DAVIS, William

William Davis was born in Hagley and enlisted in Stourbridge in the Worcesters. He was sent to the 9th (Service) Battalion in Mesopotamia which had arrived from Gallipoli to continue the struggle against the Turks in Mesopotamia and, notably, to rescue General Townsend's force besieged at Kut. They arrived in February 1916 and attempted a relief in April. It failed and Townsend's force went into captivity. The next advance was left until cooler weather. In December the Worcesters were ordered to undertake a night march towards Kut in order to reach the River Hai. This was achieved on the 14th December. However, the subsequent advance on the 15th against Kut failed to achieve surprise and the Worcesters sustained a hundred casualties. Among those killed in action was Private William Davis who is commemorated on the Basra, Stourbridge and St. John's church Memorials.