Harry Bullard Davis

Rank:

Sergeant

Regimental number:

11342

Unit at enlistment:

4th Battalion

Force:

C.E.F.

Volunteered or conscripted:

Volunteered

Survived the war:

Yes

Wounded:

Yes

Cemetery:

Mount Hope Cemetery, Soldiers' Plot, Brantford, Ontario

Birth country:

England

Birth county:

Kent

Birth city:

Dover

Address at enlistment:

80 Spring Street, Brantford, Ontario

Next of kin address:

80 Spring Street, Brantford, Ontario

Trade or calling:

Labourer

Religious denominations:

Church of England

Marital status:

Single

Age at enlistment:

Letters and documents

BX May 18, 1915

From Another Son. The letter from Pte. Harry Davis reads as follows:

April 27, 1915,
Somewhere in Belgium

Dear Parents,

No doubt by this time you will have heard that our battalion has been in some very heavy fighting. So far Bert and I have pulled through without a scratch. We have both been lucky since we enlisted, not having much sickness through that rain at Salisbury. I am not allowed to tell you the names of any casualties before they are published in the papers, so that is why I am not telling you of any.

I am writing this letter, but I don’t know when it will get off. We are in the reserve trenches, but we are not in very much danger. We have to wait for a despatch rider to come up and then we send cards and green envelops like this (envelops which are signed with the writer’s name that there is nothing contained therein but private and family matters, the letter coming in one of these), but no others.

We have been through the hoop all right, but we have pulled through, thanks to somebody praying for us. My chum, the fellow who went to Dover with us, got wounded in the shoulder, but not serious. Bert had a bullet go through his hat and I had one go through my tunic, at the shoulder. It went through a thick vest that I was wearing, made from blanket stuff that the Daughters of the Empire gave us, and it just tore my shirt but never even touched my skin. I would hardly think that a thing like that could happen. Look on the bright side, the same as we do, and it will come right in the end.

Your loving son,
Harry

BX June 14, 1915

Two Local Casualties – Corp. C.A. Walter and Pte. H.B. Davis Reported to Have Been Wounded

Official notification of the wounding of Private H.B. Davis who left here with the first contingent of Dufferin Rifles, was received in the city this morning by his mother, Mrs. Harry Davis, 80 Spring Street. The telegram from the adjutant-general at Ottawa stated that Pte. Davis had been admitted to No. 4 General Hospital at Versailles on June 4 with a gunshot wound in the arm. No further particulars were given, but were promised as soon as received in Canada.

Private Davis, who is 22 years of age, had two years’ service with the Dufferin Rifles, he having been a member of G. Company at the time of his enlistment. By trade he is a laborer, and was working on contracting work for his father when war was declared. His brother Sergeant Albert Davis, is with him at the front, and only last week word was received in the city that Pte. Davis had experienced a miraculous escape from being wounded in the Battle of Langemarck, when a bullet pierced his clothing without doing him bodily harm.

BX June 18, 1915

In the list of casualties published at Ottawa this morning appears the name of Pte. Harry Bullard Davis of Brantford, he being reported wounded. Private Davis, who resided at 80 Spring Street in Holmedale, at the time of his enlistment, volunteered and was accepted with the first contingent of Dufferin Rifles, and has remained with Major Colquhoun’s former command until his wounding recently. He was a member of the “Mad Fourth” battalion, which lost so heavily in the great battle at Langemarck, in which it had taken part. By trade, Private Davis is a laborer. He is unmarried and served for three years with the Dufferin Rifles.

BX September 1, 1915

With Two Wounds Now Private Davis Again on List – Brantford Man Receives Third Wound – Name of H.B. Davis Appears for the Third Time in Casualty List – Dufferin Rifles First contingent Man Again Goes to Hospital

Narrowly escaping death when a bullet pierced his clothing at Langemarck, wounded by gunshot in the arm on June 4, and again the victim of German musketry is the record to date of Private H.B. Davis, who resided with his mother, Mrs. Harry Davis, 80 Spring Street, Brantford. In the official list of casualties given out at Ottawa this morning, Private Davis is included among those who have been wounded recently in Flanders. No details are given in the announcement, and the extent or nature of the injuries are consequently not known.

Private Davis, who is unmarried, and although only 22 years of age, had been a member of G. Company of the Dufferin Rifles, prior to the outbreak of war, volunteered for overseas with the first company of the 38th D.R.C., and under Lt.-Col. M.A. Colquhoun, then a captain, left in the early stages of the war for training camps, prior to going into the trenches in February. On June 14, Private Davis’ mother received a communication from the adjutant-general at Ottawa, apprising her of the fact that Pte. Davis had been admitted to No. 4 General Hospital at Versailles on June 4, suffering from a gunshot wound in the arm. A few days before this announcement, Mrs. Davis had received a letter from her other son, Sergt. A.H. Davis, who is also at the front, stating that his brother, had experienced a miraculous escape from death at Langemarck, when a bullet pierced his clothing, without doing injury to Pte. Davis’ body.

Since being wounded in the arm, Private Davis has recovered and was able some time ago to rejoin his company in the trenches, and the announcement this morning from Ottawa brings the intelligence that he has again been wounded.

BX October 14, 1914

Every Man at the Front – Splendid Record of J.H. Davis Family of This City

A proud record is that of the family of J.H. Davis, of this city, every male member of which, four in all, is either at the front, or on the way there through the Canadian training camps.

The first member to enlist was Pte. H.B. Davis, who went from this city with the First Contingent from the Dufferin Rifles, and who became a member of the 4th (Mad Fourth) Battalion, C.E.F. He went into the actual firing line in France in February, and was wounded on May 27, at Festubert, where the gas was used by the Huns. He is now in the Convalescent Hospital, Monkshorten, Kent England.

Sergeant A. Davis, another son, also answered the call when it was first made, becoming, as did his brother, a member of the Mad Fourth. He was at the time Col. Sergeant of G. Company, Dufferin Rifles. He has been on the firing line since February, and has been very fortunate.

With the Second Canadian Division went Corp. J. Drake, he becoming a member of the 19th Battalion, which crossed over to the battle front on Saturday last. He is a son-in-law of Mr. J.H. Davis.

The last male member of the family, Private J.H. Davis, the father, enlisted recently and left this week for Niagara to which he was transferred from the squad of recruits now stationed here. The 58th is commanded by a Brantford man, Lieut.-Col. Genet, and has many Brantford men in it, hence Private Davis’ desire to be transferred.

Davis, Albert Henry (11304)
Davis, Harry Bullard (11342)
Davis, Joseph Henry (451123)
Drake, John (55604)

BX December 8, 1947

Harry Davis, War Veteran, Dies Suddenly

The death occurred suddenly this morning of Harry Bullard Davis, 54 at his home, 84 Spring Street. Born in Dover, England, he came to Brantford 37 years ago. He was one of the most popular war veterans here. During the First World War, he enlisted with the Fourth Battalion and served for some time with that unit. He received three medals, the Mons Star, General Service and Victory medals. In the Second World War, he served with the R.H.L.I. and in England was transferred to the R.C.E.M.E., taking the rank of Sergeant Major.

Between the two wars he was with the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles here, with which unit he had served since 1912.

In civil life, he was an inspector at the Robbins and Myers Co. of Canada, Ltd., having been with that firm since its organization in Brantford.

Surviving are his widow, the former Edith Watson; a brother, Albert Henry Davis; three sisters, Mrs. J.F. (Nellie) Drake, city, Mrs. A.H. (Blanche) Noakes, city and Mrs. S. (Alma) Price, Mount Pleasant, and his mother, Mrs. Joseph Davis, city. Mr. Davis is resting at the Beckett Funeral Home, where a service will be held Thursday afternoon. Interment will be in the Soldiers’ Plot, Mount Hope Cemetery.

BX December 12, 1947

Harry Davis

Funeral services for Harry Davis were conducted Thursday afternoon at the Beckett Funeral Home and in the Soldiers’ Plot, Mount Hope Cemetery. Rev. A.A. Maloney of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, was in charge. Attendance was large, and floral tributes were many. Pallbearers were Albert Lee and Floyd Hendershott, representing the Robbins and Myers Co. of Canada, Ltd. Phil King and George Webster, of the Sergeants’ Mess, 56th L.A.L. Regiment, (Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles) Robert Cross, of the Fourth Battalion Association and John Crowe, R.H.L.I. Large representations from the local garrison and from the Robbins and Myers firm, were present.