Early Life :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.

Detail :

According to the Royal Navy Roll of Honour - World War 1 publication by Don Kindell on Tuesday 6 June 1916

"Atlanta, hired drifter, boom defence vessel tender
DAVIDSON, Arthur L. Ty/Engineer Sub Lieutenant, illness."

A larger biography and details of his funeral appear in the Harrow Observer 16th June 1916: "SUB-LIEUT. A.L. DAVIDSON. - NAVAL FUNERAL AT PINNER. - Last week the OBSERVER recorded with regret the death of Engineer Sub-Lieut A.L. Davidson. He was laid to rest on Friday at Pinner with full naval honours, the funeral taking place from the residence of his cousin, Mr G. Little 12, Cornwall-road.

Arthur Leslie Davidson, who was the eldest son of Mrs. Davidson and the late Mr. W. Davidson, of Lismore, New Zealand, was born in 1882. He was sent to engineering school, entered the serveic of the New Zealand Shipping Co. in 1904, and was on the s.s Haruni bound for England when war broke out. He arrived about the end of August, 1914, and feeling that his king and country called him, obtained leave, came to his English home at 12, Cornwall-road, and studied for his chief engineer's certificate. This he obtained in 1915 and immediately applied for a commission in the R.N.R. He was sent out to the Cameroons in May, 1915, and after about 3 months' service contracted malarial fever. He was in hospital at Lagos ans Secondee and invalided home in November, 1915. Towards the end of January, 1916, although not being really fit, he reported himself for service and was sent to the North Sea as a Second Engineer in Command. towards the end of April the ship was put out of action and he came home. He seemed very ill when he arrived and admitted he had been feeling unwell for two months past. From that time he gradually got worse and after consultation with two physicians he went to the Great Northern Hospital, Holloway-road. There the authorities diagnosed his case as that of Addison's disease. On June 5 his relations were wired for, but unfortunately he was too ill to recognise anyone and he passed peacefully away. No cure having yet been found for the complaint, permission was granted for an autopsy to be performed, and it was found he had been suffering for the past ten months.

The funeral took place at Pinner Cemetery, with full naval honours, on Friday, the detachment being formed from the Royal Naval Division. Thanks to the efficient cable service his mother recieved the sad news the day after his death and was also advised the date of the funeral. [...]

A telegram was received from his Commanding Officer, the officers and men conveying heartfelt sympathy with the relations of their late greatly respected shipmate, and a letter was also received from the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s Superintendent Engineer expressing deepest sympathy and stating that A.L.D. had the reputation of being one of the most capable and popular engineers in the Company's service. They funeral arrangement were efficiently carried out by Messrs. J.A. Massey and Son."

Masonic :

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley