Davison, R (Robert)
Private Robert Davison was the son of Robert and Sarah Jane Davison, of Lisalbanagh, Magherafelt, Co. Londonderry.
Robert’s war began when he originally landed in Boulogne,[1] France on the 6th of October 1915 at 1:30am along with the 10th Inniskilling Fusiliers. There were 1029 men, all ranks.
At 14.00 they went on a route march with a band from Boulogne, arriving at 10.00 the following day at Gare Central Station[2] where they entrained at and travelled to Coisy[3] and were billeted. At this point they started training and improving were they slept. Soon they were on the move again. Training continues, and they were eventually attached to other battalions at Hebuterne[4] to help them gain some experience in trench warfare.
Training continued, and the battalion marched from area to area. When the time came to celebrate the “Closing of the Gates of Londonderry (December 1668)”, the battalion still had no casualties or real front-line experience.
During March, they went to Forceville[5] and the trenches at Thiepval Woods[6] where they relieved the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and started receiving their first casualties. This continued into April and up until May when they moved to Léalvillers[7] The battalion remained here until mid-June when they moved back to Forceville and the Thiepval Woods area.
On the evening of the 30th of June 1916, the battalion moved forward to take up their positions at Thiepval Woods. While walking through Aveluy Woods[8] towards the trenches the 10th Inniskillings commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ross Smyth slipped and sprained his leg and was evacuated. A bad omen of things to come.
With the 9th and 11th Inniskilling Fusiliers on their right and 14th Royal Irish Rifles with them they waited in crowded trenches on the 1st of July for the bombardment of the German lines to finish. The men were all issued a portion of rum as they paused before putting their training into place and entering “No man’s land,” playing their part on the day of the “Great attack”.[9]
The battalions got mixed up as they advanced causing some confusement and even worse advancing too quickly. This caused heavy casualties from friendly fire. Within 100 yards of the enemy’s trench, they lay down awaiting the moment to attack. The company bugle calls soon followed announcing their orders to advance again.
All-in-all 764 men left the trenches, only 346 returned. The battalion eventually left the front line on the 2nd of July to regroup and rest, but only until August when they were redeployed at Ploegsteert Woods.[10]
Time passed by whilst the battalion continued to receive casualties and new recruits, raid German trenches, man trenches, bomb, be bombed and repeat. This continued until the end of October when they went to the village of Dranoutre,[11] to rest, bathe and be reissued uniform.
The Inniskillings remained here until mid-November when the set off to the Ypres area of Belgium, to man the trenches at Bailleul.[12] They stayed here right through to the end of the year when they moved to Ploegsteert Woods. Here the stayed until February when they went to Bulford camp and became divisional reserves. March ended with the battalion taking part in Brigade sports in Acquin-Westbécourt,[13] with mixed success. By Mid-April they had returned to the trenches in the Spanbroek sector.[14] They remained in this general area until mid-May when the Inniskillings moved from the front to Wakefield Huts, in the rear. Even here though they received shells throughout their stay.
The end of June found the men in the trenches again in the Spanbroek sector. Casualties over the previous few months were all from German shells and nothing changed as they month ended, and July began.
July was a quiet month, the battalion moved about and received medal notifications, but no casualties. Near the end of the month, they received orders of a new advance, one they would share with the 9th and 11th Battalions. By the 8th of August they had arrived in the Ypres area and advanced on the 15th. Lessons though had been learned and this time the battalion only lost 41 men dead and 59 wounded or missing. They successfully took the German trenches and were soon withdrawn to Winnezeele[15] in France. Unfortunately, Private Robert Davison was one of the casualties. He would fight for his life until the 2nd of December when he unfortunately died in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkstone, England.
Robert was brought home and laid to rest on the 7th of December 1917, making his final journey from his father’s home at 12 o’clock.
Date of Death: 02/12/1917 (Aged 21)
Service: Private, D company, 10th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Service Number: 15452
Burial Location: Desertlyn (St. John) Church of Ireland Churchyard
[1] Boulogne or Boulogne-Sur-Mer is a coastal town in north west France.
[2] Gare Central station is around 16 miles south of Boulogne.
[3] Coisy is around 60 miles, southeast of Gare Central station.
[4] Hebuterne is an area in France around 20 miles northeast of Coisy.
[5] Forceville in an area in France in between Thiepval Woods and Léalvillers.
[6] Thiepval Woods is around 6 miles south of Hebuterne.
[7] Léalvillers is an area in France around 7 miles east of Thiepval.
[8] Woods just west of Thiepval Woods.
[9] Great attack, later called the Battle of the Somme.
[10] Ploegsteert Woods is in southern Belgium about 60 miles north of Thiepval Woods.
[11] Dranoutre is a small village in Belgium around 6 miles west of Ploegsteert Woods.
[12] Bailleul is an area in Belgium 6 miles northeast of Dranoutre.
[13] Acquin-Westbécourt is an area in North west France.
[14] Spanbroek sector is in Spanbroekmolen, Belgium. A few miles south Ypres and close to Kemmel village.
[15] Winnezeele is in northern France and is about 15 miles west of Ypres.
