Hi, all! Hands up from me - I was looking for the "wrong" Idris in two older, previous posts, in search of the Best Man (and greatest friend) of my Great Uncle James W. Love, who himself began RAF service pre-war as an Ambulanceman, volunteering for aircrew duties as Air Gunner during 1942 (KIA March 1944 with 78 Sqdn)... Turns out that the wedding certificate (recently found by a family member) shows I. M. Davies (not Williams, as previously thought), and so, I set about initially asking a few friends on Facebook, one of whom (Jim Sewell) turned up four Idris Davies', three having the middle initial 'M', one of those being Pilot Officer Idris Morgan Davies, 48094, of 82 Sqdn. The others are a Sgt Flight Engineer Idris Davies 1456033, 102 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and two others named Idris M. Davies (see list image). The thing is, although we know the squadrons of two, there doesn't seem to be any available information on where the other two I.M.Davies served...or if any of them survived the war... My challenge and query is to try to determine which Idris M Davies was the most likely chap to have been James W Love's closest friend, and perhaps find out why James gave his son Alan the middle name of Idris: perhaps in memory, if the "right" Idris may have died in action before May 1942 (Alan's birthdate) - or did the daft duo simply stop off at the pub en route to the registry office and decide it (according to family joke!)? In short, can anyone help with narrowing down the Idris Davies saga by providing any connection and/or information of their survival or demise, so that I might somehow set about contacting the right family just to tie up a nagging loose end to our family saga. I do have two edited photos of the "right" Idris, also posted hereabouts in the hope of better identification. Any help, advice or guidance would be very much appreciated!
I think you can discount 6226 I M Davies as she was an assistant Section Officer in the WAAF. Full name was Iris Mary Davies. Regards, Dave
Idris Davies 1456033 of 102 Squadron didn’t join the RAF until after James Love’s wedding so he wouldn’t be in uniform in the photo. Idris Morgan Davies 48094 of 82 Squadron was originally 550731, a Boy Entrant from 1934, in one of your previous posts you say they were both training together so it’s unlikely to be him, although not impossible if he re-trained as aircrew. Has your friend got any service numbers for the other two? I can only see 102 Squadron’s Idris on the attached list. Pete
Thanks, chaps - sorry for delay in getting back to this but I've been unwell. Now, things are beginning to get a bit messy, eh? The chap in the photos was obviously NOT Iris M Davies, but definitely an I M Davies..and judging by snailer's reply above, it's looking like the latter (48094, previously 550731) - providing my previous comment on them "training together" is ignored as a possible red herring, as that was supposition from family conversation. My apologies for leading astray on that - I merely repeated someone else's (probably erroneous) comment, and drifted off to the wrong track. In all honesty, I don't know exactly how they became friends - one possibility was that they did re-muster/re-train as Aircrew together, as James Love definitely converted during 1941/42, confirmed by his uniform/badging changes at the birth of his son in 1942 - so if I M Davies also re-trained for Aircrew duties at that time, then I'd close the chapter on that connection and be satisfied with that. So, to clarify, we do know that my Uncle's "Best Man" was definitely Idris M Davies - he signed as witness on the wedding certificate, and the resulting furore between James and his wife over the Christening of their son Alan (Idris) Love is family legend..so, if we assume that the latter (48094, previously 550731) IS the right Idris, then what else can be traced on this chap, please, if anything? I've searched the CWGC website and found "0 entries for that name", so assuming Idris M Davies survived the war, how could I find out what became of him? Or have I messed up my search again?
...And finally...! Courtesy of a contact via another Facebook Group, we have traced and confirmed the RIGHT Idris M Davies - thanks, interestingly, to a chance connection with someone else's family tree (yes, I know - confusion reigns supreme, here..) The "right" Idris Morgan Davies was born 28/12/1923, and passed away in the last quarter of 1986 in the district of Bangor. Post-war, Idris married a lady named Dilys, they had no children and lived in Pwllheli; he was a baker by trade. With contact now made & being maintained with one of his distant cousins (who has confirmed his identity from the photos posted above), the chapter is sorted and being built upon, much to the delight of my own cousins, the descendants of James W Love. I'd like to thank everyone who helped matters along to this conclusion, with all the helpful suggestions and comments - always a great response in WW2 Talk!
My Grandmother’s brother was Idris Morgan Davies and won the distinguished flying cross. After the war he moved to Phoenix and set up Home there.
Owain, my name is Brandon Allen. Idris was my grandfather. Moved to Phoenix and married my dads mom Rosa. Where do you live?
Brandon Owain has not been on the forum since Apr 2018 I have sent him a message for you Regards Clive
