DAVIES, Herbert James
| Service Number: | 3779 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 29th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Illness, France, 30 August 1918, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Mont Huon Military Cemetery, le Treport, France Mont Huon Military Cemetery, Le Treport, Haute-Normandie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Mount Barker Soldiers' Memorial Hospital Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 3779, 29th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 3779, 29th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Melbourne |
Help us honour Herbert James Davies's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Cornerstone College
Herbert James Davies was born sometime in September 1893. He was born in Littlehampton. At the time of the war, he was living in Horsham, Victoria. He enlisted for abroad service in the war on the 19th of July 1916, about halfway through the war, when he was 22 years and 11 months old. He was described as having brown hair, brown eyes, and he had a scar on the back of his left hand.
His service number in the army was SN 3779. He was a Private in the 29th Battalion. The 29th battalion was added to the 8th brigade at Broadmeadows camp in Victoria, on the 10th of August 1915. The 8th brigade travelled through Egypt and France, headed for the Western Front, all before July 1916, when Davies joined the war. DAvies moved from Britain to France on the 17/12/1916 and was taken on strength to the 29th Battalion on 23/12/1916. Davies was wounded in 2nd March 1917 with GWW to his right leg and foot. He was sent back to England for treatment and ended up at the Southwark hospital where his injury was classified as severe. He went on Forlough in May for rest and was back with his unit in France by the beginning of August. He was again hospitalised sick with diarrhoea and after returning to his unit was wounded again in his left thigh and kness on 27/9/1917. He was sent back to England 29/9/1917 to recover rejoining his unit again 15/1/1918. He was hospitalised again 22/3/1918 with a fever oif unknown origin, remaining in hospital until 7/5/1918. He rejoined his unit on 13/5/1918 but again became sick and returned to hospital on 16/8/1918.
He died on the 30th of October 1918, from Polyneuritis, a disease which affects a person’s peripheral nerves, at the 16th General Hospital, Le Treport. He died only 12 days before the ending of the war. When these nerves are damaged, they can’t send regular signals back to the brain. He was one of the 325,000 deaths on the western front.
After he died his father, Thomas, was sent a package of his things, containing a knife, a comb, a salvation army jersey, 4 devotional books, a wallet, a notebook, photos, and letter. His name is in the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, and the Mount Barker Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Roll of Honour. He was awarded a British War Medal, and a Victory Medal.
His grave is in the Mont Huon Military Cemetery, Plot 7, Row D, Grave 8b.