TRIUMPH ON THE WESTERN FRONT TRIUMPH on the Western Front Diary of a Despatch Rider with the ANZACs 1915–1919 Oswald Harcourt Davis MM R.E. compiled by Philip Holdway-Davis Publisher Insurance Professional Limited (Publishing) PO Box 6925 Wellesley Street Auckland City Auckland 1141 NEW ZEALAND
[email protected] Phone: +64 (0) 27 380 0127 www.triumphonthewesternfront.com First published by FireStep Press in 2015 under the title Triumph on the Western Front: Diary of a Despatch Rider with the ANZACs 1915-1919 © 2015, Oswald Harcourt Davis (O H Davis Archive) and Philip Holdway-Davis All rights reserved. Apart from any use under NZ copyright law no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Insurance Professional Limited or Philip Holdway-Davis. ISBN 978-0-473-31463-7 Front CoverPrinted Image: and bound Soldiers in walkNew Zealandamong the by ruinsBenefitz of bombed (NZ) Limited buildings in Ypres, Belgium, 1917. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association: New Zealand Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. official negatives,http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22789648 World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-012950-G. Map care of “The Long, Long Trail: the British Army in the Great War”. CONTENTS Your Personal Centenary Tour Invitation ........... 2 Foreword by Michael Carragher ................. 6 Preface .............................. 10 Introduction – Oswald’s Battlefields .............. 12 Prologue – Reflections on Oswald by the Davis Family ... 21 Through England in War Time ................ 28 Map of Battlefield Lines ..................... 32 The Diaries of Oswald Harcourt Davis ...........