839098 Pte. William "Cecil" Davis was born in Egremont, Ontario, in August 8th, 1895, one of two sons of William James Davis, a widowed farmer living in Holstein. Cecil was a bank clerk at the time of signing on in Owen Sound on May 17th, 1916. His older brother, John Albert Davis had joined up earlier in January 1916.
Assigned to "A" Company under Captain Corrie when he attested into the 147th (Grey) Battalion, Cecil was amongst 354 men transferred to the 4th CMR after the 147th Battalion was dissolved into the 8th Reserve Brigade in January 1917.
Cecil joined his brother, who had been transferred to the 4th CMR in February, on April 22nd, 1917.
At the time of Cecil's loss, on October 26th, 1917, the 4th CMR was engaged in the first day of action at Passchendaele. Brother, John, was wounded on October 29th but went on to survive the war.
Pte. William Cecil Davis is one of 12 men of the 4th CMR known to lie at rest in Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Zonnebeke, 10km north-east of Ieper, Belgium.
The Davis brothers are remembered today on the Holstein Cenotaph.
Biography joint credit: George Auer and David Kavanagh
Headstone image courtesy of 4cmr.com