George William Davies
- Born: 4 Dec 1880, Peterborough, England 24
- Marriage (1): Annie Louisa Handley on 3 Apr 1915 in St Bridget's Church, Wavertree, Lancaster, UK 13
- Died: 1951, Liverpool, UK aged 71
 General Notes:
Tony Davy Aug 2019:
George was a professional soldier who served 14 years in the Royal Horse Artillery. Family legend is that his mother died when he was 4 and his father remarried. He signed-up as a boy-soldier to escape his step-mother. I have about 100 pp of his diary of service in India 1903-1908. It says that prior to that he spent 3 years at Woolwich Barracks. Towards the end in India he trained as a Telegraphist. I think he might have been called up as a reservist in or about 1914. I have a letter referring to his being an acting Sergeant in the Signal Service on the SS Suffolk in transit from Devonport to Durban, Natal in July-August 1916.
A great family mystery is why he called 49 Ferguson Road in Liverpool (and indeed his son Reggie) 'Verdun'. We were always told that it was the result of some kind of trauma at that battle. We were also told that he had been gassed in WW1 \endash he suffered from chronic bronchial problems for the rest of his life and this weakness contributed to his death in 1951. There are two problems with this. First, the British were not involved in Verdun \endash it was between the French and the Germans, although I suppose he might possibly have had some liaison role as a signaller. Second, by half-way through the battle of Verdun he was on a ship to South Africa; this does not rule out him having been involved at an early stage. I have a friend who has good contacts as an amateur military historian and he has not been able to find out anything about George William Davies of the RHA.
Death Notes:
Died of recurrent malaria. Source daugther Audrey Davies
Noted events in his life were:
• occupatiion: shop assistent to Uncle Francis Sloane, 1901, Rose Hill, Liverpool, England. 47
• Military: Royal Horse Artillery. 48 In India 1903 - 1908
• Residence: Royal Horse Artillery Barracks, 31 Mar 1901, Woolwich, London, England. 47
• Residence: 41 Fallowfield Road, 1911, Liverpool, England.
• occupatiion: worked at the post office, 1911, Liverpool, England. 49,50
• occupatiion: telegraphist at Post Office, 1939, Liverpool, England. 21
George married Annie Louisa Handley, daughter of Joseph Starie Handley and Mary Ann Done, on 3 Apr 1915 in St Bridget's Church, Wavertree, Lancaster, UK.13 (Annie Louisa Handley was born on 5 Mar 1889 in 11 Argyll Street, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, christened on 17 Jul 1900 14 and died on 15 Jun 1974 in Totteridge Nursing Home, Hertfordshire, England 15.)
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