Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Edward (Ted) Frederick Davis was born 30th May 1906 in Thames Ditton, England, the eldest of seven children to Frederick and Ellen Elizabeth (nee Jordan) Davis. 14 December 1922 at the age of 16, Edward boarded the ship ‘Ballarat’ destined for Adelaide. He listed his occupation as ‘Errand boy’ and his address in England as 14 Douglas Road, Gower Green, Esher, Surrey.

He had assisted passage under the South Australian Farm Apprentice scheme, other wise known as the ‘Barwell Boys’ scheme. Henry Barwell, Premier of South Australia at the time, aimed to address, to some extent, the loss of 6,000 young men of South Australia who had made the ultimate sacrifice in WW1. Ted was one of some two thousand boys who took that great leap into the unknown.

Ted reported for duty at Recruit Reception Depot Wayville 31 January 1942. He joined the 17 Defence and Employment Platoon (17 Def & Emp Pl), located at Victoria Park, on 15 February. He was promoted to Corporal 15 April and was detached for provost duty. He took leave with pay 18 May 1942 and three days later married Elsie Maud Stone at the Willowie Methodist Church.

Returning to Adelaide, one of his duties with 17 Def & Emp Pl was guarding the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) Barracks at Keswick. On 31 July he was entrained to Seymour, Victoria to attend Junior Leaders Tactical Course at Second Aust Army Training School afterwards returning to Adelaide to re-join 17 Def & Emp Pl at the end of August 1942.

Ted took some leave in mid September. On his return on 18 September he was reassigned to the 3 Infantry Training Battalion (Btn) located at Wayville. He was transferred to 34 Infantry Training (Btn) located at Watsonia, Victoria, on 23 October 1942. He was promoted to Acting Sergeant on the 15 December. Six days later Ted entrained to Sydney to board the ‘Katoomba’, for Milne Bay, New Guinea, arriving at 11 Division Reception Camp as part of the New Guinea General Reinforcements.  

Ted was posted to D Company, 2/10 Btn 9 January 1943, and reverted to the rank of Corporal.  He left immediately and participated in the final stages of the capture of Buna before he was evacuated to 10 Field Ambulance located at Oro Bay 8 February 1943, having contracted malaria. Six days later he was transferred to 2/9 Aust General Hospital at Port Moresby. Discharged from hospital 2 March he was posted to 2/1 Corps Reception Camp, before returning to the 2/10 Btn on 4 March.

10 March 1943 Ted and the battalion boarded the transport ‘Willis Vandervanter’ at Port Moresby, disembarking at Cairns two days later where they undertook further jungle training at Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tableland. The effects of malaria were to haunt Ted for many months. He was barely back in Australia when he was transferred to the 2/2 Aust General Hospital at Rocky Creek, returning to his unit on the 6th of April.

He was granted home leave however, on the 15 May he was evacuated to 101 General Hospital in Adelaide, being discharged 4 June. Returning to Queensland 18 June, Ted ended up in hospital again, at 106 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) at Ravenshoe, returning to the 2/10 Btn 4 July. But his return was short lived, and he was evacuated to 109 CCS on 23 July (as the 106 had moved to New Guinea), and then to 2/6 General Hospital (also at Rocky Creek). It was at this point Ted’s medical fitness came under review.

He was deemed ‘medically fit to carry out certain duties which require only restricted medical fitness’ and discharged to 2 Corps Reception Camp, (as the 2/10 Btn had also moved back to New Guinea). Ted’s health continued to suffer, and apart from the relapses of malaria, he had other medical conditions including abdominal adhesions and prostatitis. Ted was assigned to 14 Employment Company which was located at Atherton at the end of December 1943. Through to September 1944 Ted was in and out of hospital and eventually given a medical discharge from the Army 5 September 1944.

Ted had served a total of 949 days, with 82 of those deployed overseas. After his discharge from the AIF, Ted joined the Red Cross 30 October 1944, with service number B449. Ted was very active in the Methodist Church at Willowie. He was the choir master prior to his enlistment. Newspaper reports published in the ‘Cairns Post’ 1944-1945 record him as Corporal and later Sergeant E F Davis regularly taking services in the local Methodist Churches.

He departed from Brisbane 2 August 1945 for service with the Red Cross in Morotai and the Philippines as part of 3 Australian POW Reception Group. Their job was to manage the recovery of Australian and British POW’s from Japan. By November all POW’s had been recovered enabling Ted’s return to Australia at Sydney 4 January 1946. His final discharge was on 25 January 1946.

Ted and Maud had one child, a daughter, born 3 August 1945. His career after he left the army is uncertain, however his death certificate listed his occupation as ‘Time Keeper’.

Ted suffered from the effects of a heart attack for many years and passed away on the 30 August 1966 aged 60 years. He is interred at Dudley Park Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia. Lawn Section - Row R: 1A

Excerpt from "Diggers From the Dust" (2018) Di Barrie & Andrew Barrie.