DAVIS, Arthur William
| Service Number: | 3075 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 August 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melrose, South Australia, 9 April 1896 |
| Home Town: | Melrose, Mount Remarkable, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer's Assistant |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 September 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Melrose 'In Memory of the Fallen" Great War 1914-18, Melrose Memorial Institute Honour Roll, Melrose RSL Community Room and Story Board, Melrose School Roll of Honour, Melrose War Memorial, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Port Augusta St Augustine's Church Memorial Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jan 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3075, 27th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Jan 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3075, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Jacob Piantadosi
Private Arthur Williams Davis was born on the 9th of April 1896, at Melrose, Mount Remarkable, South Australia. His occupation was as grocer's assistant. The amount of time spent in this occupation is unknown. Arthur was the eldest son of William Davis and Charlotte Davis.
Arthur enlisted on the 6th of August 1915 through the AIF (Australian Imperial Force). He is recorded on the 12th of January 1916 as Private SN 3075, with the 27th Battalion with which he embarked. The 27th Battalion was the second of the South Australian Battalions to serve in WW1. It was allocated to the 7th Brigade which was in the second division. 8000 soldiers served in this Battalion and 1167 of all ranks died in active service. The 27th Battalion AIF was known as ‘Unley’s Own’, as many of the men who were first to be enlisted in WW1 were from this specific district. After many weeks of intensive training, route marches and farewell parades, which were in front of a tremendous amount of people, the battalion embarked on the HMAT Geelong on the 31st of May 1916 to further training in Egypt.
The Second Division in which Arthur was involved, disembarked in Marseilles, France. They took a journey to the very extremity of France, near the Belgian border and around the Armentieres sector, which is known as the “The Nursery”. It was there that many troops new to the Front were introduced to Trench Welfare. This was a relatively quiet sector of the front. The 27th Battalion was committed to fighting near the Pozieres as part of the Second Division.
In early November the 7th Brigade was involved in a very major battle at Flers, south-east of Pozieres. The 27th Battalion lost 10 officers, 136 were killed in action and 136 other soldiers were reported wounded. Arthur was wounded in the chest and back of the leg. The Battle of the Somme, lasted from the 1st of July until the 18th of November. Arthur fought in this battle and survived.
After the Somme, Arthur went with the Second Division and endured winter quarters near Gueudecourt, a commune in France which is not far from the Pozieres. The weather was blisteringly cold and logistics were a nightmare, which were made worse from the amount of mud which characterised the battlefield.
Private Arthur William Davis was unfortunately reported killed in action a year later, after being hospitalised for several months. He died on the 20th of September 1917. He has no known grave but is memorialised at the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium.
Biography
"LATE PTE. A. DAVIS.
Pte. Arthur Davis, of Melrose, has been reported killed in France. He was the eldest son of Mr. W. J. Davis, of the town, indicated, and enlisted at the age of 18. He was about 20 when he was killed. The deceased was esteemed among a large circle of friends." - from the Adelaide Observer 27 Oct 1917 (nla.gov.au)
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