Hero grandfather fought Red Army

Stuart Davies wants to learn more about his grandfather's medals

A man says he is humbled to learn that his grandfather won a medal for bravery after volunteering to fight the Red Army in Russia almost 90 years ago.

Denbighshire councillor Stuart Davies knew his father's father served in World War I but not that he signed for more action after the 1917 revolution.

But the papers with Arthur Davies' 1920 Military Medal were stolen from the Wrexham family's home in the 1960s.

Mr Davies now wants to discover exactly why he received the medal.

He added: "We know that it was for bravery in the field.

"My grandfather died more than 60 years ago, before I was born, and my father said he rarely spoke about his experiences."

Mr Davies, an independent councillor and deputy leader of Denbighshire Council, learned about the rarity of his grandfather's honours when he mentioned them in passing to the local authority's chief executive, Ian Miller.

He obviously liked his time in the army in France and Belgium and wanted to stay in a unit that saw active service Ian Miller, military historian

Mr Miller is an amateur military historian and immediately recognised one medal as from the Archangel campaign, when Britain sent troops and supplies to the anti-Bolshevik "white" forces in Russia after the armistice.

He said: "I could tell straight away that Arthur Davies had been with a territorial battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and had been in France by November 1914.

"Another showed he transferred to the (London-based) Royal Fusiliers, which I was fairly certain was a battalion which had served in the Russian campaign in 1919.

"We did a few quick checks on the internet and there it was. I suspect he was discharged in late 1918 or early 1919 and volunteered to join a battalion going out to Russia.

Remembrance Day

"He obviously liked his time in the army in France and Belgium and wanted to stay in a unit that saw active service.

"The Archangel campaign is not particularly well known. It didn't involve huge numbers of British forces. That was makes the Military Medal more rare."

The Military Medal was awarded to non-commissioned ranks and was their equivalent of the Military Cross for bravery.

Mr Miller said he hoped regimental dairies would help shed light on what act of bravery led to Arthur Davies winning his Military Medal.

Mr Davies said that as the eldest son of Arthur Davies' eldest son, he planned to wear the medals at the Remembrance Day parade in Llangollen in November.

He said: "I'm very humbled. I know that a lot of people in 1918 were almost being forced to go the Russian front.

"Some refused to go. He volunteered."