Herbert Eustace Davies – Devonshire Regiment, 9th Battalion

Lance Corporal Herbert Eustace Davies – Devonshire Regiment, 9th Battalion

Early Life in Swansea

Herbert Eustace Davies was born in 1898 in Swansea, the son of John Isaac Davies and Ellen Clanzy, who were married at St Andrew’s Church, Cardiff, in 1891.

1911 Census

By the time of the 1911 Census, the family were residing at 135 St Helens Avenue, Swansea, where John, aged 49 and born in Carmarthenshire, was employed as a Railway Engine Driver, and his wife Ellen, aged 46 and born in Breconshire, kept the home. Their children were John W., 18, a Book‑keeper; Ernest C., 16, an Apprentice; Herbert E., 13; George W., 11; Thomas G., 10; and Joyce S., 5 — all of whom were attending school.

Military Service

Herbert enlisted and served as a Lance Corporal with the Devonshire Regiment, 9th Battalion. Raised in September 1914 as part of Kitchener’s New Army, the 9th Devons joined 20th Infantry Brigade, 7th Division, and landed in France in September 1915. Their early service was spent in the Loos and Béthune sectors, enduring the harsh winter of 1915–1916, constant shelling, and the daily attrition of trench warfare. The battalion’s movements, casualties, and operations are recorded in the official War Diary (WO 95/1656/1).

In the spring of 1916, the battalion moved south to prepare for the forthcoming Somme offensive. Training intensified, with repeated rehearsals of the planned attack. Captain Duncan Martin, one of the battalion’s officers, produced a detailed report warning that their line of advance would be exposed to enfilade fire from a German strongpoint in Mametz cemetery, known as “The Shrine”. His warning would prove tragically accurate.

1 July 1916 – The Attack at Mametz

On the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, the 9th Devons assembled in a forward trench behind Mansel Copse, positioned on a slope that offered little protection. At 7.30 a.m., they advanced across open ground towards the German front line below Mametz. As they moved forward, they were struck by devastating machine‑gun fire from The Shrine, which had survived the British bombardment intact. Despite the heavy losses, the battalion pressed on and succeeded in reaching the German trenches, fighting their way into the shattered line. Their supporting unit, the 2nd Gordon Highlanders, suffered similarly severe casualties.

Herbert Eustace Davies
Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz, Somme
credit - findagrave

Death and Burial

Lance Corporal Herbert Eustace Davies was killed in action on 1 July 1916 during the 9th Devons’ assault at Mametz. After the battle, the survivors gathered their dead and buried them in their original front‑line trench behind Mansel Copse. This trench became Devonshire Cemetery, Mametz, one of the most poignant burial grounds on the Somme, containing 153 burials, of which 151 are Devonshire Regiment soldiers, almost all killed on that single day.

The cemetery bears the enduring inscription chosen by the battalion:

“The Devonshires held this trench, the Devonshires hold it still.”