Davis, Sturton Mathwin, 1919- : Sturton Mathwin Davis, was born in Birkenhead, England, 1919. He received a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Engineering (Naval Architecture) from the University of Liverpool, and attended the Royal Naval College, England. From 1940-1947, he served in the Royal Navy, within the Constructor Branch of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors (RCNC). As a Constructor Lieutenant, he served in H.M.S. RODNEY, being present during the action with the German battleship BISMARCK. Subsequently, he was engaged on the design of destroyers and also served with the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington, D.C. He resigned from the RCNC in 1947. From 1947-1953, he worked for a private naval architectural firm in Montreal, German and Milne, where he was involved in the design of the first of the modern series of Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers, the D'IBERVILLE.
As a naval officer and eventual Rear Admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Armed Forces, 1953-1974, Davis was involved, from 1953-1955, in the later stages of development of the ST. LAURENT Class destroyers. In 1958-1959, he was placed in charge of the Nuclear Submarine Survey Team, one of the first in a series of studies on the feasibility of building or acquiring nuclear submarines for Canada. As Director General Ships, 1961-1965, Davis was responsible for RCN ship design, construction, procurement and acquisition. He was involved in the acquisition of the British built OBERON class conventional submarine for Canada and with the design of the DDH 280 TRIBAL Class Frigates and, particularly, with the decision to introduce all-gas turbine propulsion.
A graduate of the National Defence College (NDC) in Kingston, 1960, he became NDC Commandant, 1969-1974, and has written extensively on the topic of defence colleges, both national and international. Upon retirement from the military, Davis worked as an advisor for the Public Service Commission and wrote extensively on naval affairs. Continuing his education, he obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Political Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, 1979, and later served as an Adjunct Professor at the School of Public Administration, Queen's University.
