DAVIDSON, Alan Findlay
| Service Number: | VX25985 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 June 1940, Caulfield, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Burnie, Tasmania, Australia, 13 September 1912 |
| Home Town: | Malvern East, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Machine Hand |
| Died: | Execution, Ambon, Netherlands East Indies, 15 February 1942, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Ambon Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, VX25985 | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX25985, 2nd/21st Infantry Battalion, Caulfield, Vic. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Mari Walker
Son of George Douglas and Ida May Davidson, of East Malvern, Victoria, Australia.
Private Davidson enlisted in June 1940 and embarked for overseas service in December 1941. He arrived in Ambon on 17 December 1941 and was a member of 2/21 Battalion which was part of “Gull Force”. This force consisted of 1131 Australian soldiers, Dutch and local native troops whose objective was to occupy Ambon Island (approximately 350 miles NNE of Timor, in the Banda Sea) and hinder the Japanese advance.
Pte Davidson was a member of a large garrison that was positioned around Laha Airfield prior to the Japanese invasion of 30 January 1942. Following a series of short but fierce battles, fighting on Ambon ceased on 2nd February 1942, after which Pte Davidson was listed as missing. The men who had survived the battle for Laha (approximately 315 men) were systematically executed and buried in one of four mass graves. Pte Davidson was executed on 15 February 1942.
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