Richard Alfred Davies

Bombardier Richard Alfred Davies – Royal Artillery, 960 Defence Regiment

Not all those who served during the Second World War and are buried at St. Peter’s Church, Cockett, lost their lives through direct combat or military injuries. One such case is that of Bombardier Richard Alfred Davies, whose death came as a result of enemy action on the home front.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Bombardier Richard Alfred Davies is recorded as having died on 20^th February 1941, during the Three Nights Blitz on Swansea, which devastated much of the city between 19^th and 21^st February 1941. However, the St. Peter’s Church burial register and civilian casualty records both confirm that Richard actually died on 21^st February 1941 — indicating a small error in the CWGC’s official records.

He was 32 years old and served with the Royal Artillery, 960 Defence Regiment.

Civil Defence casualty records

When war was declared, local authorities across Britain made extensive preparations for the threat of air raids and civilian casualties. As part of this effort, official Civil Defence casualty records were maintained, listing those who died as a result of enemy action. These printed forms were later bound into registers, copies of which for Swansea are preserved by the West Glamorgan Archive Service.

The 960 Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed part of the 5^th Anti-Aircraft Division, which was responsible for protecting South Wales from enemy bombing raids. The regiment’s batteries were deployed around Swansea, Port Talbot, and Neath, operating light and heavy anti-aircraft guns to defend key industrial and port facilities. During the Swansea Blitz, these gun crews engaged German aircraft in fierce night-time barrages as the city below was engulfed in flames.

The Three Nights Blitz remains one of the darkest periods in Swansea’s wartime history. Between 19^th and 21^st  February 1941, waves of Luftwaffe bombers attacked the city, targeting the docks, oil storage facilities, and industrial works, but also destroying much of the city centre and surrounding residential areas. Over 230 people were killed, and thousands were injured or left homeless. Fires burned for days, and large parts of Swansea were reduced to rubble.

St. Peter's Church
burial register 

Richard Alfred Davies
St. Peter's Church
credit - findagrave

The only surviving records concerning Richard Davies are the St. Peter’s Church burial register and entries within the civilian and air raid casualty registers. His home address at the time of his death was Gwynedd Avenue, Swansea.