Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Berthout

Private 3275 John George Davis Walker,
44th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 8th Platoon, 11th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division of the AIF

The Somme, red with millions of poppies which wave peacefully through light spring breezes, shows us the landscapes of a world at peace, of silent fields but behind the golden wheat thousands of white graves can be seen, they are the last eternal resting places of so many young boys who, more than a hundred years ago, on these same fields, lived and endured a hell on earth never seen before through avalanches of shells which, in torrents, in implacable hail, fell on veritable slaughterhouses red with blood which were the waking nightmare of men of exceptional bravery and who, in the prime of their lives, for their loved ones, for their country, for the men who stood by their side in the trenches, fought with their hearts to make peace prevail, because it was the right thing to do, the good fight. They barely left school, barely knew the too short joys of a innocent life or were fathers who, a few months before the war had children, had just gotten married but to the call they all responded and, ready to give their today despite the dangers of the war, they left behind them the playgrounds, the warmth of their homes, the happiness of a family life and in the Somme, in France, for all of us, they took part in the fight, wore their colors with honor and among the poppies , silent witnesses of exceptional courage, gave their lives so that we all could have a tomorrow.They were Australians, New Zealanders, united in the brotherhood of the ANZAC spirit and today they still stand side by side, silent and proud on these sacred grounds that they protected at the cost of their lives and behind their epitaphs, tell us the story of their lives that they sacrificed so that the sun could shine again after four years of darkness and today, more than ever, I feel proud to be one of the guardians of their memory that I wish perpetuate so that these heroes, our brave Diggers, our sons, can live forever.

Today, it is with all my heart, with the utmost respect and with the deepest gratitude that I would like to honor the life of one of these young men, of one of my boys of the Somme who, a few kilometers from my house, for Australia and for France, for us and our children, gave his today.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 3275 John George Davis Walker who fought in the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 8th Platoon, 11th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who was killed in action 106 years ago, on April 12, 1918 at the age of 21 on the Somme front.

John George Walker Davis was born on January 1, 1897 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and was the son of George Walker and Minnie Davis but was orphaned at the age of three. However, he was adopted by Mrs. Mary Skene, of 157 Claisebrook Street, East Perth, and loved John very dearly as her true son, even long after his death in 1918. With Mary, he had a peaceful and very happy childhood, received a very good education and worked as an apprentice silversmith in Sedgewick Street, Perth then from the age of 20 served for two years and six months in the Citizen Military Forces, 80th Infantry Battalion until the outbreak of the war.

Driven by a deep love for his country and a strong spirit of camaraderie, John enlisted on February 21, 1917 in Perth, Western Australia, in the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 8th Reinforcement, which was raised in February 1916 in Claremont, in Perth's suburbs, and soon became known as "Old Bill's Thousand" after his first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel William Mansbridge, then, after a three-month training period at No.2 Depot, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia , on board HMAT A30 Borda on June 29, 1917 and sailed for England and arrived in Plymouth on August 25. The next day, John joined the 11th Training Battalion at Larkhill then on November 5 marched to Sutton Mandeville where he completed his training with the 10th Training Battalion then the following month, on December 18, proceeded overseas to France from Southampton.

On December 19, 1917, after a brief and peaceful day of travel on the English Channel, John arrived in France and was disembarked at Le Havre then marched to Rouelles where he joined the Australian Infantry Base Depot, marched out to unit on December 20 and taken on strength in the 44th Battalion on December 24 in the Bois-Grenier sector where the battalion celebrated Christmas, which is described in the battalion's war diary as follows: "Christmas services were held by chaplain. Rations were supplemented by food brought from battalion funds and from comfortd funds, and an excellent christmas dinner was shared by all.A thaw has set in and snow has fallen."During the days that followed,  John and his unit were mainly employed in working parties which were regularly shelled by the German artillery then on January 3, 1918, were relieved by the 2nd/5th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and marched to "Wakefield Huts" where the men of the 44th followed a period of training under heavy snowfall interspersed with moments of rest.

On January 28, 1918, the men of the 44th Battalion left Wakefield Huts and moved to the trenches of Ploegsteert Wood, on the Ypres Salient, where they relieved the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion and were employed in draining their positions which they then reinforced with numerous strong points defended by Lewis Gun but were very often shelled by German artillery which caused a lot of damage, which did not prevent good humor and fighting spirit from prevailing in the ranks of the 44th which were relieved on February 5 by the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion and marched into billets to Nieppe, in the north of France, where they followed a new period of intensive training including musketry exercises and anti-gas exercises interspersed with moments of recreation such as inter-unit football and rugby match, which greatly strengthened cohesion in the battalion and allowed everyone to keep a good spirit and forget the war for a while.

On February 13, 1918, John and the men of the 44th Battalion, comprising a strength of 1042 men including 52 officers, left Nieppe and marched to the front line of the Deulemont sector where they relieved the 42nd Battalion. Shortly after, the Australian artillery began to shell the German trenches daily and obtained good results with their 18pdr which destroyed several machine gun positions as well as Minenwerfer but the German artillery responded (without great success) then German airplanes flew over the Australian positions held by the 44th Battalion whose anti-aircraft machine guns came into action but without apparent results and a week later, the 44th was relieved and moved back to Nieppe, to Ingersoll Camp where they remained until March 2 then, on March 21, in a final strong and desperate attempt to break through the Allied lines once and for all and end the war before the mass arrival of American troops on the Western Front, the German army launched its spring offensive called "Operation Michael ".

The German general Erich Ludendorff considered several plans for the opening of their Spring Offensive and eventually settled on an attack near the town of St Quentin. Whilst the geography of this area, being near the old Somme battlefield of 1916, was not conducive to a full-scale assault it did provide a notable benefit. This was the area where the British and French armies met on the Western Front. If the Germans could drive them apart they could isolate the British in particular and potentially open a corridor through to the open countryside beyond the trenches. Their heaviest blow would be aimed towards the British.

With the location selected, the Germans gathered their forces on the Western Front where they soon outnumbered the joint British-French armies by 191 division to 178. During the day on 20 March 1918, reports began to be received by British forces that German artillery was now in position to open fire.

A heavy fog had settled in the area and visibility fell to mere yards. At 4:40am on 21 March, the German artillery began to fire as Operation Michael began. It was one of the largest artillery bombardments in history and over 3 million shells were fired in just five hours. The town of Flesquieres was smothered in Mustard Gas and German artillery pounded British trenches and destroyed communications with areas behind the lines.

Five hours later German infantry advanced. The fog was so thick the British could not see them coming and, in some parts of the line, the artillery bombardment had been so ferocious that some British soldiers had been rendered virtually catatonic and were unable to function let alone defend their trenches.

With the front line being pierced in multiple places, some British soldiers reported threatening taunts being shouted through the fog by German soldiers who were surrounding them. In fear they turned and ran. The German army advanced throughout the day and continued to push as the British continued to retreat.

In Paris recriminations began between the different countries. The French blamed the British for retreating. The British blamed the French for a lack of support. Both blamed the Americans for not arriving in greater numbers. With huge German railway guns now able to fire at Paris, the French government began to discuss the possible need to evacuate the capital.

To stem the German attacks, the allies would need to agree a drastic solution.

Since the outbreak of war the British and French armies had been largely independent on the Western Front. Whilst they would coordinate with each other, and with the war being in France the French were nominally the senior partner, they could not issue orders to each other and retained their own commands.

However, the disaster unfolding on the Western Front forced the allies into finally appointing a single commander for all their forces. The man chosen was General Ferdinand Foch. Foch had commanded the French forces on the Somme in 1916 and played an important role in military plans between Britain and France before the outbreak of war.

With a single man now in command of the British, French, and American armies on the Western Front the allies could begin to come to grips with the German attacks.

Operation Michael came to an end on the 5th April. The Germans had made significant territorial gains but had found advancing over the ruins of the Somme battlefield difficult. More dramatically, whilst they had inflicted severe casualties on the British and French in the area, arriving Americans could eventually replace those losses. The thousands of German soldiers who had died could not be replaced.

On March 26, 1918, called for help to stop the German offensive, John and the 44th Battalion were sent to the Somme and arrived at Doullens then moved by motorized bus to Heilly the next day and took up position in an arc between Corbie and Villers-Bretonneux to prevent the Germans from crossing the Somme River. On March 28, they moved to Sailly-Le-Sec where violent contact took place between Australian and German troops who retreated in the face of the courage of the Diggers but dug fortified positions to avoid to lose too much ground which spread out at a distance between 300 and 500 yards from the Australian trenches which were greatly improved thanks to the help of a battalion of the Australian Pioneers from April 3.

On April 4, 1918, under heavy rain, the Germans began a heavy bombardment on the positions of the 44th Battalion followed by a brutal assault during which two unarmed German soldiers were captured by Lieutenant Carson. One of them refused to be brought in and was immediately shot. It later turned out that they were in search of food. The second was a private whose name was Max Gottsman of the Pioneer Erzats Battalion of Minnenwerfer, 1st Company who, while that he was taken to the battalion headquarters, Carson was shot through the groin and killed then on April 8, John and his unit marched to Bonnay where they had a bath and new clothes, which was greatly appreciated and the next day, returned to the trenches, this time at Vaux-Sur-Somme and had to face a gas shell attack but fortunately, caused no casualties but on April 11, luck abandoned John and during the day he suffered a strike direct from a shell which fell in his trench. A splinter passed through his head and he was killed instantly, he was 21 years old.

The circumstances leading to John's death are documented in the Australian Red Cross Society Wounded And Missing Inquiry Bureau Files as follows:
"We were in reserve at Vaux (Vaux-Sur-Somme), on the Somme. About noon a shell came over killing Davis instantly. I was within fifty yards of him at the time. I saw him on a stretcher afterwards. He was buried in a British cemetery close to Heilly Railway Station. I was not at the burial but saw the grave with cross erected with details on it about four days later." (Private L.A. Ferry, 44th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 8th Platoon).

"In B Company. We had just come from the line into reserve.A shell dropped in his trench at mid-day.He was killed outright.I was a few yards away. Young, bright boy, about 19, medium built. In a wood about half a mile north of Vaux-Sur-Somme. Cross was put up.The only grave there at the time.Ground still in our hands." (Company Serjeant Major number 367 Walter Henry Quayle, 44th Australian Infantry Battalion).

"Davis was killed outright in Grapnell Gully by a piece of shrapnell through the head and is buried in a military cemetery between Bonnay and Heilly,and cross up.We were out from the line at the time,about 1 mile behind.I saw him killed and have seen his grave." (Private number 280 Joseph Burns,44th Australian Infantry Battalion).

"I was near Davis when he was killed. He was sitting sewing by his dug-out on the side of a hill in the gully (Dead Horse Gully) Behind Sailly-Le-Sec, when a shell burst and a piece went through his head,killing him instantly. He was buried in a wood at the side of the gully. This was in April last.The ground was held." (Private number 3589 Frederick William Whittleston, 44th Australian Infantry Battalion).

Today, John George Walker Davis rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Bonnay Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription chosen by his adopted mother, Mary Skene: "A loving son whose place will never be filled."

John, you who were so young, so loved, who was adopted with so much tenderness, it must have been with a heavy heart that you said goodbye to a life of happiness but, at the call of duty, you could not stay back then with pride, with hope and faith, you took a step forward to do what was right and joined your comrades on the battlefields of northern France then under the shadowy skies of a world in war which, for four years, sank deeply into the madness and brutality of murderous battles which claimed so many lives cut down in the mud of the Somme, in a hell on earth made of barbed wire, blood and flames which, slowly, devoured and transformed once peaceful valleys into fields of execution, into putrid slaughterhouses in which friends and enemies killed each other in the fury of hand-to-hand attacks which ended in bloodbaths, in the despair of a horrible death in the shell holes in which the screams of agony were heard and then, like fragile candles, in the rain, went out and were drowned in this indescribable chaos that so many young men endured and lived through. They were the innocent, helpless witnesses of horrors about which no words could be put and saw through their children's eyes, their friends being pulverized, torn to pieces by the shrapnel, they saw young men like them who, under the metal caterpillars of the first tanks, were crushed in the enemy trenches, they saw the pain of brothers who, on no man's land, riddled with bullets, called their mothers in heartbreaking tears. They saw the rats which, as big as cats, swarmed among the dead bodies above which hovered the terrible smell of death.Days and nights they were surrounded by this death which, invisible, waited lurking in the shadows and in the trenches, despite their bravery, lived each minute like the last, their hearts beating to the rhythm of trapped animals who could not escape from this carnage. Torn by fear, their legs paralyzed, they nevertheless found in each other the strength to overcome this apocalypse, they found the comfort of friends, the love of men who watched over each other like brothers, united like a family and under the bullets, they moved forward because they knew they were not alone. From this brotherhood, from this mateship, was born the ANZAC spirit of which the young Australian soldiers wrote the legend, a spirit which kept them strong in solidarity, in gallantry, in common effort in the face of adversity, an eternal spirit which still lives today among the poppies of the Somme which were witnesses to the exceptional courage of the Australian soldiers who were in all the battles, at Pozieres, Flers, Gueudecourt, Amiens, Villers-Bretonneux, Le Hamel. They fought like true lions in the name of peace and freedom and showed the courage of the entire Australian nation including the daughters and the sons stood courageously alongside their French brothers on the front line where the solemn friendship between our two countries was born.More than a hundred years have passed, the Somme has become peaceful again under the songs of the birds. Under the poppies, the machine guns have fallen silent but the past is still present through the remains of preserved trenches, around shell holes in which grow such beautiful flowers, because life is stronger than anything but it reminds us every day of what so many young boys here endured and who still today rest in peace standing proud behind their immaculate tombs which stand in so many cemeteries carrying the weight of so many lives lost. Young forever, they are there, standing smiling next to each other in the peace for which they gave their lives. To each of them I feel deeply grateful for the sacrifices they paid for us today, more than ever, I feel honored and proud to watch over them, to give them my life to keep their memory alive which must remain strong because remembering them, it's keeping them alive, it's keeping them in the light. They are Australian but through my eyes, will forever be also French, our sons whom we will love forever. They will never be forgotten.Thank you so much John, for everything you did and gave for my country whose respect and love will belong to you forever and I like to think that today you are reunited with your adopted mother Mary, united in the love that was stronger than death. At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.