Last Saturday (Nov. 13), Eardisland Memorial Walks; a Remembrance project for the parish’s 13 fallen soldiers from the First World War, commemorated Pte John Herbert Davies of the Alberta Regiment.
John lived at Lower Burton Farm in Eardisland, England and in 1911 emigrated to Saskatchewan, Canada with his brother Carl. He worked as a fireman in Moose Jaw and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, formed in 1914 when war in Europe broke out. John returned to England, where Canadian forces were concentrated for training in Kent from 1915 before deploying to the Western Front. The Alberta Regiment was is action from 1916, engaged in heavy fighting on the Ypres salient. During the Battle of Mount Sorrel, John was reported missing, later confirmed ‘Killed In Action’ on 14th June.
Parishioners from both Eardisland and Dilwyn attended a modest ceremony, gathering by the Pte John Herbert Davies memorial gate, installed facing the farmhouse on a path John is sure to have used. The gate is made from Herefordshire oak, crafted by the charity Hereford’s Choices Foundation and the mounted brass plaque was dedicated in part by the Calgary Highlanders, the active Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment now responsible for holding the values and traditions of the long disbanded Albertas. Retired Brigadier Richard Kirby, now Chair of Eardisland Parish Council, unveiled the plaque.
