SAPPER JOHN DAVIS (Snr)

SAPPER JOHN DAVIS (Snr) 981 - 3rd Tunnelling Company

Born at Rosewater, South Australia on March 5, 1865 John Davis was the son of John and Jane (nee Higman) Davis. He married at Moor Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria on April 1, 1890 to Mary Ann Littlehales and they had five children born in Victoria and Western Australia.

John Davis (Snr) took the medical examination for enlistment in the Australian Imperial Force at Boulder, Western Australia, on 15 November 1915. He enlisted at Blackboy Hill, near Perth, WA, on 24 November, recording his previous military service as 2½ years with the 2nd Battalion, Victorian Rifles.

He named as his Next of Kin his wife, Mrs. Mary Anne Davis, of 41 Whittenoom Street, Boulder, Western Australia, and he allotted 3/5ths of his pay to support his wife and children.

John claimed to be 43 years old, stood 178cms (5ft 9ins) tall, weighed 69.5kgs (153lbs), had a dark complexion with brown eyes, and black hair, and was a miner by trade. He was assigned to No.3 Company of the Australian Mining Corps.

Recruiting for the Miners’ Corps had begun on December 1st, 1915 therefore Sapper Davis was placed for basic training at the Helena Vale camp at Blackboy Hill, W.A. with the newly forming Corps. The Unit’s title was the No.3 Company with a major portion of No.3 Company recruited by 2nd Lt. L.J. Coulter, A.I.F. who was sent from N.S.W. to W.A. for that purpose. They were made up to strength with 1 Officer and 274 Other Ranks and embarked from Fremantle, W.A.

No.3 Company recruits at Blackboy Hill, 3 December 1915 & on Parade - 16 December 1915 Photos courtesy Graeme Williams, grandson of 1202 Spr Charles Williams – 3ATC

On December 18, 1915 the company sailed for Sydney, NSW on board the troopship SS Indarra. His name appears on the passenger list which was published in:

The West Australian Saturday December 18, 1915: INDARRA’S PASSENGERS The following passengers are booked to leave by the Indarra to-day: Messrs….J. Davis. Article abridged

On Boxing Day (Dec 26th), 1915 the Unit arrived in Sydney and marched into Casula Camp, near Liverpool, NSW. They were joined by the 4th Section of the Tasmanian Miners, bringing the establishment strength up to 15 officers and 349 Other Ranks under the command of 2nd Lieutenant L.J. Coulter. Mining Corps Units from all Military districts came together at Casula camp, near Liverpool, NSW to complete training as a Corps. Davis was assigned the regimental number 981 in the rank of Sapper and remained in No.3 Company.

At a civic parade in the Domain, Sydney on Saturday February 19, 1916, a large crowd of relations and friends of the departing Miners lined the four sides of the parade ground. Sixty police and 100 Garrison Military Police were on hand to keep the crowds within bounds. The scene was an inspiriting one. On the extreme right flank, facing the saluting base, were companies of the Rifle Club School; next came a detachment of the 4th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, then the bands of the Light Horse, Liverpool Depot, and the Miners’ on the left, rank upon rank, the Miners’ Battalion.

The Corps boarded HMAT A38 Ulysses in Sydney, NSW on February 20 and sailed for the European theatre. Arriving in Melbourne, Victoria on February 22 the Miners camped at Broadmeadows for a stay of 7 days while further cargo was loaded.

Another parade was held at the Broadmeadows camp on March 1, the Miners’ Corps being inspected by the Governor-General, as Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth military forces.

Leaving Melbourne on March 1, Ulysses arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia on March 7 where a further 53 members were taken on board.

On Wednesday March 8, 1916 the whole force, with their band and equipment, paraded at Fremantle prior to leaving Victoria Quay at 9.30 o’clock.

The ship hit a reef when leaving Fremantle harbour, stripping the plates for 40 feet and, although there was a gap in the outside plate, the inner bilge plates were not punctured. The men on board nicknamed her ‘Useless’. The Miners were off-loaded and sent to the Blackboy Hill Camp where further training was conducted. The Mining Corps comprised 1303 members at the time they embarked with a Headquarters of 40; No.1 Company – 390; No.2 Company – 380; No.3 Company – 392, and 101 members of the 1st Reinforcements.

Finally departing Fremantle on April 1, Ulysses voyaged via Suez, Port Said and Alexandria in Egypt. The Captain of the ship was reluctant to take Ulysses out of the Suez Canal because he felt the weight of the ship made it impossible to manoeuvre in the situation of a submarine attack. The troops were transhipped to HM Transport B.1 Ansonia, then on to Valetta, Malta before disembarking at Marseilles, France on May 5, 1916. As a unit they entrained at Marseilles on May 7 and detrained on May 11 at Hazebrouck.

A ‘Mining Corps’ did not fit in the British Expeditionary Force, and the Corps was disbanded and three Australian Tunnelling Companies were formed. The Technical Staff of the Corps Headquarters, plus some technically qualified men from the individual companies, was formed into the entirely new Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company (AEMMBC), better known as the ‘Alphabetical Company’.

Four sections of the No.3 Company were dispersed to various sectors for instructional training. With other members of his Company, Sapper Davis of No.4 Section was attached on 13 May to the 254th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, for further training in military mining. He was officially transferred to the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company on 18 December 1916.

John was hospitalised with pleurisy on 19 December 1916, and transferred to England with bronchitis and debility on 12 January 1917. He was admitted to Brook War Hospital, Woolwich on 13 January, and, after some treatment, was transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital on 19 February for recuperation. A Medical Board of 22 March 1917 found that John was indeed 51 years old, and that he was suffering debility and senility to such a degree that he could no longer stand the rigors of active service. He was found to be permanently unfit for General Service and unfit for Home Service for a period of 2 months.

John returned to Australia on H.T. Miltiades, leaving Devonport on 4 May 1917, and his berth for the voyage was a hammock. The transport arrived at Fremantle on 24 June 1917, where he was immediately hospitalised in No. 8 Australian General Hospital, Fremantle, with bronchitis, rheumatism and senility. He was discharged from hospital the next day.

On 10 July 1917, Military Discharge from the A.I.F. was issued in Perth (5th Military District) as medically unfit.

He was entitled to wear the British War Medal (8100) and the Victory Medal (8066).

John was granted a Pension of 30/- per fortnight from 11 July 1917, with his wife, Mary Anne, receiving 15/- per fortnight from the same date. On 31 January 1918, their pensions were reduced to 15/- and 7/6 respectively.

981 Sapper John Davis Snr died on 22 February 1924 aged 57 years. An Obituary was published in the:

Kalgoorlie Miner Tuesday February 26, 1924: OBITUARY THE LATE MR J. DAVIS The death occurred on Saturday of Mr John Davis, who had been for some time caretaker of the Boulder Town Hall. The deceased gentleman, who was a returned soldier, was 57 years of age, and was particularly well known in Boulder. The funeral took place on Sunday afternoon, being attended by a number of prominent townspeople. The pall bearers were the Mayor of Boulder, Cr. Lennell, Messrs C.O.R. Massey, B. Winzar, V.J. O’Grady and A. Thomas, while the service was conducted by the Rev. Canon A. Edington. Among those at the graveside were Crs. W. Coath, W. Chappell, W. Adams, M.C. Fitzgerald, C.B. Williams and E. Sibbritt, the Town Clerk (Mr H.J. Edwards), the Rev Haynes, Messrs. C.A. Montgomery, J. Lauri, F.J. Edwards, J.M. Haynes, R.W. Millen, J.J. Rutherford, C.A. Normington, W.T. Piper, P. Derrington and J. Orr. As a mark of respect to the deceased, flags were flown at half-mast at the week-end at the Boulder R.S.L. and Town Hall. The funeral arrangements were in the hands of Messrs Greenwood and Son, of Boulder.

His grave is located in the Church of England portion of the Kalgoorlie Cemetery, W.A within section 54 in grave no. 6193; and marked by a grateful Nation. The inscription reads “Thanks be to God who giveth us the Victory”.

John Davis is commemorated on the Great War Memorial, King’s Park, Perth.

Mary Anne Davis died in 1928.

Photo courtesy Moya Sharp - Kalgoorlie added by tunnellers.net