No.886126, Sergeant, Sidney Charles DAVEY M.M. and bar
Aged 26
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Sidney Charles Davey was born on 18th April 1891 in Barnham (Thetford Q2-1891 4B:394), son of Edmund and Susan DAVEY (née BROWN).
1901 census...Aged 9, he was in Barnham with his parents (father now a vermin killer and mother recorded as born in Feltwell); sister Nellie; brothers Walter (now an assistant vermin killer) and John [11] born Barnham; grandmother Hannah DAVEY [78]. 1911 census...Aged 19, a gunsmith, he was in Barnham with his parents (mother now recorded as born Barndon, Norfolk [sic]; sister Hilda DEACON [24] born Barnham and her son Sydney [4] born Thetford (she had lost one child); sister Nellie; brothers Walter (groom) and John (farm labourer). 2 of the 8 siblings had died. On 21st August 1911, an S. DAVEY, born 1891, a gunsmith, sailed from Liverpool aboard the SS "Empress of Britain" bound for Quebec. His elder brother John was killed in action in France in 1918. see here |
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Canadian Archives:- RG150 Accession 1992-93/166/ Box 2310-43 item 347342 :- He enlisted in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on 9th December 1915. He gave his date of birth as 18th April 1891 in Barnham, England, next of kin, his mother Susan. He was 5 feet 7.5 inches (171.5 cm) tall, chest 37"-40" (94 to 101.6 cm), blue eyes, light brown hair, Church of England, a farmer who had served 3 years in the 4th Norfolks. Initially in the 188th Battalion, on 27th April 1916 at Wertennanger he was promoted to unpaid Lance Corporal. He embarked on SS "Olympic" in Halifax on 13th October 1916, arriving in Liverpool on 19th October. At East Sandling on 31st December he was promoted to paid acting corporal and on 4th January 1917 transferred to the 15th Reserve Battalion. Transferred again, on 12th February 1917 at Shornecliffe to the 46th Battalion and drafted to the British Expeditionary Force in France/Belgium. Promoted to Sergeant on 7th June 1917, he received gunshot wounds to arm and finger on 28th August 1917, admitted to 22 General Hospital, Camiers on 23rd, and to convalescence at Etaples on 31st. He was next sent to 5th Canadian depot at Cayeux on 9th September before returning to his unit in the field on 29th September. Wounded by a gun shot wound to the head he was taken to 44 Casualty Clearing Station, at Nine Elms, where he died of his wounds on 28th October 1917. His award of the Military Medal came on 31st December 1917 and the bar to the Military Medal on 24th April 1918 The Bury Free Press of 10th November 1917 reported:- BARNHAM SERGEANT DIES OF WOUNDS - AFTER GAINING THE MILITARY MEDAL Another gallant Barnham lad has given his life for his country. Mr. and Mrs. EdmundDavey have received official intimation that hteir youngest son, Sergt.Sidney Charles Davey (25), who was serving with the Canadians, died of wounds in a clearing station on October 28th. During the previous month he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery on the field, and Brigadier General Hilliam congratulating him, the distinction wrote: "On behalf of the Brigade I desire to congratulate you most heartily for the honour which has been awarded you in recognition of your gallant conduct as a Canadian soldier. It afforded me much pleasure to forward the recommendation submitted by the Officer Commanding your Battalion. I thank you for the good service you have rendered to date, and trust that you will be spared to continue the good record which you have already set yourself." For four years Sergt.Davey was in the employ of Messrs Bond and Sons, gunsmiths, Castle Street, Thetford. He left their employ in August, 1911, to go to Canada to take up farming, where he made good headway and when he joined the colours in June 1916, he was the owner of 360 acres of land in the Saskatchewan province. He came to England with a Canadian detachment in October 1916, and went out to France the following December. He was wounded in the right shoulder and forefinger of the right hand on August 21st this year. On another occasion a bullet passed through one of the breast pockets of his tunic.
photo: Rodney Gibson click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
