Henry (Harry) was born in 1892 in Chatham, Kent, the son of
Henry, a retail boot manager, and Florence Ada (nee Gould). In
the 1911 census Harry was shown as a clerk.
He married
Florence Adelaide Hoult in the Sep Quarter of 1915 in the
Mutford Registration District in Suffolk. Mutford R.D. is in the
Yarmouth area on the Norfolk / Suffolk border. Florence was from
Balham in SW London and must have travelled to Suffolk to marry
Henry whilst the battalion was stationed there on coastal
protection duties. It appears there were no children.
Obituary
The last name on our melancholy list
is that of L/Cpl Davenport, and his perhaps was the saddest
death of all, for he succumbed to pneumonia subsequent to
influenza, immediately after the signing of the armistice. He
joined the First Battalion in January, 1915 and was posted to
"H" Company joining the Q.M. Staff at Burhan. A fuller
obituary notice will appear in the next publication of the
'Londoner'.
[The Londoner magazine, Feb 1919 -
V.III, No.2 pg.53.] |
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Q.M. Burt & Davenport
[Photo from the album of Reginald Cuthbert GRIFFITHS]
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The following documents were sold on Ebay in May 2016.
The following is a letter to Henry's wife. This is confirmed by the
address which is the same that Florence is recorded at in the 1911
census.
In Memory of
Lance Corporal H W C DAVENPORT
740748, 25th Bn., London Regiment (Cyclists)
who died on 12 November 1918
Remembered with honour KIRKEE 1914-1918 MEMORIAL
Commemorated in perpetuity by
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Kirkee Memorial commemorates more than 1,800
servicemen who died in India during the First World War, who are buried in
civil and cantonment cemeteries in India and Pakistan* where their graves
can no longer be properly maintained. This total includes the names of 629
servicemen whose remains were brought from
Bombay
(Sewri) Cemetery for re-interment here in 1960.
Kirkee, also known as Khadki, is a Military
Cantonment adjoining the large university town of
Poona
on the Plateau above
Bombay
. It can be reached by train from
Bombay
to
Poona
or by long distance taxi service from Dada Taxi Stand,
Bombay
. There are direct flights from
Bombay
,
Madras
and
Delhi
but these tend to be irregular. Taxis and Motor Rickshaws are available
from Poona Railway Station. To reach
Kirkee
War
Cemetery
, in which the memorial stands, one must ask for
Mula Road
along which the cemetery is located. One way is to cross the
Sangam
Bridge
and follow the road which has the River Mula on its right. The CWGC road
direction board is on a crossroads with the
Bombay Poona Road
. The cemetery is situated on the right hand side and backs onto the
river. From the railway station follow the way via Juna Bazar,
Sangam
Bridge
, past the Engineering college, over
Wakdewadi
Bridge
, past Bajaj Kamal Nayan Udyan and onto Bhayawadi and Mula Roads. From the
airport, one reaches
Ahmadnagar Road
which joins onto
Nagar Road
followed by
Deccan College Road
; over the
Holkar
Bridge
and, keeping left at the junction with Elphinson road, one enters
Mula Road
. The cemetery is a short distance away on the left hand side of the road.
The Commonwealth War Graves road direction sign is situated at the
junctions of
Elphinson Road
and
Mula Road
, but it should be noted that this is often hidden from view by Market
Stalls.
[Courtesy of Commonwealth War Graves
Commission]
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