Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Blighty Valley Cemetery | II. I. 6. Authuile Wood | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.120 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 58B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of John and Omelia Davis, of 25, Wilton St., Old Basford, Nottingham.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 11/Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) |
11th (Service) Battalion Formed at Derby in September 1914 as part of K3 and became part of 70th Brigade in 23rd Division. Moved to Stanhope Lines at Aldershot n December 1914. Moved to Shorncliffe in February 1915 and went on in May to Bordon. Landed at Boulogne 27 August 1915. Moved with Division to Italy in November 1917. Left Division and moved to France, arriving at St Riquier on 18 September 1918 and there joined 74th Brigade in 25th Division. |
| Action : The Battles of the Somme 1916 |
The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.
Detail :
John Cotterill 3. 2Lt Walter Arthur Bernard DAVIS 11th Bn (Men from the Greenwood) KIA 1/7/16: 2nd Lieut. 13th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters, 29.6.1915: 2nd Lieut. 11th Battalion 11.2.1916: Killed in Action on the Somme, 1.7.1916: reported missing after the days attack, his body was discovered on 21.9.1916, where it had fallen near Lozenge Wood. Then buried in front of Authuille Wood: British War Medal, Victory Medal.: information Men from the Greenwood and War Diary: Now lies Blighty Valley Cemetery, Authuille Wood, Authuille, France. The ?Men from the Greenwood? lost 508 men from strength of 710 (including transport and 10% left out of battle) on the first day of the Somme. They were the fourth battalion to go into the attack in 70 Bde of 8 Div. Their advance through the front line was impeded by casualties from the other three Bns in their Bde and they made little progress towards their objective of Mouquet Farm. DAVIS lies now in the same wood in which he and his comrades spent the night before the battle.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Marquis of Titchfield No. 3550 E.C. | Nottinghamshire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
28th April 1915 | 27th October 1915 | 24th November 1915 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley