Family group:

Three: Captain R. N. Davis, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, who was Mentioned in Despatches, and was killed in action at Lesbœufs, Somme, on 12 October 1916
1914-15 Star (2 Lieut. R. N. Davis, W. Rid. R.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. R. N. Davis.) nearly extremely fine

Pair: The Reverend F. B. Davis, Royal Army Chaplains’ Department, who was Mentioned in Despatches
British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Rev. F. B. Davis.) nearly extremely fine (5) £500-£700

Dix Noonan Webb, June 2014.

Reginald Noel Davis was born on 25 December 1889, the son of Frederick Blake Davis and Amy Eugenie Davis, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was educated at Christ’s Hospital. From 1906 until 1914 he was connected with the Northumberland Shipbuilding Company. Entering into the 28th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Artists’ Rifles), he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the West Riding Regiment on 3 March 1915, and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 25 May 1915. Promoted Temporary Captain on 2 July 1916, he was killed in action in the attack on Lesbœufs, during the battle of the Somme, on 12 October 1916, and is buried in the Guards Cemetery, Lesbœufs, France. For his services during the Great War he was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 4 January 1917).

Reginald Noel Davis had married Mildred Constance Smith, the daughter of the Rev. Edward Smith, Rector of Haselbury-Bryan, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, on 1 January 1916. Serving as a Driver with the French Red Cross Society, she died of pneumonia on 8 October 1918, aged 25 years, and is buried in the Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles. A memorial to Captain and Mrs Davis was placed in the east window of the church at Haselbury-Bryan.

The Reverend Frederick Basil Davis, Royal Army Chaplains Department is believed to to be a brother of Captain Reginald Noel Davis. Attached to the 13th Battalion Rifle Brigade, he served during the Great War on the Western Front from March 1917, and for his services during the Great War was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 24 December 1917).

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