Herbert Alfred Davy

Private - Service No. 024959 - Royal Army Ordnance Corps

Herbert Alfred Davy (Junior), the son of Herbert Alfred Davy and his wife Ellen (Whitwood), was born 28th July 1891 in Swardeston, Norfolk. He was the third of five children, Ernest (born Ernest Whitwood in 1888), Selina (1890), James (1894) and Archibald (1895). Sadly Selina and James both died in infancy at less than 1 month old. Herbert and Ellen had married in Norwich in early 1890, when Ellen's son Ernest was about 15 months old, and moved to Swardeston where their remaining four children were born. Herbert was a carpenter by trade. Herbert Alfred Davy was the 2nd of the 13 children of Walter James Davy (1843-1904) and his wife Emily (Hubbard).

On 21st October 1927 Herbert (Jnr) married Blanche Caroline Woodcock from Tottenham, Middlesex. Blanche was the daughter of Alfred Woodcock, originally from Hainford, Norfolk, and his wife Caroline Cheeseman from Windlesham, Surrey.

Herbert and Blanche lived in Swardeston where they kept the Dog Inn until 1951 having taken over the license from Blanche's cousins, Charles and Emma Speed.. They had a daughter Marjorie (1928), now Marjorie Frost who still lives in the village. Herbert Davy (Jnr) died, in Swardeston, in 1973 while his widow, Blanche, died in 1995 at the age of 90.

Herbert enlisted in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in March 1916 and was called up for service on the 9th November that same year. On 10th November he underwent assessment at the Ordnance College at Woolwich and was passed as "Wheeler 3rd Class". Following three medical boards, in March and September 1917 and in March 1918 together with a few spells in the military heart hospital at Colchester Barracks, Herbert was given a medical discharge from the army on 7th August 1918. As his 1 year 272 days in the army had been spent in England, mainly at Colchester, Herbert did not qualify for the usual WW1 medals but was awarded the Silver War Badge (No. 467177) to mark his service.

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