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John Davison (1898-1983)


Cold Hesledon man quarantined with measles on the way to war with the Canadian Railway Troops


Young John was the second born son of Murton coal miner John Davison and his Auckland born wife, Elizabeth. They had six children, three girls and three boys, the oldest and youngest of whom had been born in Hebburn. John junior was born in 1898 whilst the family were living in Cold Hesledon, and was baptised three weeks later in Holy Trinity Church, Dalton-le-Dale. By Christmas of 1899 the family had returned to live in Hebburn.

In April 1904 the entire family, including six month old Edna Pearl, sailed from Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia on board the SS Tunisian. They were making for Springhill, Nova Scotia where father John was to work in the mines. They returned to England in February 1908 and made their home in Silksworth, where the oldest son, James, died the following year. January 1912 saw father John returning to Canada, this time making for Hillcrest, Alberta, the site of what was considered to be one of the safest mines in Canada. The rest of the family followed their father ten months later, and John junior also found work at the mine.

On 17 June 1914 work at the mine was stopped due to “overproduction”. Two days later, with the mine cleared as safe, 234 men went on shift. An accumulation of methane gas after the closure caused an explosion and 189 miners were killed, including John Davison senior. John Junior is believed to be the youngest survivor of the Hillcrest Mine Disaster. It was the worst mine disaster in Canadian history.

John remained a miner with the family still living in Hillcrest. In April 1916 this seventeen year old red-haired youth enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Calgary, Alberta. He became private 258121 in the 211th Battalion. This was one of five battalions raised among Americans living in Canada and unofficially known as the American Legion. The 211th was raised as two separate groups, one in British Columbia and the other at Calgary, Alberta. They only came together for the first time at Aldershot, Nova Scotia just before embarking for Liverpool on the SS Olympic in December 1916.

While travelling to England there was an outbreak of measles and on arrival the battalion found themselves in quarantine at Witley Camp, Surrey. This was a quarantine enforced by barbed wire fencing, and guards with loaded rifles and fixed bayonets. The quarantine was lifted at the end of February 1917. The 211th was disbanded and the battalion strength was transferred to the Canadian Railway Troops based at Purfleet, Essex.

A year after joining the CEF John was no longer a private but a sapper. He was posted to France with the 8th Battalion Canadian Railway Troops (CRT), arriving in Havre on 20 April 1917. The difficulties faced by the CRT in the Ypres area can be gauged from the fact that during the summer of 1917 the average daily number of breaks in the railway lines due to enemy shell fire was over 100.

March and April 1918 saw the need for the CRT to revert to being fighting men. They met the challenge with a success which proved the wisdom of the policy that every Canadian at the Front engaged on work of a technical nature should first be trained as a soldier.

January 1919 saw 8 CRT returning to England prior to their return to Canada. They sailed from Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia on SS Minnekahda, arriving on 26 March 1919, John was demobilised in Toronto, Ontario at the end of the month.

John married Agnes Seright, a Scottish girl from Calgary, on 23 May 1919 in Fenwick, Ontario. Her older brother Samuel had been in the 211th Battalion with John. By 1922 they were living in Parkhill, Calgary, just along the road from Agnes’ father. Their daughter Edna Pearl died in May 1925 aged just three, a year after the birth of their first son, John Henry. Their second son, Desmond, was born in 1929 to be followed by another son and daughter.

John Davison died from a heart attack on 18 June 1983 in Victoria General Hospital, British Columbia and was buried three days later in Hatley Memorial Gardens, Colwood, British Columbia. His wife, Agnes died aged 92 in 1993 in Victoria, British Columbia.

Civil Parish: Cold Hesledon

Birth date: 29-Sep-1898

Death date: 18-Jun-1983

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: 21 D’Arcy Place, Cold Hesledon (1898 birthplace)
36 Shamrock Street, Hebburn (1901 census)
Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada
6 York Street, Silksworth (1911 census)
Hillcrest Mines, Alberta, Canada (1916 enlistment papers)
211 Mission Road, Parkhill, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (1921 Canadian census)
973 Brock Avenue, Langford, British Columbia, Canada (1983 death certificate)

Religion: Methodist

Employment: Miner
Shipbuilder (1919 marriage certificate)
Boilermaker (1983 death certificate)

Family: Parents: John Davison, Elizabeth Ellen Davison nee Pearson
Siblings: Jane Davison, James Davison, Mary Davison, Arthur Davison, Edna Pearl Davison
Spouse: Agnes Elizabeth Davison nee Seright
Children: Edna Pearl Davison, John Henry Davison, Desmond Arthur Leonard Davison, Ronald Davison

Military service:

258121
Private
211th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
Sapper
8th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops

Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal

Gender: Male

Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham | Jim Busby, Canada (and family member)

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