206978 Gdsmn. Edward Davies British Army 1st Btn No4 Company Welsh Guards from:15 Borras Rd. Wrexham My Dad, Edward Davies was called up on 1st June, 1944 and demobbed 20th December, 1947. He was in The Welsh Guards 1st Battalion No.4 Company. He always talked about the time he spent away from his family home. He spent time in London based at Wellington Barracks. He used to tell me about when he was on guard at St.James Palace and Buckingham Palace. He said that he saw Princess Elizabeth walking around to see if any of the soldiers were off their post. He was always proud of the fact that he was born the same day as the Queen. When he passed away on the 10th November 2005 I wrote to Her Majesty to tell her about how proud my Dad was at sharing a birthday with her. He used to tell anyone who would listen that he was the same age as the Queen and born the same day. She replied to my letter saying that she appreciated my Dad's service to King and Country during the war.
He played football for the Battalion and also entered the boxing competitions for the Unit. He always said that because he boxed for the Company/Battalion he was always fed well. His job was in The Mess so he would bring out food for his friends. I always had the feeling that he would have preferred to be at home with his family, but he always talked about his time in the Army.
When he was sent into Europe he was injured by a hand grenade which had been thrown by a Scots Guard when clearing houses in Holland (Namagen). Apparently he was not in hospital very long because he signed himself out and returned to his unit. They were leaving the area and he wanted to go with them. He always related the story that if he had stayed in hospital he would have been reassigned to a Scots Guard unit and some time later he heard that this particular unit had been attacked and all the men had been killed.
He spent the rest of his time in Palestine and the stories he told about how the people there treated the soldiers was horrific. The Palestinians, who were the freedom fighters, killed soldiers and set booby traps within the bodies waiting for British squaddies to come and rescue the bodies. He said that it was not a very nice place to be. He developed eye problems while in Palestine. For a while he was blind and was sent to the Eye Hospital in Liverpool. From there he ended up back home because his father was seriously ill, but of course he went AWOL. My uncles took him back to the hospital hoping that he would not get into trouble. I think that he was arrested, but because of the circumstances he ended up under close arrest.
My Dad hated being told what to do and was not someone who liked to obey orders. He,however,served his country well and was a very proud Welsh man. For many years he did not know what had happened to his medals particularly his Palestine Star. A few years before he passed away he found them. His brother-in-law had had them for years in his possession and only when he died and the family found them did my Dad get them back.
I now have them and eventually will donate them to the Welsh Guards Museum near Wrexham. I have some wonderful photographs of my Dad when he was in the Army.
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