MY WAR DEAD
DAVIES, Kenneth Middleton - died 1st July 1916.
Kenneth Middleton Davies was born in Lambeth in mid-1891, being the eldest son of William Middleston Davies, a man of various occupations, and his wife who was born Hannah Eliza Shotter.
At the time of the 1911 census, Kenneth was living with his parents in Brockley, SE London, and was working as a solicitor's clerk. His army service record has not survived but it is known that he enlisted in London and his medal card states that he first saw active service in France on 9th May 1915, serving with the 9th Battalion of the London Regiment. Serving as a 'rifleman', Kenneth was reported killed in action on 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme on which some 20,000 British soldiers lost their lives and another 40,000 were wounded. Kenneth's body was either not recovered or not identified and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
His medal card states that he was awarded the 1914-15 Star but omits any reference to the British War Medal and Victory Medal to which he also would have been entitled.
Kenneth Middleton Davies was my 2nd cousin, twice removed.