Trafford

Born in the Stockport R.D. 1892 or 1893, the eldest son of Thomas William &
Mary Ann Davies (nee Wood).

1901 Census - Lumb Lane, Hazel Grove and Bramhall, Stockport.   Son - aged:
8 born: Cheadle Hulme.   Head of household - Thomas W. Davies - Married -
aged: 38 - occ: Gey Cloth Warehouseman - born: Stretford.   Also - Mary A.
Davies - Wife - aged: 35 -  occ: Laundress - born: Manchester.  Plus 2
younger siblings and a great aunt.

Attended Victoria Park School and was commemorated on their War memorial -
NOW LOST.   Also commemorated on the Stretford Independent Methodist War
Memorial.

1911 Census - 70 Mitford Street, Stretford.    Son - aged: 18 - occ:
Insurance Clerk - born: Cheadle Hulme.   Head of household - Thomas William
Davies - Married - aged: 48 - occ: Park Gardener - born: Stretford.   Also
- Mary Ann Davies - Wife - aged: 45 - born: Manchester.  Plus 4 younger
siblings.

SDGW states that he was killed on the 31st December 1918 ???  Previously
1583 - Cheshire Rgt.     Listed as Lance Corporal John Davis on the
Stretford Cenotaph.    Listed on the Barton Methodists Chapel Memorial and
the Vistoria Park School Memorial.

CWGC - Son of Thomas William and Mary Ann Davies, of 70, Mitford St.,
Stretford, Manchester.

He kept a diary - see below.

A member of 'A' Company - Left Cambridge - ordered to parade at 0300 hrs on
the Sunday morning - entrained and arrived at Southampton dockside - about
15.00 hrs, ordered to fall in and board the "Oxonian" - set sail at 18.30
hrs - concerned that they may come across the "Unterseeboats - Landed at Le
Havre on the 15th February 1915 - after disembarking, they marched up to
Nos. 6 and 7 Remount Camps, where they stayed until Wednesday afternoon -
entrained for the north and spent 22½ hours on a "train" (if that's what
it could be called, he said) - detrained at about 19.00 hrs at Bailleul on
the French/Belgian border - housed for the night in the Grapperie-du-Vine -
14.00 hrs on Friday moved off again for Neuve Eglise and billeted in barns,
etc.

Went down to the trenches half a dozen times on fatigues as carrying
parties, along a road made from split logs which was very wet and slippery
- the Engineers called it the "Corduroy Path" - bullets were flying about
and one knocked his cap off - selected to go on a grenade throwing and
trench motar warfare course from 09.30 hrs to 16.00 hrs on 28th February
1915, in the charge of Sergeant Norbury [Frank Norbury killed on the 6th
March 1915] - 29th Feb and 1st March - more grenade instruction - went into
trench No.5 for two days at 19.00 hrs on the 2nd March - into trench No.2
on the 5th March, when poor Frank Norbury was killed accidentally by a shot
from his own rifle - stayed in the trenches until the 9th March - rifle
instruction in the morning of the 11th March and in the afternoon had to
clear out into the fields on account of the shelling of the village,
returning at 17.00 hrs - grenade instruction on 12th March - into trenches
again from the 13th to the 16th March, only a few casualties - more grenade
instruction on 18th March - into trenches again from the 19th to the 21st
March - no casualties - more grenade instruction on the 22nd March, until
heavy bombardment forced them to abandon the village and go through the
fields to Manoutre.

Left Neuve Eglise, for Kemmel and stayed the night in the "School de St.
Germain" - forbidden to go out of billets in the day-time and no fires at
night as they were within sight of the enemy - left Kemmel for Locre on the
24th March where they were billeted - on fatigues, trenches only 25 yards
apart - went into No. 10 trench on 27th for four days - unmercifully
shelled on the 29th March which continued all night and until noon the next
day - mounted a four day guard at Kemmel Chateau and on the 4th April
marched back to Locre - moved to Dickebusch and into wooden huts for two
days on the 5th April - moved out of Dickebusch on the 7th April to Ypres,
via Onderuia - arrived at Ypres at 17.30 hrs, then had a two hour march to
the support trenches arriving at 21.00 hrs - still in the support trenches
on the 10th April where they had 6 killed and 4 wounded, including his
cousin, Len Heaton.

On the 15th April Colonel Groves sent for him and promoted him to Lance
Corporal - detailed to pring Bank Dug-outs on the 16th April where he was
detailed to act as guide to a Scottish Regt - moved from dug-outs to the
trenches on the 17th April, the night when "Hill 60" was attacked and
described as a "night of hell" - at 19.00 hrs the German trenches were
blown up [underground mine] - the night was lit up like day and the Germans
counter-attacked and heavy losses were inflicted on the Cheshire's [10 were
killed that night] - he never expected to emerge alive that night -
fatigues, filling sandbags on the 18th April - Germans attacked on the 19th
April, but were beaten back - went into the fields near Ypres on the banks
of the Yser Canal - Germans bagan a bombardment with 17 inch "Jack
Johnson's" [large shrapnel shells] - cleared out of the town of Ypres and
went into the fields where they slept under a hedge, it rained all night
and they were soaked - about 1000 civilians were killed or wounded - went
to sleep at the Bleach Works - lucky not to have been killed on the 22nd
when hearing a shell coming over, he dived to the ground, the shell just
missed him and buried itself into the roadway - heavy bombardment on the
23rd April and the Colonel's horse was killed - still out in the fields on
the 24th, the bombardment is awful and half the town is ablaze.

The next entry into his diary was made a week after the event - shot in
right ankle at midnight and taken to dressing station, remained there for
about two hours before being taken to the Brigade HQ and put down at the
side of the road for another two hours before being taken by motor
ambulance to Poperinge, arriving there at 06.00 hrs on the 26th April -
stayed there until 20.00 hrs when he was removed owing to the bombardment
of the hospital - arrived at Hazebrouek on the 27th April - taken by
hospital train to No. 13 General Hospital (the old Casino) at Boulogne on
the 28th April and on the 29th put on the hospital ship "Carisbrooke
Castle" - arrived at Southampton at about 21.00 hrs andf put on a hospital
train for Manchester - arrived at the 2nd Western General Hospital,
Whitworth Street, Manchester at about 06.00 hrs on the 30th April -
transferred to Rochdale on the 2nd May.

M.I. "Duty Nobly Done".