Private Alexander Davis
Private Alexander Davis, my first cousin three times removed, was killed in action in France in 1918. He was 28 years old.
Sometimes a few words in a record can make you stop and pause to reflect. Private Davis’s army records proved to be a treasure trove of information… but, more importantly, they gave me a small insight into what he was like as an individual.
Alexander Davis was born in Melbourne in 1890 to Lewis and Louisa Davis. Loiusa was actually the eldest surviving daughter of her husband’s older sister, Sarah (daughter of Isaac and Minna Davis and sister of John Davis). Yes… Lewis married his niece.
Lewis and Louisa had 6 children – three boys and three girls: Alexander was the third born. Alexander became an apprentice bootmaker and worked for six years in his grandfather’s business, Morris Aarons & Sons.
On July 12 1915 he enlisted in the Australian Army. According to his application, he was 25 years 4 months old, 5 foot 3 inches tall, and weighed 9 stone 10lbs. He had a “fresh” complexion, grayish brown eyes, and dark brown hair. Alexander also confesses that he was fined 5/- (is that 5 shillings?) for “loitering”!
He was pronounced medically fit for service and on December 17 1915 Private Alexander Davis (#3823) was assigned to the 9th Rein, 22nd Battalion. A note on his file indicates he was congratulated for “gallant conduct” during his training. Private Davis departed Melbourne aboard the H.M.A.S. Warlida on February 8, 1916. He disembarked in Marseilles on March 27 and was immediately sent to the front, proving to be a brave and gallant soldier. Over the course of his short army career, he served in Belgium and France – including at the Somme.
The most poignant item in Alexander’s file is a copy of a letter written by him to his parents in January 1917. His father, Lewis, sent this copy to the army after his death. In it, Alexander candidly describes his experience, after he had been “mentioned in dispatches”
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Alexander was wounded in action several times, sustaining shrapnel wounds, shell shock, and exhaustion. Each injury and trip to the hospital are recorded on his Service and Casualty form Part II… As is his offense of overstaying his leave in England on September 2nd, 1918 by one day. His punishment for this infringement was a deduction of 4 days’ pay.
One hopes he had a good time on that extra day’s leave in England because on October 12 1918 Private Alexander Davis was killed in action. He was shot in the head by a German sniper, his “death being instantaneous”. In a letter to the family Lieutenant K.S. Anderson of the 22nd Battalion describes the circumstances: “On the morning of the 4th of October 1918 the Battalion attacked and advanced to Ponchaux – about 3 miles in front of Estrees. Private Davis and another were sent out as runners to the firing line with messages to company commanders. Private Davis was killed by a sniper and the other runner was badly wounded… Owing to the sniping Pte. Davis knew that it was practically impossible to get through to the firing line but volunteered to make the attempt. He was considered by all to be one of the best runners in the battalion and feared nothing.” It was a week before his fellow soldiers were able to send a burial party to erect markers over their comrades’ graves. Alexander was initially interred near “Bridge over Canal between Geneve and Beaurevoir”. Some time around 1920 his remains were exhumed and he was transferred to the Prospect Hill British Cemetery (Plot 4 Row D Grave 12), East of Gouy and north of St Quentin in France.
All this information was gleaned from Private Davis’s army records, held by the National Archives of Australia and accessed online at naa.gov.au.
Alexander is just one of the hundreds of thousands of young men who died on the battlefields of the “Great War”… the “war to end all wars”. Of course WWI was just another stop on the train line of destruction wending it’s way through European history.
Alexander’s great grandparents, Isaac and Amelia Davis had brought the family out of Prussia to England to escape poverty and persecution. His grandparent’s, Morris and Sarah had brought their family to Australia from Leeds to start a new life in the colonies. What would Alexander’s life have been like if had not returned to the home of his forebears? We will never know.