Henry John Davis was born in the village of Broughton Gifford, Wiltshire, in December 1899. The middle of nine children, his parents were John and Annie Davis. John was a cowman, and he worked for the Chalfield estate, not far from the village.

After the 1911 census, Henry’s life is a challenge to piece together. When war broke out, he was too young to serve his country, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment at some point. As a Private, he was assigned to the 52nd (Graduated) Battalion, and was based in Norfolk during the second half of the conflict.

By the spring of 1918 Private Davis’ unit was in France, although there is no evidence that Henry was there himself. All that can be confirmed is that he was medically discharged from the army on 26th March 1920, as he was suffering from adenitis, a swelling of the lymph nodes in the abdomen.

Henry John Davis passed away on 4th April 1921, at the age of 21 years old. He seems to have died at home, although the exact cause of his passing is not known. He was laid to rest in Holt Old Cemetery, not far from where his family were living.

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