Fonds F2504 - Sam Davis fonds

Dr. Sturton Mathwin "Sam" Davis, a Rear Admiral with the Royal Canadian Navy, Commandant of the National Defense College and Adjunct Professor at the Queen's University School of Public Administration, was born in Birkenhead, England on 18 April 1919. After graduating from the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, he served in the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors during the Second World War. He met his wife, Lois, on a troop ship in Halifax during the war (she had been serving with the American Red Cross), and they married in England. In 1948, they moved to Montreal.

At the outbreak of the Korean War, the Royal Canadian Navy recruited him, and he rose to become director general for ships. He later became Commandant of the National Defense College (at Fort Frontenac), a position he held until his retirement in 1974. That same year, he became Executive Director of the Queen's-Kingston Health Sciences Complex.

Through part-time studies at Queen's University, he had completed six Masters degrees in Engineering, Education and the Arts, as well as his doctorate, by 1979. He became an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Administration in 1985, introducing and coordinating the Health Policy Specialization component of that program. He served on numerous committees throughout his career, including the KFL&A Health Board, the Health Services Restructuring Commission and various committees within Kingston General Hospital.

Dr. Davis passed away on 28 October 1998.