and he also saw his service during this campaign in a different yet distinguished manner, as a report made by Commodore Sullivan to the Admiralty in London, written in January 1878, would indicate. The report forwards details of ‘Lieutenant Davis’ proceedings on his way to rejoin “Active” from Basher River (in Basutoland), and says this is the third occasion Lt. Davis has volunteered to land on this dangerous coast, and trusts his zeal and courage together with the inevitable hardships and risks undergone by him, and which he has reason to know are but lightly alluded to by him, as well as his presence of mind in replacing telegraph wires in an enemy’s country, unarmed and with a very small escort, may be deemed worthy of some mark of Their Lordship’s favour.’
Admiral Wellesley would add to this in a Minute: ‘I have read with much interest the report of Lt. Davis’ proceedings’ and a further Minute by the First Lord of the Admiralty would state simply: ‘I cordially concur.’
The Colonial Office would also forward details of Davis’ meritorious acts during the 9th Xhosa War, with particular emphasis being placed on his having volunteered to land on the dangerous shore, with one report of 11th April 1878 stating that ‘he risked and nearly lost his life in landing through the surf’ all in order to restore the telegraph lines which had presumably been cut by the hostile natives.
Davis was ‘specially promoted to Commander for service at the Cape of Good Hope’ his promotion being made on 14th August 1878.
South Africa - the Zulu War.
Davis was on home leave when the Zulu War broke out in November 1878, and was not a part of the official list of the men of the Naval Brigade that formed part of the No.1 Column commanded by Colonel Charles Pearson that would shortly afterwards cross the Tugela River from Natal into Zululand on 12th January 1879.
Some 173 men from Active, brigaded together with men from the ships Tenedos, Shah and Boadicea, then served ashore as part of an 858-man Naval Brigade during the Zulu War which lasted from 19th November 1878 to 21st July 1879.
The group from Active comprised 10 officers, 100 seamen, 5 idlers, 42 Marines, 14 Kroomen, and 2 medical attendants. In addition to small arms, they were equipped with two 12-pounder breech-loading guns, 24-pounder rockets, and the Gatling gun. The 12-pounders were exchanged for two of the Army's 7-pounder mountain guns before entering Zululand.
Attached to the No.1 Column commanded by Colonel Charles Pearson, they crossed the Tugela River from Natal into Zululand on 12th January 1879. On 22nd January they saw action in the Battle of Inyezane, driving off an attacking force of Zulus with rockets, Martini-Henry rifles and the Gatling gun. The same day the British main force was defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana, and so Pearson's column advanced to Eshowe, where it was besieged for two months, until relieved on 3rd April. During the campaign, Active's crew suffered only one man killed, and nine wounded in action against the enemy, while nine died of disease during the siege, and one man drowned while crossing the Tugela. Total losses sustained by the 858-man Naval Brigade who fought on land was one officer and 23 men killed, and 124 men wounded, nearly half of the deaths were caused by enteric, dysentery or typhoid.
For his part, Davis volunteered for service in Zululand on 20th February 1879 whilst still in England, volunteering just prior to the disaster at Isandhlwana which occurred some two days later. He volunteered for and found employment with the Naval Transport Service, and as such he arrived at Natal on 17th March for service ashore, with his name was placed on the books of the flagship Boadicea as a supernumerary officer, this ship having replaced Active at the Cape. He served as a transport officer at Durban until 31st July when he was sent to Port Durnford where he remained until 27th September. On 28th October he departed Cape Town aboard the steam ship “Arab” for England, arriving there on 17th October 1879. Local newspapers reported that he was sent home due to “having contracted fever whilst doing duty as transport officer at Port Durnford.”
Davis would be noted in his services records as having been on 16th April 1879 “praised by Capt. Moss for Transport Service.” this being for his early work at Durban, in the landing of and moving of supplies up-country in support of the Naval Brigade when it was operating in the field.
In the meantime, on 21st July 1879 Active’s Naval Brigade had re-embarked off the coast at Tugela aboard the SS City of Venice for a passage to Durban and from there to Simon’s Bay via H.M.S. Shah, and then rejoined their ship.
General Sir Garnet Wolseley had on the previous day inspected the Naval Brigade and thanked them for their resolute service throughout the campaign. He made reference to the fact this was not the first time that he owed a debt of thanks to a Naval Brigade, and not unlike those who had served under him during the Ashantee War of 1873, the present members of the Naval Brigade had demonstrated their ability to turn their hand to virtually anything that had asked of them. He continued by stating that throughout the time the Naval Brigade had served on shore they had fought bravely and tenaciously, often against forces that numerically superior and in doing so had brought much honour and glory on their parent service. He concluded by wishing them a safe return home.
Davis’ service on shore during both the 9th Xhosa War and Zulu War was recognised by the award of the South Africa Medal 1877-1879 with clasp 1877-8-9, his being one of 122 medals with this clasp awarded to men of the Royal Navy. In addition, only five South Africa Medal 1877-1879’s being awarded to officers with the rank of Commander, he being the only one to receive the clasp 1877-8-9. Davis is also unique in that his medal was issued to him named to two ships, namely Active and Boadicea, though it was for the latter ship that his name is included on the medal roll, he being one of three from Boadicea to claim the clasp 1877-8-9 and the only officer to do so. A total of five Royal Navy and one Royal Marine officer would receive this clasp, and hence it is an exceptional rarity. An officer’s example was not to be found in Captain Douglas Morris’s famed naval collection of awards.
Davis’ name would remain borne on the books of Boadicea until December 1879, and he was then posted to study at the Royal Naval College from October 1880 trough to June 1881. He then applied for a permanent position at the Royal Naval College, but on 1st October 1881 was informed that no appointment was available.
The Pacific
Davis’ next appointed back out to the Far East when he returned to the China Station on being appointed to Victor Emmanuel in May 1883, she being the Receiving Ship at Hong Kong. Officer’s borne on her books would have filled numerous roles in and around the area. Davis was then appointed to the temporary command of the 4 gun sloop Daring in early May 1885, but after only two weeks in command of her at Hong Kong, he was transferred to the 4 gun ironclad turret ship Wivern on 19th March, before being soon after return to his command of Daring at Hong Kong, and then went on to see extensive service in the Pacific, in which area of the world he would make his name over the next 15 years.
During 1885, Davis impressed Admiral Sir William Montagu Dowell, the Commander-in-Chief on the China Station, with his skill in photography, and it was this same officer who in November 1885 would record that he was a ‘very zealous, intelligent officer, recommended for promotion’. During this period, one of the roles that Daring performed was that of hydrography, as so much of the Pacific Ocean still remained unknown.
His tenure in command of Daring saw him being promoted on Admiral Dowell’s recommendation to the rank of Captain on 1st January 1887, and Davis then took passage home by mail steamer on 8th March 1887, when sent on half pay whilst he undertook courses of instruction in Torpedo and Gunnery. He did not fair well during this period of examination, with one report reading that “in view of small number of marks obtained at R.N. College exam - he cannot have taken due advantage of the opportunities of study.” However having returned to service afloat with the cruiser Medusa on 30th August 1889, which vessel was undergoing her trials prior to completion, Commodore Markham reported that Davis had “carried out arduous work during the manoeuvres with energy and ability.” Davis would remain with Medusa through to August 1889.
In October 1889 he was posted to command the sloop Royalist, and having taken passed out, was with her when she was recommissioned as a 3rd class cruiser at Sydney, Australia in December of that year. This vessel had been on the Australia Station since May 1888, and was active in the Pacific and the subsequent formation and management of the British Western Pacific Territories.
With her and in-command, Davis would conduct a number of important surveys of the Pacific, and his name will forever be remembered for his having claimed no less than thirteen islands of the Gilbert Group for the British Crown, and in doing so claimed the Gilbert Islands as a British Protectorate.
In the second half of the nineteenth century the focus of British interests in the Pacific shifted from Polynesia to Island Melanesia. Commerce, plantation economies, labour recruitment and mission stations established by Europeans and Americans developed rapidly in the area known as the Western Pacific.
The office of the Western Pacific High Commission was established by Britain in Suva, Fiji in 1877, and administered the islands under its jurisdiction throughout its term from Suva and Honiara in the Solomon Islands. The Commission sought to extend British authority over its subjects in a context where Britain was not claiming sovereignty over those islands in the Western Pacific where its subjects has chosen to reside. Colonial engagement in the region was intense but because formal sovereignty had yet to be extended the Commission found itself in a kind of governmental no mans land where it had to deal with outrages committed by their nationals and the local reactions to them, whilst Islanders had to deal with new situations, and escalating conflict. Conflict was not just between Europeans and the Indigenous population, but also among European and American agents themselves. Crimes committed by Europeans in the Western Pacific led to punishment by their parent country in order to protect the Indigenous population. At the same time, crimes committed by Pacific Islanders against Europeans also resulted in punitive action, with European nations sending warships to protect their citizens and their interests. Attempts were also made to control the recruitment of Pacific Islanders for labour and to restrict the sale of guns by traders to the Indigenous population. As a result the Australian Station, an outpost of the British Royal Navy between 1859 and 1913 when the Royal Australian Navy was formed, was established as part if the development of self governing colonies in Australia in the 1850s, engaged its ships in the policing of the region from the late 1880s onwards. H.M.S. Royalist under Davis’ command is a significant part of this history. Royalist attempted to enforce law and order in the region whilst also seeking to declare particular islands British protectorates.
Davis’ first commission with Royalist saw him conduct a survey and visit the islands of Vanuatu and New Caledonia during the period from 10th December 1889 through to 18th June 1891. During a second commission between 18th June 1891 and 9th April 1892, he surveyed and visited Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Then for a third commission he surveyed and visited the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands and Ellice Islands between 14th April and 30th August 1892, during which he proclaimed the Gilbert Islands to be a British Protectorate on 27th May.
The first voyage of the Royalist - 21st April to 23rd November 1890
Royalist left Sydney on 21st April 1890 for Noumea ‘for duty as Senior Officer in the New Hebrides, and to form part of the joint Naval Commission for the maintenance of order in these islands’. The joint Naval Commission held by the British and French governments allowed both nations to preside over Vanuatu, as both had trading and missionary interests in the Islands. It allowed both governments to police ‘crimes against Europeans through a shipboard tribunal that acted as a summary court without due process, representation, or appeal and through violent punitive expeditions. This understanding between France and Britain was established in 1877 and included the ruling that neither power would encroach upon the independence of Vanuatu, meaning that in turn neither government could adjudicate on issues relating to land, which at that time was a major source of conflict.
The British Government found itself caught between the limitations of the agreement and the politics of missionaries, traders, settlers and the Indigenous population. Missionaries in Vanuatu an across Island Melanesia often opposed labour recruitment ‘because it undermined their efforts to build and maintain congregations’. They therefore pushed for British annexation as a means of regulating or even preventing labour recruitment within Vanuatu.
In addition British traders and settlers on the Islands complained about French settlers, and on 3rd October 1890 the Foreign Office reported that the ‘French Government has appointed a Commission to inquire into and report upon the best means of developing the French establishments in the New Hebrides. George De Latour, an English planter living on Aore, wrote several letters to the British Government complaining about the practices of the French Government, in particular highlighting the practice of sending ‘liberes’ (freed convicts) from New Caledonia to Vanuatu, claiming that it threatened both the safety of himself and islanders, but also his businesses. De Latour later petitioned Davis for assistance in what he claimed was an unwarranted dispute involving three local men and his housekeeper. De Latour and his son were later killed in a clash with these men that was most likely linked to a personal grudge.
The Islanders accused in the De Latour case were sentenced to death and Davis’ actions in the matter were both criticised and praised. In an interview printed in The Queenslander in 1890 Davis was quoted as saying ‘though what has been done many not meet with approval in some quarters. I am fully convinced that it will have the effect of preventing further atrocities, at least for the present, in the group.’ The same article cites local missionaries as supporting the work of Davis, while a later article in the Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser argues that John Thurston, the Acting High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, did not approve of Davis’ actions, claiming that was the reason the murder of another Englishman had not been avenged by the Royal Navy.
In addition to responding to requests for assistance by British expatriates, Davis was also charged with regulating the traffic in Pacific Island labourers. This is a task that figures heavily in all three voyages and in many islands deeply affected the Indigenous populations. The British government enforced rules under the Polynesian Labourers Act of 1868, which sought to strike a balance between the interests and welfare of the labourers, and the interests of the plantation owners. It required that labour recruiters hold a licence which specified precisely how many Islanders could be recruited. There were also guidelines on how many labourers could be transported for and this related to the size of the ship engaged, as well as how long labourers could be contracted for, usually not more than three years. The Act was amended to become the Pacific Islands Labourers Act 1880 in order to restrict the numbers recruited for work in Queensland. However, the Act was not enforced particularly strongly and the Admiralty were keen that Davis work to enforce the regulations more stringently. Davis looked ‘with strong disfavour upon the whole of the traffic, not only at the Gilbert Islands, but at the New Hebrides, the Solomons and elsewhere. He felt that the labour trade encouraged disagreements in the Islands which often to led to murder, but also that recruiting the young and the strong deprived the Islands of useful workers. Thus, whilst in many of the cases that involved British traders or plantation owners Davis tended to favour their opinion over that of the Indigenous persons involved in the dispute, when it came to labour recruitment Davis strictly punished those recruiters who broke the rules. While the cases Davis dealt with generally involved punishing European and American labour recruiters, in one particular case Davis was asked to also punish local Islanders who had attacked the Eliza Mary after it was wrecked. Davis was asked to look into the disaster, in which the labour recruitment vessel was wrecked off the coast of Mallicolo (Malakula) in March 1890. The majority of Pacific Islanders onboard died, and those that did survive, it was claimed, were attacked by the Islanders on Mallicolo. Davis tried and punished three local Islanders, two of whom were flogged in the presence of the families of those who had been attacked. Whilst each case dealt with by Davis was complete, his work during the first voyage was relatively straightforward; answering calls for help and adjudicating over the cases as he saw fit. The relative freedom allowed to Davis and the support given to him by his commanders at the Royal Navy’s Australian Station may account for his heavy handed approach on the second voyage.
The second voyage of the Royalist - 18th June to 9th December 1891
By 1890 the area commanded by the British in the Solomon Islands was known as the Lower Solomon Islands and comprised of Guadalcanal, San Cristobal, Savo, Florida, Malaita, and Ulawa. That year it was proposed that a British Protectorate be established over the Islands, and Sir James Fergusson, Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, commissioned Bishop Welwyn, the Bishop of Melanesia, to outline the benefits of this to the Colonial Office. Selwyn highlighted the benefits both to the Indigenous population, and to Europeans, remarking that Solomon Islanders would benefit from European intervention in the prevention of the sale of guns and ammunition, and in putting an end to ‘internecine wars and head-hunting raids which are now so common.’ Selwyn advocated the establishment of a system of British law and order as beneficial for resolving disputes, and highlighted that British law would benefit British traders by placing restrictions on those non British traders also operating in the Islands. While the restriction on the supply of arms and ammunition to Islanders was already in place, the British Government did agree that these laws needed to be better enforced; however, forming protectorates over the Islands was cited as not being desirable at that time and it was not until 1893 that Britain declared the southern islands of the Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate.
In 1891 the British trading company Messrs. Powell Brothers, resident on Santo in Vanuatu, who sought justice for Mr Sawers an English trader killed by Islanders, appealed to the Foreign Office for a change in policy and practice in Vanuatu. In particular the company highlighted the work of Davis in the Solomon Islands as an example, writing that a ‘great deal could be remedied if all those in command of Her Majesty’s ships would act as Captain Davis, of Her Majesty’s ship ‘Royalist’, has done recently on the Solomon group, where he headed an expedition ashore, and although the camps or villages might be found to vacated, the news soon spreads that the White man is able and ‘game’ to follow up those who commit a crime.’
The expeditions of the second voyage of H.M.S. Royalist have been discussed extensively. In particular texts have focused on the punitive actions taken by Davis at Roviana Lagoon and, just as on the first voyage, Davis is both criticised and praised.
In September 1891, several Kalikoqu tribesmen killed a European trader operating on Uki Island named Fred Howard. In response, the Royalist launched a punitive expedition against the village responsible, which was located in the Roviana Lagoon on the southern side of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, killing several of the tribesmen who were involved in the murder along with burning the village and destroying several of its canoes.
More detail on this expedition follows.
On 29th March 1889 a letter written by Edmund Pratt, a trader based at Rubiana in the Solomon Islands, to the Sydney Morning Herald was published in the paper. The letter detailed numerous murders of Europeans from as far back as 1874, and chastised the Royal Navy for its lack of action with any effect. On 30th June 1891, Royalist arrived in the Solomon Islands. Long intervals often occurred between a crime being reported by a European and punitive action being taken by the Royal Navy. The murders reported by Pratt included those of two of his own Islander employees in a first attack in 1888, and two additional Islander employees as well as the European employee William Dabelle in a second attack on his trading post in 1889. In the second attack the heads of those murdered were taken and in both attacks Pratt claimed loss of goods. The Royal Navy decided that these reports need to be investigated, and Royalist was dispatched to apprehend the murderers.
On his way back and forth between Australia and the Solomon Islands, Davis spent a few days in the areas now known as Milne Bay Province and the Bismarck Archipelago and collected 132 artefacts for his burgeoning ethnographic collection. Royalist stopped at Dinner Island or Samarai in Milne Bay Province to collect supplies of coal and because the Island was an administrative centre for the British Protectorate of British New Guinea. Davis was required to visit missions in the area to provide short reports on their work and mediate any disputes between the missions and Pacific Islanders. The London Missionary Society had founded a mission on the Island and Davis also visited newly founded missions at Bartle Bay and Goulvain, as well as other missions in the area during his time in New Guinea. From Dinner Island the ship continued to the Solomon Islands and on 15th August 1891 Davis arrived at Nusa Zonga, in Roviana Lagoon and received news that four Islander employees of Captain Thomas Woodhouse, the officer in charge of the settlement, had recently been murdered. Davis sought justice for both these murders and those reported by Pratt. He practiced the common techniques of the Royal Navy of collective punishment where communities were given the opportunity to had over the accused and suffer no further consequence. On receiving no response Davis and his officers landed and subsequently took hostages in place of the murderers until the community could or would deliver those he sought. When he still did not receive the offenders he sought, Davis and his crew destroyed all of the villages in Roviana Lagoon as a warning. This punitive raid and the consequences of it are discussed in detail in Chapter 6 of the book ‘Resonant Histories: Pacific Artefacts and the Voyages of H.M.S. Royalist 1890-1893’. Just as with De Latour, it was alleged by newspapers that a ‘grievance existed’ between Pratt and Solomon Islanders who attacked his property and murdered his employees, and that the grievance had been caused by Pratt. The Royal Navy only chose to believe the Europeans who complained to them, whose business was often improved through punitive action. There was also a clause in the instructions given to Royal Navy officers that stated that in cases of punitive action the Royal Navy were to leave plantations and trading posts as intact as possible.
The punitive raid at Roviana was just one element of a longer campaign of punitive raids by Royalist in retribution for crimes committed against British expatriates living in the Solomon Islands. Prior to the raids at Roviana Lagoon, Davis, in August 1891, shelled villages along the Maramasike Channel, Malaita with H.M.S. Ringdove. The two ships then led landing parties to further destroy villages in an attempt to make Islanders give up the murderers of Fred Howard, a trader of Ugi Island, who was murdered by a group of Malaita men. Two days later the crews of Royalist and Ringdove destroyed another village on San Cristoval and took the chief hostage after the community would not give up the murderers of Sam Craig, a mate of the schooner Sandfly. A week later another village on Malaita was destroyed in an attempt to capture men involved in an attack on the schooner Save, where two Europeans were murdered and one injured. This fortnight of destruction culminated in the events at Roviana which saw destruction of a scale never before seen.
An article in the Brisbane Courier on 16th December 1891 heavily criticised Davis’ actions but also placed blame with the instructions given, implying that Davis had minimal agency in the punitive raids. The article stated: ‘Probably in all this, Captain Davis did the best thing he could do according to his lights; at all events we presume he only carried out his instructions, which were doubtless inconsistent with the patience necessary to find individual culprits and impress the natives with the scrupulosity of British justice.’
Davis’ actions on the first and second voyages suggest that he carried out his instructions within his own understanding of those instructions, and perhaps subject to his own moral code. In October 1891 Captain Woodhouse, who had previously been aided by Davis, was charged alongside his associate Robert Cable for breaking the Pacific Islands Labourers Act. The vessels with Emma Fisher and Freak owned by Woodhouse were found to be carrying Pacific Island labourers without licence. As has been previously stated, Davis strongly disagreed with the labour trade, and despite taking the side of Woodhouse in previous cases relating to disputes with local Solomon Islanders, Davis chose to punish the infringement as he saw fit. Whether the criticism of his actions in the Solomon Islands affected Davis or not is impossible to know. Just as his actions during the second voyage may have been affected by those of the first voyage, the third voyage, which by comparison was relatively free from conflict, may have been a result of the heavy and justified criticisms Davis received in relation to his time in the Solomon Islands.
The third voyage of the Royalist - 27th April to 30th August 1892.
Unlike Germany, which had quickly acquired the Marshall Islands, Britain made no immediate movement in the area of the Western Pacific region known as Micronesia. It was not until 1892, when competition over trading interests between Germany and America in the Gilbert Islands suggested that the Gilbert Islands might by acquired by Germany, that Britain made a move.
In 1890 Thurston recommended the acquisition of the Gilbert Islands by Britain, not only to forestall the possible action by Germany, but also to control the recruitment of labour, the sale of guns and liquor, and to end growing turbulence in the islands. On 1st January 1892 a dispatch was sent from the Foreign Office to the Colonial Office urging the Colonial Office to decide whether the Gilbert Islands should be declared a British Protectorate. The dispatch was prompted by correspondence from the German ambassador who advised that delaying this action would damage British interests in the region. In response, Even Macgregor, Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty, wrote to the Foreign Office on 5th January 1892 that ‘from a naval point of view no advantage would result from the annexation of these islands, as they are merely coral reefs raised little above the level of the sea. Their productive powers are poor, and their population subsist mostly on fish.’
The Gilbert Islands were located far from the administration for the Western Pacific in Fiji, and had no trade interests for Britain. Britain’s reasons for declaring a protectorate over the islands stemmed from obligation and pride, recognising that if it did not declare a protectorate the only other option would be to concede the Islands to Germany, which did have trade interests in the region. On 23rd January 1892 instructions were given to establish a British Protectorate in the Gilbert Islands. The justification given by the Colonial Office for establishing protectorates over Pacific Islands was clearly laid out in a dispatch between the office and the Foreign Office on 20th January 1893. It stated that ‘Protectorates have been decided upon, not on account of the territorial importance or the commercial advantages of the islands, but in order to enable Her Majesty’s Government to repress crime and disorder, and especially in view of the recent revival of the labour traffic in these seas, to protect both the natives and persons dealing with them against outrages and injustice.’
Davis was sent to the area in 1892 to carry out the work listed above, to declare the Gilbert Islands a British Protectorate and to investigate the possibility of also forming a protectorate over the Ellice Islands. The success of the Protectorate was because it gave Britain more authority and therefore control over the Islands than had previously been assigned to the Western Pacific High Commissioner under the Western Pacific Orders in Council of 1877-1880.
Royalist arrived in the Gilbert Islands on 24th May 1892. Davis performed similar duties to the previous two voyages, maintaining law and order and removing arms that had been sold to Islanders by traders. His activities are listed in his reports to the Admiralty and in newspaper interviews produced when the ship returned to Australia in August 1892. Davis visited each of the 16 Gilbert Islands in turn, declaring each island a British Protectorate, rising the Union Jack, and where possible collecting all guns from the Islanders. From his reports this appeared to proceed smoothly with Davis writing many of the Islanders were ‘very pleased to have the Flag hoisted there’. This acceptance of British protection is further emphasised by a letter written on 15th November 1892 from Davis to Rear-Admiral Lord C. Scott of the Australian Station relaying the request of islanders from Arorai, Peru and Nukunau for the appointment of a British Resident in the Gilbert Islands.
Additional duties undertaken during this voyage included sentencing unscrupulous traders to prison time in Fiji, getting chiefs in North Tarawa to sign a peace agreement, getting a signed agreement by chiefs on Tamana to the cessation of flogging women, and removing troublesome missionaries from their duties. However, undertaking these additional duties in the Islands did not run smoothly. Several complaints were made against Davis by non-British citizens residing in the Gilbert Islands who were expelled by him. The majority of complaints came from American traders who were still unhappy about the effect of British law on their livelihoods in the Islands. An article in the Washington Post from 8th September 1892 reported that ‘the telegraphed report, that ‘the American residents were furious but helpless’ when the King’s flag was pulled down and the British colours were hoisted over the Palace amid the salutes of British war-vessels, is supposed to have reference to the feelings of disappointment experienced by the Americans doing business in the islands because they had cherished the hope that the efforts made by King Tebureimoa to induce the United States to assume a Protectorate over the islands would prove successful.’
The first complaint came from Mr Kustel, an American citizen, who complained of Davis’ ‘overbearing conduct’ towards him in reaction to an assault Kustel committed on s Gilbert Islander. Kustel according to Davis’ reports was one of several American traders in the Gilbert Islands who encouraged Islanders to fly the American flag and petition the American government for annexation even though this was not possible under the American constitution. A Gilbertese Islander living in Tarawa complained to Davis that Kustel had threatened to shoot him. Kustel, evidently not happy with being charged for the crime, complained about Davis’ behaviour towards him, stating that Davis asked him ‘in a very blasphemous manner what I meant by such criminal conduct. I told him there were extenuating circumstances, and wished to explain myself. He positively refused to listen to any explanation. He said I should have tried that game in the Solomons, and I would have got my throat cut.’
In response the Colonial Office and the American Department of State both asked to see Davis’ report on the incident in which Davis wrote: ‘I distinctly told Kustel that though this had occurred before the British flag was hoisted, it had been reported after - and that I was anxious to give him the opportunity of settling the affair amicably - and, as he acknowledged committing the assault, I asked him what reparation he proposed to make. He asked what I meant, and I suggested he should make a monetary compensation. He demurred, and then offered 10 dollars. I told him I did not consider that sufficient compensation for pointing a loaded revolver at a man, and threatening to shoot him… I neither swore nor made use of blasphemous language.’
In his report Davis included statements by other Gilbert Islanders and a Swedish trader all of whom corroborated Davis’ account.
The second complaint was made by Mr. W.P. Kapua, a Hawaiian missionary and trader, who was compensate by the British Government for his treatment by Davis. Kapua was asked to leave the Gilbert Islands by Davis after Kapua was accused of instigating a civil war among the Islanders living on Tabiteuea. Such was the matter of the expulsion that a conference was held to ascertain the regulations given to naval officers in carrying out these duties when establishing protectorates. Despite this Davis was allowed to continue his duties and was supported by Macgregor who, in a letter to the Admiralty on 26th June 1893, wrote: ‘I consider Captain Davis a painstaking and energetic officer, and believe his action with regard to Kapua was taken in what he believed to be the interests of the natives. Only a short time ago, in conversing with the Bishop of Tasmania, who visited the islands for Bishop Selwyn, he told me that Captain Davis took more interest in the natives of the Pacific Islands than any other captain. My Lords desire to express their opinion that Captain Davis’ explanation in the Kustel incident is entirely satisfactory and that he has shown great zeal and ability in the difficult and delicate work imposed upon him in regard to the natives of these islands, and I am to add that their Lordships propose to inform this officer that his services meet with their cordial approval.’
Further complaints were also made against Davis by Adolph Rick, an American agent for the firm Messrs. A. Crawford who was based at Butarotari, and who had appointed himself the unofficial Consul for the United States of America in the Gilbert Islands. Conflicting accounts of this argument exist in the archives, with Davis describing Rick as ‘a commercial agent of the United States’ with no power to interfere with the work of the British Government. The incident arose when Rick asked Davis to post some letters for him, all of which were marked with the return address ‘United States Consulate, Butaritari, Gilbert Islands’. Davis had made it known to Rick that under British jurisdiction the consulate could not exist and asked him to remove all reference to this consulate before Davis would take the letters. Rick complained about Davis’ disrespectful behaviour towards him to the American Government, which in turn complained to the British Foreign Office. ‘I cannot for an instant be supposed that Her Majesty’s Government could have intended to give a Naval Commander the function of censorship over the official correspondence of an officer of a friendly Power with the Government he serves, and in regard to the entire proceeding, the Secretary of State quite fails to share Captain Davis’ views as to that which constitutes discourtesy. Neither is it readily supposed that Captain Davis’ powers included the abrupt rupture and outlawry of the relations maintained by the United States’ Government with the Gilbert Islanders through its disputed Agent.’
The Foreign Office agreed to recognise Rick as a Consulate for America and instructed Davis to recognise his status in the future. Ultimately though Davis was once again supported by Scott and the Admiralty, who described him as ‘very thorough and satisfactory’ in his dealings on the matter.
The third voyage was marked by its relative peace between the Gilbert Islander’s and the Royal Navy officers. The differing responses and reaction of Davis and his crew across the three voyages is indicative of what has been described as two very different set of relations that existed between the British, Islanders in Melanesia and Islanders in Mircronesia. The failings of the Western Pacific High Commission are revealed through these relations. In Melanesia because of the ‘absence of any jurisdiction over Islanders for offences against British subjects, they continued to be regarded as members of responsible communities whose occasional violent acts must be interpreted as acts of war’ that were dealt with through punitive raids. Conversely in the Gilbert Islands disputes between Islanders and Europeans were generally dealt with ‘in consultation with the island governments. The autonomy of these governments was always respected’ and as a result the Admiralty saw no need to conduct punitive raids. Ultimately these different responses led to incoherent and poorly managed relationships between Davis, Islanders, and European and American settlers in the Western Pacific.
Each voyage whilst distinct in its aim marked a further development in Britain’s interests in the Western Pacific. Throughout all three voyages Davis sought to protect these interests and maintain law and order through the enactment of the British judiciary system. However many of the incidences within which he was involved ‘reveal the lack of any coherent official stance on dealing with ‘outrages’ against these interests. It was in the midst of these complex and fraught negotiations over law and order that Davis collected artefacts and took photographs of the places he went and the people he met.
During his time in the Pacific, Davis put together a truly outstanding collection of ethnographic objects. He originally collected these with a view to his retirement. His collection originally amounted to over 1400 items. He was unable to sell his collection as a whole, despite his efforts in publishing a small catalogue on it, and he eventually came to dispose of it circa 1900 through the taxidermists firm of Edward Gerrard & Sons, with items being now housed in numerous institutions including the British Museum, the Horniman Museum, the National Museum of Scotland to name but a few. Concerning the purchase of items, Davis wrote to Read of the British Museum on 21st September 1903, noting the variety, quality and high value of particular numbered items (possibly those in which Read had expressed an interest), and explained his concern to receive good prices because of his prospective retirement on half pay. He also noted that the food bowl he had given to Lord Charles Scott should have been returned to him rather than presented to the British Museum. Some 141 objects from his collection now reside in the British Museum. A book on this collection has recently been published titled: ‘Resonant Histories: Pacific Artefacts and the Voyages of H.M.S. Royalist 1890-1893’.
In summary, on 27th May 1892, Davis proclaimed the Gilbert Islands to be a British Protectorate. Later that same year, another Royal Navy officer, Captain Gibson aboard Curacoa, did the same for the Ellice Islands between 9th and 16th October, and in 1893, the entirety was named as the British Western Pacific Territories, and then administered by a High Commissioner resident in Fiji. The first Resident Commissioner was Charles Swayne. As of 1896 the Gilbert Island Protectorate's headquarters were established on Tarawa Atoll. Over the next few years, increased German interest in the Pacific region and the outbreak of Great War speeded up the conversion of the Protectorate to a Crown Colony. The process was completed in 1916, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony was named. They later became a part of the administration of New Zealand, and gained independence from the Crown in July 1979, being now known as Kiribati.
Returning to Davis’ time there. it was “for services connected with certain islands in the Western Pacific” that he was appointed to be a Companion of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in the New Years Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 2nd January 1894.
Final years, promotion to Admiral, and service during the Great War as the Organiser of the Bexhill-on-Sea Transport and Ambulance Column in East Sussex.
His tenure in the Pacific over, Davis was posted off Royalist and home in May 1893.
Davis then assumed command of the battleship Colossus in March 1894, which vessel was a part of the Reserve Fleet and acting as the coastguard ship at Holyhead, and in August of that year participated in the Fleet Manoeuvres. serving as part of the "Blue" fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Edward Seymour. She was assigned to Group 1 of the fleet.The exercises lasted around 36 hours before the results were decided in favour of "Blue" fleet. During the manoeuvres, Colossus was judged to have been disabled by coastal artillery at Belfast.
In August 1895, Colossus was again reactivated to take part in the annual fleet manoeuvres as part of the Reserve Fleet. The ships were mobilised at Torbay in early August, went to sea on the 8th, and carried out various training exercises, including shooting practice and tactical manoeuvres, before returning to port on 20 August. During the 1896 fleet manoeuvres she would form part of Fleet “C”. Fleet C operated in concert with Fleet D, again commanded by Seymour. He was given the objective to combine his fleets and either defeat the strong A and B fleets in detail or to reach the fortified port of Lough Swilly. The ships went to sea on 24th July and by the morning of 30th July, Seymour had succeeded in uniting his fleets but failed to bring Fleet A to battle, and therefore took his ships to Lough Swilly.
In March 1897, Davis handed over command of Colossus to Captain Samuel Arthur Johnson, and he then assumed command of the battleship Royal Sovereign in June 1897. He was then sent with her to the Mediterranean. Before departing for the Mediterranean, she took part in the Fleet Review for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria at Spithead on 26th June 1897, and as the Captain of a warship, was awarded the Jubilee Medal 1897 in Silver. Then from 7th to 11th July he was in command of Royal Sovereign when she took part in annual manoeuvres off the coast of Ireland. Royal Sovereign finally departed England for the Mediterranean in September. In August and September 1897, the Admiralty told Davis that his interview with a newspaper correspondent on the subject of Naval Discipline was not suitable and that his explanation of the matter was not considered “by any means satisfactory.” Davis was to exercise greater discretion in such matters in the future.
Davis remained in command of her with the Mediterranean Fleet though to the following year, and was then appointed to the command of the battleship Howe on 19th March 1898, she being the port guard-ship at Queenstown. With Howe, Davis was appointed Flag Captain to the Admiral in command at Queenstown. He remained with this command until 19th January 1900.
Davis was then posted out to the West Indies when appointed to fly the flag of a Commodore 2nd Class in Charge, when posted to the old troopship and Jamaica depot ship Urgent from 13th January 1900. In August of that year he became a member of the Legislative Council of Jamaica.
Davis was promoted to Rear-Admiral n 13th March 1901, and handed over the Jamaica Command on 22nd March, and then returned to Bristol, having handed over command to Commodore Daniel McN. Riddel on 2nd May 1901.
In May 1901 a note was added to his service record noting that the ‘Government of Jamaica expresses appreciation of the value of Admiral Davis services while Commodore at Jamaica’ and Their Lordships at the Admiralty expressed satisfaction at receiving his despatch.
Davis was then promoted to Vice-Admiral on 8th June 1905, and in accordance with the provisions of the Order in Council of 8th December 1903, he was placed on the Retired List at his own request on 26th June 1905.
Davis’ name was added to a list of Nautical Assessors in the House of Lords on 23rd February 1906, and was then promoted to Admiral on the Retired List on 5th November 1908. He then travelled back to Australia, returning on 4th July 1910, and for near enough the remainder of his life was re-appointed as a Nautical Assessor several times. He retired to Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, and a County Justice of the Peace for Hastings.
With the Great War, whilst remaining on the Retired List, he found employment as the Organiser of the Bexhill-on-Sea Transport and Ambulance Column which transported the casualties and sick to the hospitals in that area of Sussex.
It was for this important war work that Davis received his final honour, being appointed an Officer of the Civil Division of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the London Gazette for 30th March 1920.
Davis resigned his position as a Naval Assessor on 31st January 1929, and died later that year on 6th October 1929 after a fall from a bedroom window he had been trying to repair at his home in Bexhill-on-Sea. An inquest the following day determined his death was accidental.
His obituary was published in The Times on 7th October, and his funeral was held at St Barnabas Church in Bexhill on 9th October 1929.
