Christ College Remembers Second Lieutenant David Harold Davies

REMEMBRANCE DISPATCH No. 55 COMMEMORATES SECOND LIEUTENANT DAVID HAROLD DAVIES (SCHOOL HOUSE 1912-1914) WHO DIED OF WOUNDS ON 18^th NOVEMBER 1918.

Second Lieutenant David Harold Davies

1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment

18th November 1918

School House 1912-1914

David Harold Davies entered Christ College at the same time as his brother, Thomas Henry Ronald Davies (School House 1912-1913). Their father, Dr Abel Christmas Davies, was a medical practitioner in Gowerton. Dr Davies had played rugby football for London Welsh while at medical school and was a former Welsh international who had gained his cap in 1889.

David Harold competed in the annual Athletic Sports at Christ College, and played for the 1st XV and the Cricket XI. Just fifteen when first selected for the XI, he was described as a promising player with a ‘nice style and strong defence’. At the end of the 1914 season, he was placed amongst the top bowlers in the 1st XI.

David Harold and Thomas, his brother, both joined the Army. Thomas joined the Royal Field Artillery; David Harold joined the 28th (County of London) Battalion (Artists’ Rifles).

In April 1918 he was commissioned into the 1st Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment. By the summer of 1918, the Battalion was much depleted after terrible losses. It was transferred to 110 Brigade 21st Division and took part in the major offensive in the Somme sector that began on 21st August.

On 30th August Second Lieutenant Davies was sent on patrol at Beaulencourt. He was reported as killed by enemy fire but it later transpired that he had been taken as a prisoner of war. On the 18th November 1918, just days after the Armistice, he died of wounds while in captivity.

Second Lieutenant David Harold Davies is buried in the Niederzwehren Cemetery, Kassel, Germany. He is remembered on the Gowerton School War Memorial as well as on the Christ College War Memorial.