Obtaining his PhD in 1954, Davies was promoted to full professor and made chair of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) at the University of Birmingham in 1965.
[1] Davies obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London in 1950.
[2] He subsequently attended the University of Birmingham, where he obtained his PhD in 1954 in Commerce and Social Science under the supervision of historian Alexander Baykov.
[1] In 1963, Davies was named the first director of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) at the University of Birmingham — a post which he would retain until 1978.
[1] Davies retired in 1989 and was named Senior Fellow and Emeritus Professor by the university upon his departure from active teaching.