Person:Arthur Davidson (3)

He was educated at Sturt Street Public School.

Len enlisted for the army at Mount Bryan, South Australia, and had been living in Norwood, South Australia, at the time. He was head schoolmaster at Delamere on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia.

He was Private 3597 in the A.I.F. 43rd Battalion of the Australian Infantry.\\

A letter from W.H. Aust. to Len's wife, Hilda, read:

\begin{quotation} $\;\;$ It was with the very deepest regret that on my return from overseas I found on looking through some old papers that your husband Pte. A.L. Davidson (whom I knew as Corporal) had been killed in action and thus made the greatest of all sacrifices for the just cause in which we are fighting. I did not go to France with him but I served under him for 5 months and let me say that of all the men in the unit he was the one man I respected and admired most. He was in every way a true soldier and a Christian gentleman. On several occasions I had with him confidential and helpful talks, and once we exchanged our loved ones photos for a few moments in mutual admiration of all that we held near and dear.\\

$\;\;$ Never shall I forget the beautiful prayer of his at an early Sunday morning Communion Service aboard the ship; and on coming away of his remarking to me how helpful it was to get away to such a service for a short time. I find it difficult to realise that he has passed over to the glorious life beyond the river, and I only trust that I shall be found worthy to again meet him in that bright and etter land where sorrow shall have passed away for ever.\\

$\;\;$ May you prove much of God's grace.\\ \makebox[1.5in][r]{Yours sincerely} \makebox[2in][r]{W.H. Aust.} \makebox[2in][r]{(late Pte. 48th Batt.)} \end{quotation}

1. ↑ Correspondence with Maurice Stephen Thiem and Dorothy (Davidson).
2. ↑ Robert W.M. Heaven. Croft Family History.
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour Database
   21 April 1918.
4. ↑ Memorial card held by his descendants.
5. ↑ ^5.0 5.1 Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour Database.
6. ↑ ^6.0 6.1 Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Debt of Honour Register.
7. ↑ .

   AWM145 Roll of Honour cards, 1914-1918 War, Army

8. ↑ Robert Thomas Davidson. The Family of Robert and Jemima Davidson, 1850-1977.
9. ↑ Killed in action during the First World War (1914-1918)
   as a Private in the 43rd Battalion Australian Infantry
   (Army Service).
   The memorial card held by his descendants reads:
   \begin{quote}
   \begin{center}
   In Memory\\
   of\\
   Arthur Leonard Davidson\\
   43rd Battalion\\
   Australia Imperial Forces\\
   Aged 32 Years\\
   Who fell on the field in France\\
   April 21, 1918\\
   \end{center}
   ``One who never turned his back but marched breast forward,\\
   Never doubted clouds would break,\\
   Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph,\\
   Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,\\
   Sleep to wake.
   \end{quote}
10. ↑ His memorial panel is number 136 at the
    FRANCE 210 Bonnay Communal Cemetery Extension
    \footnote{Bonnay is a village and commune in the
    Department of the Somme, of the north-west bank of the
    River Ancre, 3 kilometres north of Corbie. The Extension
    was used from the 1$^{\rm st}$ April to 24$^{\rm th}$ August, 1918.
    The earlier burials are connected with the
    Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, when the line was re-established
    by the 4th and 5th Australian and 18th Divisions, and then
    later with the Battle of Amiens. There are now over 100,
    1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The Extension
    covers an area of 591 square metres. The Great Cross, which was
    unveiled by the Prime Minister of Australia in August 1921,
    is on a terrace at the entrance.}.
11. ↑ When he enlisted for the army