Royal Army Medical Corps (Depot)
Walter John Davis was born at Purton in 1884, the son of Alfred (a pilot on the Gloucester to Sharpness Canal) and his wife Annie. The census of 1911 reveals that the couple had ten children, nine of whom were surviving at the date of the census and those family members still at home were living at 12 Rycroft Street, Gloucester.
After leaving school Walter joined the Great Western Railway and was a parcel porter, when he attested to serve in the Army for the duration of the war, on 25 March 1915. Interestingly he declared his age to be 29 years, when he was in fact two years older.
On 19 February 1911 he had married Elsie Mabel Addis at Gloucester and a daughter called Iris Dorothy arrived on 17 April of the same year.
He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at Woolwich on 6 April 1915 and became an acting Lance Corporal on 17 April 1916 and was confirmed in the rank on 1 July 1917.
This was followed by promotion to Corporal on 15 March 1918. He served in the UK between 25 March 1915 to 7 June 1916 and with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front between 8 June 1916 and 6 September 1918. In August 1918 he reported sick with a persistent cough and after being treated in the 2nd Australian General Hospital he was sent back to the UK on 7 September and was admitted to the 2nd Western General Hospital, Manchester, where he stayed until 30 November 1918.
He was discharged from the Army as ‘no longer physically fit for war service’ on 2 December 1918 and was awarded a Silver War Badge, to denote discharge from military service.
An Army medical board reported that he had contracted pulmonary tuberculosis in Ypres around the date of 1 August 1918 and awarded him an initial 80% disability pension, which a year later was increased to 100%.
On 24 January 1920 the Gloucestershire Journal carried a death notice that he had died on 17 January 1920 at 101 Tredworth Road, Gloucester (the CWGC records state the date of death to be 15th, which may be incorrect). The same edition of this newspaper carried a report of his funeral at St Paul’s Church, followed by interment at Gloucester Old Cemetery. This was attended by his
wife and child, his mother and various other family members, plus former colleagues from the Great Western Railway. A CWGC headstone now marks his grave (date of death showing 15 January) and is commemorated on the Gloucestershire War Memorial; he was 37 years old.
Research by Graham Adams 25 January 2016