Regimental number | 6504 |
Place of birth | Casino, New South Wales |
Religion | Church of England |
Occupation | Clerk |
Address | Asttey Riverside Crescent, Marrickville, New South Wales |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 22 |
Height | 5' 7" |
Weight | 126 lbs |
Next of kin | Father, A. Davidge, Attley Riverside Crescent, Marrickville, New South Wales |
Previous military service | Nil (previously rejected for service) |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Sydney, New South Wales |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 13th Battalion, 21st Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/30/4 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 34th Battalion |
Fate | Killed in Action |
Age at death from cemetery records | 24 |
Place of burial | No known grave |
Commemoration details | Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy. The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra. On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours. After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns. |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 123 |
Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: Alfred and Clare DAVIDGE, Moreton Street, Belmore, New South Wales. Born at Casino, New South Wales |
Other details |
War service: Western Front Embarked Sydney, 7 October 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 21 November 1916. Admitted to Brigade Hospital, Codford, 19 December 1916 (gonorrhoea); transferred to No 1 Australian Dermatological Hospital, 22 December 1916; discharged, 24 May 1917; marched into 4th Training Bn, Codford, 25 May 1917; total period of treatment for venereal disease: 157 days. Proceeded overseas to France, 6 November 1917; marched into 4th Australian Divisional Base Depot, Le Havre, 7 November 1917. Proceeded to unit, 10 November 1917; taken on strength of 34th Bn, in the field, 17 November 1917. Evacuated to hospital, 4 February 1918; admitted to No 10 Field Ambulance, 5 February 1918 (pyrexia of unknown origin); discharged, 18 February 1918, and rejoined unit the same day. Killed in action, 3/5 April 1918. Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Sources | NAA: B2455, DAVIDGE Cecil Richmond |