Davies, Glyn Alexander

Lieutenant Glyn Alexander Davies - 34th Battalion

Glyn Alexander Davies was born in Fremantle WA in 1895 to Arthur and Margaret Davies. He was the younger of two children, as his brother Elvin was born in 1894. Glyn was educated at Fremantle Boys School and then Scotch College. During this time he also served in the Military Cadets Scheme. After leaving school Glyn continued his service in F Company of the 86^th Militia where he had the rank of Corporal. Glyn was able to continue this military attachment while he worked as a Bank Teller.

On the 22^nd May 1915, 19 year old Glyn went to the Swan Barracks in Perth to enlist in the AIF. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

 Height:                                    5 feet 9 & ¼ inches;

Weight:                                    129lbs;

Chest Measurement:               33-39 inches;

Complexion:                            Fair;

Eyes:                                       Greyish Blue;

Hair:                                        Fair;

Religious Denomination:         Church of England;

Distinctive Marks:                    Mole on neck and abdomen

After his successful enlistment Glyn was sent into Blackboy Hill Camp and was attached to the Australian Army Medical Services of No.2 Depot. He didn’t have long in camp before he was attached to the AAMC reinforcements for the 1^st Australian General Hospital and he was given the regimental number 4845.

On the 25^th June 1915 Glyn boarded the HMAT Wandilla in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt. He soon joined the staff of No.1 AGH and worked with them in Egypt for the next year. The latter half of 1915 Glyn would have been busy dealing with all the Gallipoli casualties and he may have also had the chance to catch up with his brother Elvin who was in the 4^th Field Ambulance Reinforcements heading for Gallipoli in November 1915. Glyn continued service with the hospital through to the end of March 1916 when they received their orders to proceed to France.

After packing up their camp the hospital staff boarded a transport ship in Alexandria and proceeded to France, disembarking at Marseilles on the 6^th April 1916. The 1^st AGH then entrained for northern France and at Rouen they set up their hospital. Glyn served here for the next several months and from July onwards they were inundated with casualties from the Somme campaign. The constant work wore Glyn down and on the 27^th August he was admitted as a patient to his own hospital suffering from influenza. He remained a patient at No.1 AGH until the 7^th September when he had quite recovered his health.

On the 19^th October Glyn was given a fortnight’s leave to England, returning on the 3^rd November. He remained with his unit for the majority of the French winter but on the 3^rd February 1917 he was sent to an Officer Cadet training unit at Cambridge in England. This training at Cambridge took up the next few months but on the 2^nd June 1917 Glyn successfully passed the course and was appointed a 2^nd Lieutenant. Glyn was then sent to the AIF Camp at Tidworth where he would remain for the next few weeks. On the 21^st June Glyn was sent across to France and was marched into the 3^rd Australian Division Base Depot at Le Havre. While he was here Glyn was earmarked to join the 34^th Battalion. This unit was in the Messines sector, having recently participated in the large offensive. Glyn was officially taken on strength of the 34^th Battalion on the 1^st July 1917.

For the next month the 34^th would remain at Messines, though in August they were withdrawn from the line for a rest during which period they would undertake much training. On the 14^th August Glyn was detached for duty at a divisional school for a month, returning on the 14^th September.

The 34^th Battalion as part of the 3^rd Division AIF would now make their way to southern Belgium to participate in the Third Battle of Ypres. They arrived at the Zonnebeke front on the 30^th September and spent the next several days in the front and reserve lines. On the 12^th October 1917 the 34^th Battalion took part in the assault on Passchendaele. Unfortunately the attack was made in a boggy shell hole strewn battlefield and though progress was made, the 34^th Battalion had to withdraw to their original positions as their flanks were unsupported. The officers and men had advanced bravely but casualties were immense for the 34^th. It appears that Glyn had been affected by gas exposure as on the 13^th October he reported sick and he was sent to the 59^th General Hospital at St Omer for treatment. He was then transferred to 7^th General Hospital where he would remain for the next month while they discovered what was wrong with Glyn.

His illness was originally described as a ‘PUO’ or Pyrexia of Unknown Origin as he was suffering from shortness of breath, was easily tired and couldn’t walk more than half a mile, plus a high pulse. On the 16^th November Glyn was transferred to England where he was admitted to the 3^rd London General Hospital. While he was at this hospital Glyn was given a thorough medical examination and it was found that he was suffering from trench fever. On the 13^th December 1917 he was classed as being unfit for military service for another six weeks. On the 15^th January another medical examination found that;

“He still vomits daily, sleeping fairly well, pulse is flurried he has not improved as expected. He is only 19 years of age and he was lighter than he was at 16 years of age.”

It was then decided that Glyn would not be fit for service for at least 6 months and so the decision was made to return him to Australia. On the 31^st January 1918 he boarded a transport ship back to WA and after disembarking in Fremantle Glyn was sent to No.8 AGH in South Terrace for a medical examination. Though his condition was stated to have improved, Glyn was discharged from the AIF. Unfortunately not long after his arrival home, Glyn’s father Arthur passed away.

After the war was over Glyn returned to England for study reasons. He was granted a place at Edinburgh University to study medicine. After graduating Glyn worked as a doctor in Edinburgh and later moved to Sheffield England. He was married in the UK in 1930 in Leeds to Nita Melborne and also had four children from the marriage. Glyn and his family later moved to the USA in 1948.

He died in May 1976 in Cypress, Orange California USA.