Harry Davis

Who is Harry Davis?

Harry Davis was an English potter, the only child of a Swiss mother and English father. He was educated in Switzerland and England, and was fluent in German. After school he was sent to the Bournemouth School of Art where the pottery class was oversubscribed. Undaunted, he worked in the pottery room after hours, turning out large numbers of enormous pots which drew the attention of the headmaster. He was sent to Broadstone Potters, near Poole, responsible for the "Joyous Pottery" range, where he was employed as a decorator, but soon showed interest in all aspects of the craft. He came under the tutelage of a certain Mr. Bean who instructed him in the skills needed at a potter's wheel.

In 1933 he applied for a job with the studio potter, Bernard Leach, and ended up working for Bernard and David Leach at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall. Davis acknowledged the invaluable experience he gained from Bernard Leach, especially for the honing of his aesthetic appreciation of ceramics. During this period he spent long hours in London museums, making copious notes and drawings of pots he found interesting.

He left St Ives in 1937 to become Head of the Art School at Achimota College on the Gold Coast which is the present-day Ghana. Here he examined the feasibility of manufacturing tiles, bricks and pots. In 1938 he married May, whom he had met at Leach Pottery, and she accompanied him on his return to Africa. The outbreak of World War II found May stuck in England and Harry in Africa. He remained until 1942, managing to find local sources of clay and glazes. Davis recommended that Michael Cardew succeed him.