Albert Davies was born on July 7, 1896 in Dukinfield, Cheshire. His father, James Davies, was a miner from Wales who had married Priscilla Mills of Dukinfield, whose father was also a miner. Albert was the oldest of four boys with an older sister and two younger sisters. The family lived in Dukinfield for several years before moving to Wales. By 1911 the family had moved back to Ashton under Lyne and Albert was working as a felt hatter, probably in one of the many hat manufacturers in Denton.
In February 1914, the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was under strength and so a big recruiting drive at Ashton Town Hall was organized for the evening of Saturday February 14. Albert likely attended that night but like several others decided to attest a little late into the evening and was instead told to report to the Armoury on the following Monday. This he duly did and was the first of that group to sign his papers that day. By this time, he had changed professions and was working at the Victor Mill in Stalybridge.
At the outbreak of war, the battalion was mobilised and on August 20, 1914 they marched into Chesham Fold Camp, Bury. Throughout August around 100 new recruits were added, many of whom had previously served with the battalion in the pre-war years. On September 1, 1914 another 100+ men were added, many of whom were friends and family of the existing members of the battalion. On Wednesday September 9 the battalion entrained to Southampton and at midnight the following day sailed for Egypt. In Egypt the men were drilled, trained and worked hard to build fitness and endurance. Additionally, the old eight Company model (A-H) was replaced with a four Company model (A-D), 4 platoons in each Company and 4 sections in each platoon.
The battalion landed at Gallipoli under shell fire on Sunday May 9, 1915 and at that time Albert Davies was an 18-year-old Lance-Corporal a couple of months shy of his 19th birthday. Consequently, according to Army Regulations he should have been held back in Egypt or deployed in reserve away from the firing line. Needless to say, he wasn’t but managed to survive the dangerous and difficult conditions of Gallipoli. But a few weeks after he passed his 19th birthday he was brought before a Field General Court Martial and charged under section 9 of the Army Act 1881 with “disobedience” to a Sergeant. He was found guilty and awarded 3 months of field punishment number 2, implying that the charge against him was not one of wilful disobedience which would have carried a harsher sentence. He completed his sentence on December 9, 1915 and the following day the battalion deployed from Corps Reserve to the trenches.
By late December, the Allies made the decision to evacuate the Peninsula and operations switched to disguising the intent to leave through a number of small distracting operations. The battalion war diary for December 19, 1915 is unusually expansive:
Morning quiet. In the afternoon a small action took place at 14:15, a large mine was exploded about 30 yards from the N.E. corner of FUSILIER BLUFF and immediately after 5 smaller mines. It was expected that this mine would form a large crater and a party was told off to occupy this. The party consisted of 16 bombers, a working party under 2nd Lieut. GRAY and 26 men of ‘B’ Coy. All went exactly as ordered and the men went over the parapet in a splendid manner, but unfortunately the mine failed to form a crater and when the men got out there was no cover at all and the Turkish trench being intact the enemy fired deliberately from loop holes at the party. 2nd Lieut. GRAY stayed out until it became evident that nothing could be done when he gave the order to retire. The enemy shelled the MULE TRENCH and our Support Line very heavily whilst the action was in progress but did little damage. Our casualties amounted to 3 killed, 1 missing, 11 wounded. The night passed quickly.
Corporal James Greenhalgh was interviewed by the Ashton Reporter newspaper and explained what happened that day (as published in the Ashton Reporter on July 15):
“It was on the 19th December, 1915, I was ordered to take a party of men over the top, and we got to within ten yards of the Turkish trench. At the same time there was a mine blown up. It should have made a big hole in the front of the Turkish trench. The intention was for us to have got in this hole, but when we got to the place no hole had been made, and we had to lie in the open, and the Turks potting at us from ten yards away. It was a good job the Turks were nervous, or else there would have been none of us left to tell the tale.
The object was for us to get in the crater and build it up with sandbags, and then our bombers could have bombed the Turks out of their trench, but it didn’t come off as we expected. Anyway, we all got back to our trench except one poor lad who was killed.
Lance-Corporal Davies, D.C.M. was with the same party of men.”
In fact, when 2nd Lieut. Alfred Gray gave the order to retire, Sgt. Greenhalgh and L/Cpl. Davis stayed exposed, just 10-12 yards away from the Turkish trench, and covered the other men’s withdrawal while under heavy fire, only returning to safety themselves after their party had been able to return to the Allied trenches.
On June 2, 1916 the London Gazette announced the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to Sgt. Greenhalgh and the London Gazette of June 21 carried the following citation:
1792 L/C. A. Davis, 9th Bn., Manch. R., T.F.
For conspicuous gallantry when covering a retirement under very heavy fire at a few yards range.
The annotated D.C.M. listing does not provide much additional information but the long-forgotten administrative code of “B1-131” directly links this award with that of (now Sergeant Greenhalgh.
2/Lt. Alfred Gray, who was commanding the small group of Manchesters, was eventually awarded the Military Cross, in May 1919, for “gallant and distinguished services in the Field” but there is little doubt that this action, on this day, was a significant contributing factor to his award.
Unlike most of the other DCM winners of the 9th Manchesters Albert was not interviewed by the local newspapers but on June 10, 1916 the Ashton Reporter published a few lines from his mother:
When a “Reporter” representative saw Mrs. Davies, the mother of Lance-corpl. Albert Davies, also referred to the fact that it was her son’s 20th birthday, and she was quite pleased at the birthday present the King had announced for her son. He is still in Egypt and she has not seen him since he left Ashton in September 1914, a long and anxious time for a mother. Nothing would give her greater pleasure than to hear that the Ashton territorials had been given a richly deserved holiday, and to see her boy’s face once again. Mrs. Davies is not alone by any means in expressing such a sentiment. Her son has not given any inkling of the way in which he earned the decoration. Before the war Lance-corpl. Davies worked at the Victor Mill, Stalybridge, and his former workmates are highly delighted at the honour gained by their old associate.
After Gallipoli, Albert deployed to Egypt with the battalion and then subsequently to France. In late 1917 he was seriously wounded and medically repatriated back to Ashton under Lyne, where on Saturday December 15, 1917 the Ashton Reporter published a brief update but by now the interest in his DCM exploits had passed.
Lance-corpl. Albert Davies, of 55 William Street, Ashton, and formerly of 90 Hertford Street, is in the Richmond House Hospital suffering from wounds. He is 21 years of age, and was awarded the D.C.M. in December 1915, for conspicuous bravery.
After he recovered, he joined the Labour Corps and was discharged on February 14, 1919 receiving a war pension for disability. On Valentine’s Day 1920 he married Lillian May Wagstaff and they had four children over the next six years raising their family in Ashton. Albert Davies, DCM died in Ashton in 1953, he was just 56 years old.