1 Sirocco Engineering Works, Belfast, -- Ireland 7th July, 1916. Lieutenant W.W. Ashoroft, Machine Gun Company, 108th Infantry Brigade, 36th Division, B.E.F. France. Dear Mr Ashoroft:- I have to-day duly received your letter of
3rd inst., addressed to Mrs. Davidson and myself, and please
accept our joint thanks for your thoughtful consideration in
letting us have particulars of how our dear son fell as a true
patriotic soldier for King & country. I yesterday received a letter from Captain
Spender, Headquarters Staff, of same date as yours, but he was
not able to give me any very definite particulars, as all he
knew was only what he had heard, and I daresay at second-hand,
whereas your description is from personal observation, and I can
hardly thank you enough for writing me direct, as your letter is
the only eye-witness information I have had up to the present. It was also extremely good of Captain Spender
to write me personally as, in reality, his was the very first
intimation I received that Jim had been killed. I had met Mr.
Sharman D. Neill coming off the train at ten o'clock yesterday,
at the County Down Station, and he anxiously asked me if I had
any news from Jim, and I told him that I had no news then,
which I hoped was good news, and I asked him if he had any of
Dermot, and he replied similarly. But, on arriving at my Office,
I found Captain Spender's letter awaiting me with the sad news, —
the only consolation in it being that Jim had fallen nobly as a
true soldier on the field of battle The Press here learning
that I had got this letter, asked me for liberty to publish it, and
I gave them a copy of it, which has accordingly appeared in both
the 'Whig' and 'News-Letter' of this morning, and I am sending you
a copy of the 'Whig' under separate cover. Captain Spender's account, and yours, although
slightly different, are practically to the same effect, only that 2 Captain Spender had heard that Jim was being carried off the
field, after being wounded, when he was shot dead, whereas you
give more definite particulars, namely, that it was when going
back a second time for reinforcements,and after having been
wounded in the knee, and still working his gun, that he got shot
through the head. Then an hour or so before your letter came in to-day,
I received my first official intimation from the War Office, by
the following telegram:- 'Deeply regret to inform you that Captain J.S. Davidson
'Machine Gun Corps was killed in action on 1st July.
'Army Council express their sympathy,
Secretary,
War Office' It is very comforting to know from you that Jim was so
much thought of, not only by his fellow Officers and his men, but
also at Headquarters, the latter being also confirmed by the
fact of Captain Spender writing me a personal letter direct. In the 4th paragraph of your letter, you mention:- 'although shot through the knee, he refused to be
'carried back; alternately he fired his gun and threw
'bombs until he had to retire to bind up his wound;
'he returned, and did what he could, and finally started
'back to try and find reinforcements. He was shortly
'after shot through the head.' Now I would like if you would say whether the following
would be a correct detail interpretation of the above:- 'after binding up his wound, he returned to his Gun,
'and did what he could, and finally had to leave his
'Gun to try and find further reinforcements, an on
'his way back was shot through the Head.' I would be glad to know if, in returning from his Gun, he
had to cross over No Man's Land between the trenches, and was he
shot in crossing that, or was he shot in a trench, and, further,
when he was firing his Gun, was it on surface of ground, or under
the shelter of a trench, or other protection? Please excuse my
asking for these particulars, but if you don't mind the trouble of
writing me again, it would give me a clearer mental picture of the
circumstances. I feel that the details which you have given me are 3 exceptionally clear, more especially as you were still in the
turmoil of the battle at the time you wrote, and that the further
particulars, which I would like to have, would not at the moment
occur to you. I am much interested in your reference to seeing me
as a solitary figure on Hankley Common, when the Division was
moving off after the King's Review, and indeed what you say is
exactly correct, namely, that my feeling was that possibly I
might never again see my son, or many of my friends in the
Division, but as they were all going as good patriots, to fight
for their King & country, it was right that they should go, and after
watching my son on his horse, and the other Officers and men all
disappearing down the far side of the hill, and on turning around,
I found to my astonishment that I really was the solitary occupant
of that large Common, which half an hour before had over 20,000
men moving about upon it, and truly I did feel lonely to a degree. I have no doubt that, after the great attack at Thiepval,
and so many of your friends having fallen in it, you too, as you
say, are now feeling both lonely and sad, and I heartily recipro-
cate your wish that we may meet personally some day later on,
perhaps this might even be at the Front,— it being within the
bounds of possibility that later on I may be asked to go over
there to give instructions in the use of my new Trench Pistol
and shells, which I am glad to say I have, after ten months work,
been able to develop up to a high degree of efficiency, and so
much so that if I were called upon to manufacture them here, I
could probably turn out 30,000 of my shells per week, and possibly
a couple of hundred Pistols as well, loaded and complete in every
way, ready for sending to the trenches. The Pistol weighs only
16 lbs, and the shell before firing 1 1/2 lbs, but the part that is
thrown weighs 1 1/4 lbs, and, on bursting, breaks up into from 38
to 45 fragments of cast iron about the size of a hazel nut, any
one of which would go through a 5/8' board within a radius of 25
to 30 ft from where it bursts. The Pistol can be held in the
hand, but preferably is hung upon the edge of a trench board, or
on the edge of a vertical post driven into the bottom of the
trench, and throws the shell at an angle of 45 degrees a maximum
distance of about 200 yards. When shorter distances are required
it is only necessary to move a little lever down or up as the
case may be to give the exact required distance of throw, and yet at the same angle of trajectory. I would like you to let me know whether Corporal Robert
Wright came through the attack safely, as he called with me here
when he was on leave on the 16th June, and not only saw my Pistol
and shells, but actually fired one or two, and saw an explosion, 4 and could therefore tell you a good deal about it. I would also like to know of Tommy Patterson, who
was No 1 Gunner under Corporal Wright, got through safely, as
before joining the Division, he was one of my best men in my
Gardens at Seacourt. I shall also be extremely grateful to hear from you
where my brave son has been buried, and if it is possible for you
to get anything in the way of a headstone to mark his grave, I
would much appreciate your doing this for me, and any expense you
re at, I shall very gladly refund you. Perhaps too you could find
out if his personal belongings have been sent Home, or facilitate
this being done, and whether the identification bracelet, which he
always wore, was sent with same, as we would particularly like to
have this memento of him I am afraid I am asking you a great many questions,
which you may not have time, or opportunity, to reply to, while
this terrible crisis continues. Hoping to hear from you again when you have time, and with
my best thanks for you explicit letter. Believe me,
Yours very sincerely, SC Davidson P.S. I feel certain that if you could give anything like the
same particulars as to how Dermot Neill fell, in a letter to his
Father, —Sharman, D.Neill, Donegall Place, Belfast, — he would
immensely appreciate it.