DAVIDSON, Henry
| Service Number: | 1890 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Condamine, Queensland, Australia, 21 February 1883 |
| Home Town: | Condamine, Western Downs, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Selector |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 14 April 1917, aged 34 years |
| Cemetery: |
Achiet-le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Miles Wall of Remembrance |
World War 1 Service
| 1 May 1916: | Involvement Private, 1890, 52nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1916: | Embarked Private, 1890, 52nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Anthony Vine
HENRY DAVIDSON 1890 52ND BATTALION AIF
Henry Davidson was born in the Condamine region of Queensland in 1883 the third of nine children born to William and Mary Davidson. At the time he enlisted in the AIF in early February 1916, he was a Selector employed on “Glendower” near Jericho in Queensland. His elder brother Herbert had enlisted in the previous September and younger brother Edwin in early January 1916.
Henry enlisted in Rockhampton and trained in Brisbane before embarking for overseas on HMAT A46 “Clan McGillivray” on the first of May 1916 as a reinforcement for the 52nd Battalion. After further training in the Middle East he arrived in the UK in August, and then France in November 1916. He joined his battalion along with 75 other reinforcements near Delville Wood, where it was working on salvage duties and constructing defences under fire. In early December the battalion was withdrawn to a reserve position near Buire and Vignacourt for training and rest.
On the 8th of January, the 52nd re-entered the line, again participating in salvage and repair work, hampered by snow and intense cold. Over the next three months it would rotate in two week intervals between manning the Front Line and being in reserve billets. On the 11th of February, his younger brother Edwin would be killed when the 12th Battalion was bombed during a German attack.
In mid-April the 52nd took part in attacks to straighten the British lines in front of the German “Hindenberg” Line. On the 13th of April the 52nd was conducting a handover to the 17th Battalion AIF under intermittent shellfire, when Henry was grievously wounded in his head, left hand, groin, left knee & calf, dislocated elbow and a fractured shoulder.
Henry was evacuated to the 45th Casualty Clearance Station where he died of his wounds the next day.
Henry Davidson is buried in the Achiet-Le-Grand Communal Cemetery, just five kilometres north of where his brother Edwin rests. Their brother, Herbert was wounded in 1916 but would survive the war returning to Australia in mid-1918 to be medically discharged.