WWI Victory Medal. Davies. Dorset Yeomanry. Stroud. Scarce, POW Middle East, held by the Turks.

Correctly named 1715 Pte EA Davies Dorset Yeo
Also held service number 230904 Corps of Hussars.

Ernest Arthur Davies was born in 1892. Records tell us when he was de-mobbed in 1919, he was living at 6 London Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

He served with the 1/1st Dorset Yeomanry. There were two other Battalions raised but these only saw service in the UK or Ireland.

The Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry were a solely territorial regiment, the cavalry of Dorset.

When the Great War broke out, the regiment held Squadron locations at Sherborne, Dorchester, Blandford and Gillingham. Smaller detachments of these squadrons were based further around the county.

During the Great War, the Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry expanded to meet the demands of wartime requirements. The regiment expanded into three lines.

1st/1st Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry

This ‘first line’ 0f the regiment was created from men of the QODY who were willing to be mobilized for overseas service.

2nd/1st Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry

This ‘second line’ of the regiment was created from the remainder of the QODY who did not volunteer for overseas service. They provided a home defence role, and drafts of men for the 1st line.

3rd/1st Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry

This ‘third line’ of the regiment was created for training purposes in 1915.

Records show us Ernest was captured and released in Turkey in November 1918. The record doesn’t show us place or time of capture but knowing he is only entitled to a WWI Pair, we traced their timeline from 1916 and we gain this information:

After the evacuation of Gallipoli, it returned to Egypt in January 1916 and became part of the 6th Mounted Brigade, an independent brigade that was involved in the action of Agagia in February 1916. At this battle, the retreating Senussi were attacked by the Dorset Yeomanry with drawn swords across open ground. Under fire, the Yeomanry lost half their horses, and about a third of their men and officers were casualties (58 of the 184 who took part). Colonel Soutar, leading the regiment in this charge, had his horse shot from under him and was knocked unconscious. When he came to, he found himself alone amongst a group of the enemy. He drew his revolver, shot several, and took the Turkish leader Jaffir Pasha prisoner.

In February 1917, 6th Mounted Brigade joined the Imperial Mounted Division and took part in the First and Second Battles of Gaza. I, June 1917, it was transferred to the Yeomanry Mounted Division for the Third Battle of Gaza and the Battle of Beersheba.

The medal has an original silk ribbon. It also comes with a small cigarette case inlaid with Egyptian themes.