Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids, DSO, MC & Bar (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was an English flying ace of the First World War.

By 11 October 1917, Rhys-Davids had shot down five more enemy aircraft for an official total of 27 aerial victories – 23 of them individual kills.

Despite disappearing less than five miles from the crash site of Werner Voss, shot down by Rhys-Davids one month earlier, his remains have never been found.

[2] After schooling at Brighton he refused to be trained as a solicitor and he enrolled at Breslau University to study Sanskrit in which he took a PhD.

While acting as a magistrate Rhys-Davids ruled in favour of a native over an Englishman during a land-ownership dispute leading him to be ostracised by the British community on the island.

Rhys-Davids' great-grandfather was Vice Admiral William Lukin who had assumed the name Windham in 1824 upon inheriting Felbrigg Hall.

While reading Economics, Caroline was advised by her professor to further her interests in Indian philosophy by studying Sanskrit and Pali.

[3][4] At the age of three Rhys-Davids started kindergarten at the Manor Mount High School For Girls in Forest Hill.

In 1905 he left Manor Mount High School, sixth in his class, before spending the summer in Switzerland by Lake Champex.

[12] On 12 December 1915 he was nominated for the Newcastle (Domus Exhibition) Scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford, and by 1916 was named Captain of the School.

At this point, Rhys-Davids gave the first indication he was interested in becoming a pilot and joining the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).

[15] Rhys-Davids began flight training but did not enjoy life in the British Army and complained about the "coarse and uneducated company".

[16] Rhys-Davids's time did not last long at Exeter, for he was transferred to the Central Flying School at Upavon Aerodrome for further training.

One of his instructors there was Keith Muspratt, who was the same age as Rhys-Davids and had been educated at Selborne College in East London, South Africa.

He had taken his Royal Aero Club certificate in his last year of school; a talented pilot, the RFC recognised his ability and commissioned him as an instructor.

He hoped to gain his flight certificates by Christmas 1916, but that involved 25 hours solo flying, night landings, cross country, artillery observations, bomb dropping and aerial photography.

Eleven Royal Aircraft Factory SE5s of 56 Squadron ran into the experienced German airmen of Jasta 11 of the Flying Circus.

One of the Squadron 56 flight commanders, famous ace Albert Ball (44 victories), was killed when he likely flew into the ground after becoming disorientated in low-lying cloud.

On 5 June 1917, after his sixth triumph, he received a telegram informing him that along with Captain Cyril M. Crowe and Second Lieutenant Reginald Hoidge he had been awarded the Military Cross (MC).

[25] During the last battle Rhys-Davids's SE5, A4563, had its propeller damaged and its right top wing's main spar was shattered by ground fire.

A fellow member of 609, Chidlaw-Roberts, attempted to assist, but was shot up by the German Fokker F.I pilot and retired from the fray.

His movements were so quick and uncertain ...[30]Rhys-Davids, James McCudden, Geoffrey Hilton Bowman, Richard Maybery, Keith Muspratt, and Verschoyle Cronyn were all now engaged in battle with the tenacious German, who made no attempt to escape.

Hoidge and Maybery attempted to attack the triplane but were unsuccessful, as was a counter-move by the Germans which was broken up by McCudden and Rhys-Davids.

Bowman believed the German was momentarily distracted and intent on attacking himself, otherwise doubting Rhys-Davids' ability to get onto the Fokker's tail so easily.

[33]As long as I live I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single-handed fought seven of us for ten minutes and also put some bullets through all our machines.

[34]While McCudden watched the triplane crash, Rhys-Davids spotted the Albatros and dispatched it, firing from 100 to 30 yards and severely damaging the machine which force-landed.

The Germans soon announced that an ace pilot named Werner Voss had not returned from a sortie and was posted as missing in action.

[39] It was announced in the London Gazette on 18 March 1918: 2nd Lt. Arthur Percival Foley Rhys Davids, M.C., R.F.C., Spec Res.

[40]The same day Rhys-Davids was selected by Hugh Trenchard and Maurice Baring to have his portrait sketched by artist William Orpen.

[43] That same day he took off on a routine patrol and was last seen flying east of Roeselare chasing a group of German Albatros fighters.