DAVIES, Harold
| Service Number: | 2786 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Benalla, Victoria, Australia, 5 October 1897 |
| Home Town: | Geelong, Greater Geelong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | 30 July 1963, aged 65 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Brighton General Cemetery, Victoria Lawn Section E, Grave 103 |
| Memorials: | Geelong Shenton Methodist Church Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2786, 7th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2786, 7th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of Victoria embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 10 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2786, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of Victoria, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Harold Davies was a Company runner for the 7th Battalion AIF, who on the 24th, 25th and 26th July 1916, at Pozieres, displayed conspicuous bravery by continuously carrying messages under heavy barrages of artillery fire. On the last day mentioned, Private Davies was wounded in the leg and was referred to the doctor but he refused and continued to carry on for four hours when he was compelled to be evacuated. He was awarded a Military Medal.
During late 1916, Signaller Harold Davies wrote a published letter to his father, at East Geelong, from France “I received your letter with a photo of a certain town in France, which had been knocked about by bombardment. Well, I have seen that town, and it is not many miles from there that I was wounded and it was also close to there that the ’Big Push’ started. Certain villages which were taken, during the ‘Big Push’, were levelled to the ground; all you could see of them was one big mass of shell holes. If some of the men who are 'funking' it, thought a little about it, and placed themselves in the position of the French people at present, if they saw their towns razed to the ground, perhaps they would do their bit. You enquire if I am the H. Davies who got the Military Medal? Yes, I got it. I have missed my leave to England on account of being in hospital.”
He rejoined his unit in late 1916 and was very badly gassed during September 1917. He was evacuated to England with severe gas poisoning and eventually returned to Australia during early 1918. He married after the war and raised eight children.
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