Robert William Davies MM was born in 1892. His
Army Service was in the 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers and 60th and 69th Company, Machine Gun Corps.
No official service papers for Robert Wm Davies have survived, almost being certainly among the 4 million sets lost to fire during the blitz on London in September 1940.
Consequently it has not been possible to discover the exact date and place of his original enlistment, but without any doubt, he originally volunteered (probably in 1915) into the 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.
He would have completed his basic military training with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers somewhere in the UK, and on or about 1st of January 1916 was compulsorily transferred into the newly formed Machine Gun Corps.
He would have been sent to the MGC HQ & Training Centre at Belton Park, Grantham on a six-week intensive gunnery course and posted to France soon afterwards.
He probably arrived by mid-March 1916.
Robert was originally posted to 60th Company MGC, in the 20th Division, which was in the Somme sector in preparation for the major British offensive planned for the summer of 1916. (Battle of the Somme 1st July 1916)
60th Company would have been about 140 strong, fielding 16 Vickers Mk1 heavy machine guns. These were each manned by a team of six men. No 1, who actually fired the gun, No 2 who assisted with ammunition belt feeding, No 3 a range-taker, No 4 a signaller and No 5 &
6 who were ammunition carriers who doubled up as runners.
He almost certainly saw action at the Battle of Mount Sorrel, (2-13 June 1916), the Battle of Delville Wood (21/8 - 3/9/1916), and the Battle of Guillemont (5/9/1916).
According to the unit war diary, he was sent to a Casualty Clearing Station (possibly gassed) on 8/9/1916 and struck from the Company strength. It is not known when he returned to duty, but he was probably sent first to the MGC Depot in France, at Camiers, near to Etaples, for re-deployment.
He then joined the 69th Company Machine Gun Corps, in the 23rd Division and was with them at the Battle of Messines (7-14/6/1917) when he was wounded. This was mentioned in the war diary of 69 Company, within a report of operations at Messines, for which Robert Davies was recommended for the award of the Military Medal, for bravery in the field. The actual citation has not survived, but an extract from the war diary reads:
Pte Robert William Davies of this subsection was wounded in the wrist while carrying his load of ammunition to the objective. This soldier carried his load right up to the position and attempted to assist in digging the emplacement until ordered to the dressing station.
Caption from: Stockton-on-Tees News From The Front “Over The Top” June – July – August 1917
PRIVATE DAVIES.
Mrs R. Davies of 31 Hanlon Street, Stockton has received the ribbon for the Military Medal which her husband was awarded on the 7th June 1917 conspicuous determination and devotion to duty. His commanding officer, Lieutenant- Colonel E.F. Fairner of the 69th Coy., Machine Gun Corps, has sent the following graphic account of the deed which won the M.M.
“During the attack of the 69th Brigade on the Hill 60 Sector on 7th June 1917, Private Davies was wounded in the wrist whilst carrying his load. Despite being wounded and going through a heavy barrage fire, he reached his objective, and did not go to the dressing station until ordered to do so by his section officer”.
It is known from later documentation that his wound was serious enough to prevent him from returning to service with the Machine Gun Corps. Instead, he was transferred back to his original unit the 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers.
The 2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers were heavily involved in the Ypres salient during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 and it was during the Battle of Messines (10-11/4/1918) that Robert was taken prisoner of war by the Germans (He was captured in Armentieres, Northern France.)
He was held at Schneidemuhl POW Camp, north of Pozen in eastern Germany, now Poznan in central Poland.
There is an International Red Cross record card and internment sheet relating to his captivity but in it he is referred to as Private Davis of Stockton.
Upon signature of the Armistice 11/11/1918, one of the conditions was for the immediate release of all prisoners, and a subsequent record card gives Robert’s release date from the army, after repatriation, as 7/12/1918.
On his arrival back home he would have gone before a Medical Board in respect of injuries sustained in 1917, described as “gunshot wound left arm”, “dropped wrist”.
Robert was awarded a military pension originally based upon a 40% disability, which gave him 16/- shillings per week, plus 9/-shillings and 5 pence in respect of his wife and two children (Edna & Robert Jnr). This would have been the equivalent of 345 pounds in today’s terms.
However, he was subject to an annual review of disability and in 1921, his pension was reduced to 30%, with 19/- shillings and 1 pence, equivalent of 232 pounds today, and in 1922 it was reduced again to 20%, giving 12/- & 8 pence, being 189 pounds today. Sadly it is not possible to say whether he continued to receive payments after 1922.
In respect of medals, Robert received the Military Medal, British War and Victory medal in 1922.
According to his family (His son Ralf) his war Medals were sold off in auction due to family financial difficulties sometime in the late 1930 early 1940s
John P Davies