Profile

DAVISON, William Roy
(Service number 6/3675)

C Coy 25th Infantry Reinforcements — A group photo of C (Canterbury) company, 25th Infantry reinforcements

Freom right to left:
Back row: Edward Campbell Ellis (Nelson); Peter Campbell (Washdyke, Timaru); John Marrin (Seddon); William Roy Davison (Albury); John George Hawkins (Christchurch); Arthur George Francis Roy Ross (Fendalton); Francis Roy Turnpenny (Addington)

Middle row: William John Husband (Temuka); Cecil Polson (Christchurch); Herbert Lord (Geraldine); Henry John White Beck (Linwood); David Taylor (Christchurch); Eric William Jim Millar Millton (Fendalton)

Front row: Hemi Ropata (Little River); Harold John Brown (Addington); Norman David Patchett (Blenheim) (Courtesy of the Unknown Warriors of the NZEF Facebook page )

Sergeant William Davison? — A 'unidentified' portrait that looks like it could be William Roy Davison of Albury when compared to another portrait of NCOs of the C Company, 25th Reinforcements on the Unknown Warriors of the NZEF Facebook page.

The image was owned by the family of Michael and Mary Ann O'Reilly of Albury. (South Canterbury Museum 2018/078.06)

Aliases	Roy; also spelt DAVIDSON
First Rank	Sergeant	Last Rank	Lance- Corporal

Birth

Date	18/04/1892	Place of Birth	Gawler, South Australia

Enlistment Information

Date	(1) 7 October 1916; (2) 23 October 1916	Age	24 years
Address at Enlistment	Albury Post Office, Canterbury
Occupation	Farm hand
Previous Military Experience	9th Reinforcements (Featherston) - rejected as medically unfit. 2nd South Canterbury Regiment (still serving)
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Alexander DAVISON (father), Albury, South Canterbury
Religion	Presbyterian
Medical Information	Height 6 feet. Weight 167 lbs. Chest measurement 34-39 inches. Complexion between dark and fair. Eyes grey. Hair dark brown. Sight - both eyes 6/6. Hearing good. Colour vision correct. Limbs well formed. Full and perfect movement of all joints. Chest well formed. Heart and lungs normal. teeth fair. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Vaccinated. Good bodily and mental health. No slight defects. No fits. Illness - operated on a year ago for varicocele & varicose veins (left calf). Pain in groin afterwards & in leg below scar unable to continue training & was discharged in consequence on May 1st 1916. (2) Recent scar 8 inches long, vertical in direction, inner side left calf. (Operation scar, varicose veins)

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	25th Reinforcements Canterbury Infantry Regiment, C Company
Date	26 April 1917
Transport	Turakina
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Plymouth, England

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	Canterbury Infantry Regiment

Military Awards

Campaigns	Western European
Service Medals	British War Medal; Victory Medal
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date	14 October 1919	Reason	In consequence of being no longer physically fit for War Service on account of illness contracted on Active Service.

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	24 August 1958	Age	66 years
Place of Death	Timaru
Cause	Brain clot
Notices	Timaru Herald, 25 August 1958
Memorial or Cemetery	Cremated Salisbury Park, Timaru
Memorial Reference	Memorial Plaque
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

William Roy Davison, known as Roy, was the son of Alexander and Flora (née Wilson) Davison. In 1904 he came to Albury School from Adelaide, South Australia. Roy was initially rejected as unfit for the military forces after an operation for varicose veins.

A grandchild recalled William died of a sudden brain clot on24 August 1958 and was cremated at Linwood in Christchurch. His ashes were relocated to Salisbury Park to lie with those of his wife Ivy Isobel Davison after she died on 7 July 1977.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Cenotaph Database [29 May 2014]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5537 0032607) [07 July 2016], NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5562 0129836) [02 July 2017]; Timaru Herald, 10 & 15 September 1915 (Papers Past) [2014]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [2014]; Salisbury Park Crematorium plaque inscription (South Canterbury Branch NZSG Cemetery records microfiches) [16 October 2014]; Timaru Herald, 25 & 26 August 1958 (Timaru District Library) [16 October 2014]; SCRoll web submission by WR Davison, 1 MArch 2021

External Links

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.

Tell us more

Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!