Private 694966 Samuel Davis

Photograph courtesy of Graeme Clarke.

Died Home on Monday, 5th April 1920, age uncertain.
Commemorated on Screen Wall at St. Michael's Churchyard, Lichfield, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.

Labour Corps, 83rd Company.

Husband of Mrs Charlotte Davis, 80 Greyfriars, Stafford.
Born: Tipton, Enlisted: Brocton Camp, Resident: Stafford.

First landed France & Flanders, 16th June 1919.
Medal entitlement: British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives survived and transcribed.

Not commemorated on any Tipton memorial.
Commemorated here because he was born in Tipton.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/395994/s-davis/

Genealogical Data

Samuel Davis's genealogy has proved impossible to resolve. Neither the correct spelling of his surname, nor his age cannot be stated with certainty. On different sources his surname is spelt as Davis or Davies, Davis has been used here as this is used by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. On his marriage certificate in August 1915 he was supposedly 50 years of age; he enlisted in the Labour Corps in May 1919 and stated that he was 50 years of age; when medically discharged just a few months later he was recorded as 60 years of age; he died within 9 months and his Death Certificate says he was 67 years old!

His attestation papers show that he married Charlotte Ellams in August 1915 in Lancaster. Their wedding certificate shows them marrying at St Oswald's, Warrington, both stated they were 50 years old. Charlotte Ellams (nee Tomkinson) was born in Wolstanton, but at the time of the marriage was living at 4 King Street, Dudley. Samuel Davies was recorded as being a Soldier, and was resident at the Lord Derby War Hospital, Winwick. Sadly his regiment is not recorded, and we do not know his pre-war address. It is possible that Samuel was also living at 4 King Street as Charlotte had no prior connection with Dudley, but that is speculation.

At the time Samuel enlisted with the Labour Corps in 1919, his address was 80 Grey Friars, Stafford. At the time of his death in 1921, he was living at 1 George Lane, Lichfield, but he died in Lichfield Workhouse.

Personal Data

The only item which links Samuel to Tipton is that on his 1919 enlistment papers, he states that he was born in Tipton. There is nothing to suggest that this is not true, just nothing else can be found which proves this. The common nature of the name, and the uncertainty of his age prevents his identification in Tipton.

At his enlistment in May 1919, Samuel said that he was 50 years of age, a married man, and that he had previous military service. He was employed as a labourer, his religion was Church of England, and he lived at 80 Grey Friars, Stafford.

On his discharge, his address was now 1 George Lane, Lichfield. His degree of disablement was assessed as 100%, and attrbutable to the Valvular Disease of the Heart (VDH) diagnosis. Samuel was immediately awarded a pension of £2/0/0d per week, commencing on 23rd September 1919. This was to be re-assessed in 28 weeks time, sadly he died before the 28 weeks had elapsed.

After Samuel's death, his widow Charlotte was awarded a one-off pension grant of £5/0/0d, and then a widow's pension of £1/0/0d per week, effective from 7th April 1920.

Action resulting in his death

At the end of the war the task of clearing the dead from the battlefields was enormous. Approximately 160,000 isolated graves were to be concentrated into large cemeteries; numerous small cemeteries were to be concentrated into larger ones; and the missing, estimated at over half a million, were to be located and identified where possible. This unpleasant task was performed by men of the Labour Corps under the control of the Graves Registration Units.

Many men involved in this task saw it as a duty to locate their fallen comrades, but labour shortrages persisted and was made worse by de-mobilisation in early 1919. Army Order 196 of 10th May 1919 authorised the enlistment of men into the Labour Corps for a fixed period, planned to be 1 year, 'for special duties in connection with the scheme for the exhumation of bodies and the centralisation of military cemeteries in France'. Normal rates of pay applied, but an extra 2/6d (2 shillings and 6 pence) per day was paid while men were actually carrying out the searching and exhumation tasks.

Samuel was tempted, possibly he saw his health deteriorating and this was an opportunity for a pension? He enlisted on 26th May 1919 at Brocton Camp, Rugeley, on a fixed term contract until 30th April 1920. He was initially located at the Labour Corps Northern Command depot at Ripon. He landed in France on 16th June 1919 and was allocated to the 83rd Company, Labour Corps, on 22nd June. The 83rd Company were employed on exhumation and reburial duties near Bellicourt, the location of the 46th (North Midland) Division breaking the Hindenburg Line on 29th September 1918.

Samuel's health soon deteriorated. On 12th July, just 3 weeks after joining his unit, he was admitted to No. 58 Casualty Clearing Station (at Tincourt), and then No. 24 General Hospital (at Etaples), with "Arteriosclerosis" - vascular disease of the arteries. He arrived back in England on 13th August, and was permanently discharged from the army on 22nd September after a Medical Board at Bermondsey Military Hospital, Lewisham. He was diagnosed with 'Valvular Disease of the Heart (VDH)' which was aggravated by Active Service.

Samuel died on 5th April 1920 in the Lichfield Workhouse (150 Trent Valley Road, Lichfield). The cause of death was given as "aortic and mitral cardiac disease". Samuel was buried in St. Michael’s Churchyard, Lichfield, but is now commemorated on the screen wall.

Newspaper Cuttings

None.