Andrew Joseph DAVIES

Regimental number6775
Place of birthNarrandera, New South Wales
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationLabourer
AddressHay, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation18
Height5' 6"
Weight132 lbs
Next of kinFather, David Davies, Eurslie Station, Hay, New South Wales
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date18 April 1917
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll6 August 1917
Place of enlistmentNarandera, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name18th Battalion, 20th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/35/4
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A72 Beltana on 16 June 1917
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll35th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 5 April 1918
Place of burialNo known grave.
Commemoration detailsAustralian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra.

On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours.

After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
125
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Town. Hay, New South Wales
Other details

War service: Western Front

Embarked Sydney, 16 June 1917; disembarked Plymouth, England, 25 August 1917, and marched into 5th Training Bn, Rollestone, the same day.

Found guilty, Fovant, 23 November 1917, of (1) being absent without leave from 1600 hours, 21 November 1917, until 0750 hours, 22 November 1917; (2) neglect to obey routine orders in that he did travel on a train at Quateby Station when not in possession of a pass: awarded 14 days' confined to camp, and forfeits 14 days' pay.

Found guilty, 12 December 1917, of being absent without leave from 2130 hours, 4 December 1917, until 0645 hours, 5 December 1917: awarded 14 days' confined to camp, and forfeits 14 days' pay.

Found guilty, 14 December 1917, of failing to appear at defaulters' parades from 1930 hours, 13 December 1917, until 1315 hours, 14 December 1917: award, forfeits 19 days' pay.

Proceeded overseas to France, 1 January 1918; marched into Australian Intermediate Base Depot, Le Havre, 2 January 1918.

Proceeded to unit, 5 January 1918; taken on strength of 35th Bn, in the field, 7 January 1918.

Posted as missing in action, 5 April 1918.

Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 18 October 1918, pronounces fate as 'Killed in Action, 5 April 1918'.

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, DAVIES Andrew Joseph