Auction Catalogue
Create new listMilitary Medal, G.VI.R. (40825 Pte. J. S. K. Davis, N.Z. Mil. F.) extremely fine £1000-1200
M.M. London Gazette 1 March 1945. The recommendation states:
‘Davis was captured at Sidi Rezegh on 30 November 1941 and, at the time of the Armistice with Italy, he was imprisoned at Camp 52 (Chiavari).
The Senior British Warrant Officer forbade any attempts at escape by P.O.Ws and the entire camp was taken over by the Germans after the Armistice. Davis took advantage of the confusion caused by the P.O.Ws discarding baggage to break away from the column of prisoners being marched to the station for entrainment to Germany. He avoided detection by the three guards and was sheltered by a local family. At Gavi, he met a Sergeant and together they travelled north. With the assistance of Italians they successfully crossed into France and proceeded alone to Nice, from where their journey was arranged for them. His companion was left behind in France, but Davis was taken over the Pyrenees into Spain, and Gibraltar was reached on 12 March 1944.
The journey over the Pyrenees was carried out under very difficult conditions and when the leader of the party collapsed, Davis assisted in carrying him.’
John Shelly Kennard Davis was born in April 1915 and enlisted in the New Zealand Military Forces in January 1941. Posted to the 24th Battalion, N.Z.E.F. in North Africa, he was captured at Sidi Rezegh in November of the same year. Suffering from dysentery and double pneumonia, he was not released from hospital until February 1942, when he was sent to Campo 66 at Capua, and thence to Campo 52 at Chiavari. A far more detailed account of Davis’ remarkable journey was submitted by him to M.I. 9 on his return to the U.K. in March 1944, from which the following details have been extracted:
‘After the column had passed [on its way for entrainment to Germany], two young girls found me lying in the ditch. I asked for civilian clothing and they took me across a river, one of them remaining with me in a field of maize, while the other went home and fetched me a shirt and trousers. They explained that they were living with an uncle who could speak English, and invited me to go to their uncle’s house, which was quite near the camp. I remained at the house until 4 October 1943. Unfortunately the servant girl in the house knew that I was English and talked about me to an admirer. As a result of this, the news of my presence reached the Carabinieri. My host was warned of this, and on 4 October sent me to his native village in Cavi. The day after I had left his house, he was visited by the Gestapo. The house was searched but no trace of me was found.
From Cavi a young Italian took me to a small cabin in the mountains, where three Italian Officers were living. At first I was the only British P.O.W. with them, but later my original Italian helper met two other escapers from Campo 52, Chief Petty Officer Cantle, R.N. (in hospital in Spain), and Sergeant J. G. Langdon, Royal Artillery (last heard of in France). These two had been hiding near the camp and were brought to the cabin in the hills by one of the Officers.
The three Officers had with them at the cabin a supply of revolvers and hand grenades and also had machine-guns hidden in the hills. The local peasants knew about this and also knew that the Officers were sheltering British ex-P.O.Ws. This made me consider our hiding place too dangerous, and Langdon agreed to my proposal of trying to reach Spain via France. The Italian Officers reluctantly agreed to let us go, and before we left they gave each of us a revolver, a Beretta and 2000 lire.
On 1 November we walked from our hiding place in the hills to Chiavari, intending to catch a bus to Soglio, where Langdon had previously stayed with Italians. While we were waiting for the bus a Carabinier from the camp recognised me, but before he took action, Langdon and I cut down a side street, where we separated. In this street, Langdon met a woman who had previously sheltered Cantle at Isolona and who was now living in Chiavari with her mother. This woman took us to her home and sheltered us till 1900 hours, when another bus left for Soglio. Cantle was at this time staying at the woman’s house at Chiavari, and he and the woman accompanied us to the bus that night. We learned later that, after we had left, Carabinieri visited the woman’s house and arrested the entire family and Cantle. Cantle was handed over to the Germans and escaped from the military barracks.
On 2 November, Langdon and I set off across the mountains from Soglio ... At Semina we met an Italian who took us with him to Genoa ... On 8 November we arrived at Genoa in the morning during an air raid alert and had to go to a shelter. We had intended to take a train to Ventimiglia, but the Italian found at the railway station that the trains were running only as far as Imperia because of bomb damage. We were wearing civilian clothes which had been given us before we set out on our journey across the mountains. We had kept out army boots and rough clothing for walking, and carried these in two Italian Army kit bags. In Genoa, the Italian bought a suitcase for us, and we transferred the contents of our kit bags to this case.
We arrived at Imperia about 2155 hours, just before curfew, and got out of the town as quickly as possible. We put on our rough clothes and put our suits into our kit bags, throwing away the suitcase. We went first into a range of hills behind the town and then continued west along the high ground parallel with the coast. We turned north from the neighbourhood of South Remo. In this region we met a party of Italians who took us on 9 November to Triora, where we put up at a small inn.
On the morning of 10 November, we were taken to see an Italian Army Captain who, with some of his Officers and men, had left Mentone just before the Armistice and was now hiding with them in the hills. This Officer provided us with one of his N.C.Os as a guide into France, and the N.C.O. brought with him another guide. With the two guides we spent the night in an old house near Triora.
We set out across the mountains about 0500 hours on 11 November and that night arrived in France at Saorge. Langdon and I decided that, as there were a good many Germans in the district and a party of four would be conspicuous, we should go on without the guides. We gave the guides 200 lire and Langdon’s revolver. We slept the night in a hut near Saorge.
On the morning of 12 November, we went to Breil, intending to make for Sospel, where we thought we might be able to get in touch with a Free French organisation and eventually reach Nice. At Breil a veteran of the last war gave us lunch, and we reached Sospel about 2100 hours. We were given shelter in a cow shed at a farm.
On 13 November, we searched unsuccessfully in Sospel for someone who could speak English, as we wanted to get a map of the district. We then had to lie up in a field till mid-day because a German military exercise was going on. After mid-day, we crossed a river and a railway line, and asked for food at a farmhouse. The farmer was very suspicious of us, but eventually brought us some dry bread and figs. While we were eating this food in a field the farmer disappeared, and shortly afterwards we saw three German soldiers coming towards the house. We immediately took to the hills, which were thickly covered with trees and scrub. Just before dark we dropped down on to the main Nice road N.E. of L’Escarene. We followed this road, marching through L’Escarene after curfew on our stockinged feet. We stayed the night in a barn on the outskirts of the town.
Next day we walked to Drap, whence we went to Nice by tram, arriving at mid-day. I had changed some Italian money at an inn before reaching Drap. We went to a restaurant in the workers’ quarter of Nice. Here I asked if I could change some Italian money into francs. The woman called over a young man who was having lunch. He spotted immediately that we were neither French nor Italian, and eventually asked if we were English. He himself could not speak English, but after changing my Italian money into francs and giving us lunch, he said he would return in the evening with an English-speaking friend. As we were tired, he obtained permission for us to rest till then in a room upstairs.
At 1800 hours, the two Frenchmen came for us. From this point our journey was arranged.’
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