The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1178) Private Arthur George Davis, 1st Battalion, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Chris Widenbar, the story for this day was on (1178) Private Arthur George Davis, 1st Battalion, First World War.

1178 Private Arthur George Davis, 1st Battalion
KIA 29 November 1915
Story delivered 28 August 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Arthur George Davis.

Arthur Davis was born in 1889, the eldest son of Annie and Arthur Davis of Bombala, New South Wales. Arthur grew up in Bombala, where he attended the local public school and was described by his father as “a boy who always took an active interest in sport [and was] a noted footballer in the district.” At some point he picked up the nickname “Brick” or “Bricky”. Arthur’s parents had a difficult relationship. His father was often obliged to leave Bombala to find work, and although he returned on weekends, his mother had relationships with other men, and eventually took the children and left. On at least two occasions the two took each other to court, but their divorce petitions were denied. Eventually Arthur left his mother’s house and went to live with his father. He went on to study engineering, but at the outbreak of war in 1914 was working as a cordial manufacturer.

Arthur Davis enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1914. He trained with the 1st reinforcements to the 1st Battalion, first in Australia, then in Egypt. In Egypt Davis was posted to the battalion’s machine gun section. The 1st Battalion landed on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 as part of the second and third waves. It later went on to participate in the Battle of Lone Pine in August, before being evacuated at the end of the year.

Little is known of Private Davis’s experiences on Gallipoli, although he reportedly “never received a scratch” in months of service. It was reported that, “always of a bright and cheery disposition, Arthur took to the conditions in which he found himself in a contented mind, and in his letters home he never complained of himself but only of those who stayed at home while he and the others did the fighting for them. He was always confident that someday he would return to his home and his comrades.” Towards the end of the year he was sent to Lemnos for leave, spending his time with a number of mates from the Bombala district.

Private Davis returned to the Gallipoli peninsula as winter was setting in. In late November 1915 Davis was on a gun at Tasman post. Snow fell and was followed by freezing weather. The next day the water used to cool Davis’s gun froze in the barrel, rendering the machine gun useless. Private Davis went down to the cookhouse to get some hot water to thaw it out. On his return, he was hit by an artillery shell, and was killed in the blast.

Private Walter Curtis, a friend of Davis’s, wrote to his father to say “it was a very sad blow to all of us at Gallipoli, as Arthur was a great favourite of all who knew him, and he was brave to the last.”

Davis was buried nearby by his mates. Today he lies in Shell Green Cemetery beneath the words “in the midst of life we are in death”. He was 25 years old.

Arthur Davis’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Arthur George Davis, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section