| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
William Hathaway Davis was born 1881, the second son of Albert John Davis and his wife Rebecca Mary Maxwell. The family lived in Brandesburton where Albert Davis was the schoolmaster. William and his elder brother James were among the five scholars who were awarded East Riding County Scholarships in Jul 1892. On completing his education William became a schoolmaster, teaching in Normanton prior to the First World War.
He joined the Army initially serving with the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as a Second Lieutenant. He was transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and had attained the rank of Captain, he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry in action. The citation in the Supplement to the Edinburgh Gazette, 13 Dec 1916 states that "He personally supervised the working of eight machine guns under heavy fire. He greatly assisted in consolidating the new line and rendering it secure under attack." Subsequently he was promoted to Major and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, as published in the Supplement to the Edinburgh Gazette, 2 Jan 1918.
Major Davis returned to his civilian profession of schoolmaster after the war, teaching at William Ellis School in London. William Davis married Isabelle Kathleen Watkins Baker in 1915 in Gainsborough. He died in London aged 47 on 7 Dec 1928, and was survived by his wife.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |