Barry Davies (soldier)

Barry Davies
BEM
Born (1944-11-22)November 22, 1944
Wem, Shropshire, UK
Died August 4, 2016(2016-08-04) (aged 71)
Spain
Service/branch SAS
Years of service 1967-1985

Barry Davies BEM (22 November 1944 – 18 April 2016) was a British army soldier who served with the SAS and was awarded the British Empire Medal for his role in the operation to release hostages from a hijacked German plane, Lufthansa Flight 181, at Mogadishu, in October 1977. He was a counter-terrorist expert and the author of many books on the SAS and Survival training.

Army career

In 1962, Davies joined the Welsh Guards,[1] and joined the Special Air Service aged 22, with whom he served for 18 years. Davies served in Northern Ireland, Oman, Malaya, Africa and Latin America.[2][3] In 1977, Davies helped bring the 91 passengers of Lufthansa Flight 181 to safety after the plane was hijacked in Mogadishu; Davies had originally been sent as an observer, but ended up taking part in the assault to free the 91 passengers.[4][5] Davies was awarded the British Empire Medal.[1][2] In 1985, Davies left the SAS to work as a marketer and product developer for BCB International.[2]

Author

Davies was the author of over 35 books on the SAS and Survival training including Fire Magic: Hijack to Mogadishu (1994), Heroes of the SAS (2000), The Complete Encyclopedia of the SAS (1998), The SAS Self-Defence Handbook (2011), The Complete SAS Survival Manual (2011) and SAS Desert Survival (2001).[2]

Personal life and death

Davies was born in Wem, Shropshire, where his father worked as a farmer.[2][3] In 1996, Davies moved to Spain.[3] Davies died on 18 April 2016 in Spain due to a heart attack.[1][2][3] He was survived by his fourth wife Mary Dixon, whom he married in 2011, and a son and two daughters.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 MacAskill, Ewan (19 April 2016). "Barry Davies, legendary SAS figure, dies aged 71". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Barry Davies, SAS soldier – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Devine, Darren (17 May 2016). "Tributes to former SAS soldier who helped save stricken air passengers". Wales Online. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Barry Davies". The Times. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "R.I.P ~ SERGEANT MAJOR BARRY DAVIES BEM". Combat + Survival. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
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