Andrew McRitchie Davidson was born in Goldboro, Guyborough County, on October 7, 1913. Andrew’s middle name was a tribute to Dr. J. J. McRitchie, who operated a family medicine practice in the area at the time and was present at Andrew’s birth. Dr. McRitchie later served locally with the Canadian Army Medical Corps during the First World War.
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| Private Andrew Davidson's headstone, Calais Canadian Military Cemetery, Saint-Inglevert, France (Source: War Graves Photographic Project) |
Both of Andrew’s parents were Guysborough County natives. His father, William Marshall Davidson, was the son of John and Margaret (Clark) Davidson, Isaac’s Harbour, while his mother, Sarah Mabel “Sadie” Fanning, was the daughter of Charles and Eunice (Sangster) Fanning, Seal Harbour. William and Sadie married in Country Harbour on July 18, 1902.
At the time of the 1911 decennial census, they were residing in Seal Harbour, where William worked in the local fishery. Four children were also part of the Davidson household at that time—Edith A. (DOB September 1903), Bertha Maud (DOB October 1905), Sidney Shaw (DOB August 1907) and Henry Marshall “Harry” (DOB August 1909).
According to Province of Nova Scotia birth records, a fifth child, Lena Blanche, was born on October 15, 1910, but her name is not listed in census records. Andrew, William and Sadie’s fifth surviving child, was born in October 1913 and later joined by siblings Clara Mable, born in Goldboro on September 10, 1915; William Oland, born in Goldboro on May 22, 1917; and Ernest, born around 1920.
Sometime between 1917 and 1921, the Davidson family relocated to Priestville, on the outskirts of New Glasgow, Pictou County. All eight children were still living at home at the time of the 1921 census. Two years later, tragedy struck the family when Sadie died in the Aberdeen Hospital, New Glasgow, on September 22, 1923. She had been ill with bronchitis for two weeks and was under doctor’s care for one week prior to her death, which was attributed to pneumonia.
Sadie’s passing created a crisis that led to the Davidson household’s dissolution. Based on available records, the four oldest children appear to have remained in Pictou County. Edith married Ernest Myers, a native of Prince Edward Island, in a ceremony held in New Glasgow on February 21, 1926. Her sister Bertha married William McGygan, another Prince Edward Island native, in St. George’s Rectory, New Glasgow, on April 18, 1927.
Sydney Davidson was living on Brother St., New Glasgow, when he married Eva Harding, a native of Burin Bay, Newfoundland, on October 25, 1928. Harry Davidson was working for the Town of Stellarton when he married Euphemia Ann MacLean, a native of Port Hood, Inverness County, at Lourdes, Pictou County, on February 21, 1933. Sadly, Harry died of tuberculosis in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish, on March 31, 1937.
Based on Andrew’s experience, it appears that the four youngest Davidson children were taken into care by the Province of Nova Scotia, placed in a Halifax children’s home, and later “taken in” by foster or adopted families during adolescence. According to his military service file, Andrew, the oldest of the four, “was placed in a [children’s] home and later adopted by a farmer.” His younger sister Clara eventually resided in Barnaby River, New Brunswick, where she married Francis Alvin Murphy, the son of a local family, on July 16, 1936. There is no trace of the Oland or Ernest Davidson in available census, marriage or death records.
William Davidson remained in Pictou County after his wife’s death and his family dissolution. The 1931 Canadian census lists William, age 53, widower, occupation “labourer” at “odd jobs,” living as a “boarder” in the home of Gabriel E. Murray, age 59, 18 MacDonald St., New Glasgow. Gabriel’s wife Janice, age 62, and the couple’s three children also resided there.
According to details in his service file, Andrew completed Grade VIII while residing in a Halifax children’s home and “left school because he had to go to work.” Around age 14, he was taken in as a ”helper” by Luther Betts, age 54, a railway section foreman, and his wife Catherine, age 56, Malagash, Cumberland County. He was still living there at the time of 1931 census, labouring at “odd jobs.” His service file later credited Andrew with 12 years of work as a “farm labourer.”
On October 20, 1935, Andrew married Annie Laurie Archibald in a ceremony that took place in All Saints Hospital, Springhill. While the couple’s marriage license stated that Annie was the daughter of George H. and Ida May (Hyatt) Archibald, Springhill. Annie later gave birth to two children—Kenneth George Davidson (c. 1935) and Anita Joyce Davidson (c. 1936).
A later letter in Andrew’s service file, written to military authorities by Wallace Carty—a friend of Andrew’s—after his death, states that Annie “was also from the [Halifax children’s] home.” It appears that the Archibalds had taken her into their home. Wallace also stated that Andrew “never lived [separately] with his wife…. He lived with me for some years before joining the services. His parents are dead, also the Mr. and Mrs. Betts who brought him up.”
Around 1941, Andrew went to work in the Malagash Salt Mines. Among his fellow miners was Wallace Carey, a Halifax native. Apparently unemployed in mid-winter 1943/44, Andrew made the decision to enlist with the Canadian Active Service Force at Halifax on January 14, 1944. At the time, he provided Wallace’s name as his next of kin and gave his marital status as “single.”
In late January, Andrew reported to No. 60 Basic Training Center, Yarmouth, where a note in his service file commented on his performance: “Very good progress…. Capable and efficient.” Andrew moved on to A14 Advanced Infantry Training Center, Aldershot, on March 25. While there, he completed a “six-pounder” course. On June 3, he received the standard two-week pre-embarkation furlough.
Andrew returned to duty on in mid-June and proceeded overseas on June 25. He disembarked in the United Kingdom on July 3 and was assigned to 2nd Canadian Base Reinforcement Group shortly afterward. With Canadian infantry units now fighting in both Italy and France, demand for reinforcements was high. On July 17, Andrew departed for the continent and set foot in Normandy the following day. Within 24 hours, he was posted to the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment.
The North Shore Regiment (NSR) traces its origins to the 73rd Northumberland New Brunswick Battalion of Infantry, a Canadian militia unit established on February 25, 1870. The Bathurst-based unit went through several title changes before it was officially designated the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment on April 1, 1922.
While the unit recruited an infantry battalion—the 132nd (North Shore)—for service during the First World War, it never served in combat. Upon arriving overseas in November 1916, the 132nd provided reinforcements until early 1917, when it was dissolved and its remaining personnel transferred to the 13th Reserve Battalion.
The NSR was placed on active service on September 1, 1939, and departed for the UK in mid-July 1941 as part of the 3rd Canadian Division’s 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade (8th CIB). Its personnel spent almost three years training and performing home defence duties. During the autumn of 1943 and spring of 1944, the unit and its 8th CIB mates—The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (Toronto, ON) and Le Régiment de la Chaudière (Chaudière-Appalaches, QC)—prepared for an Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France.
The Queen’s Own Rifles (QOR) boarded landing craft at 0630 hours June 6, 1944, and came ashore at Bernières-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, in the first wave of Allied D-Day landings. The North Shore Regiment was part of the second wave, boarding landing craft at 0810 hours and heading for nearby Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer.
The following day, the unit pushed inland toward Tailleville. By June 11, its personnel had advanced as far as Cairon, northwest of the city of Caen. Six days later, the regiment relieved the Royal Winnipeg Rifles at Le Mesnil-Patry. The village was within 10 kilometers of Carpiquet airfield, which was located on the western outskirts of Caen.
The NSR’s first major combat assignment took place in early July, when 8th CIB attacked Carpiquet and the adjacent airfield in fighting that lasted several days The advance commenced in the early hours of July 4 as the New Brunswickers and their Chaudière counterparts cleared the village. The units held their positions for nine days before retiring to a rest area near the city of Caen.
On July 18, the 8th Brigade participated in an Allied push across the Orne River, which ran through the city of Caen. The following day, a reinforcement group of two officers and 87 “other ranks” (OR) arrived in the NSR’s camp. Private Andrew McRitchie Davidson was part of the group, which also included Private Robert Leonard Lawrence, Guysborough.
The NSR relocated to Vaucelles, across the Orne River from Caen, during the late afternoon of July 20. The following day, the unit “stood by” awaiting orders. At 1730 hours, personnel moved forward to Grentheville, south of the Caen - Falaise Road. Heavy artillery fire slowed their progress, the soldiers finally reaching their destination around 2000 hours July 21.
Throughout the NSR’s four days in Grentheville, German artillery heavily shelled the area, particularly during the evening and night hours. In the late afternoon of July 23, Andrew was admitted to No. 14 Canadian Field Ambulance, having received “shrapnel and powder burn (minor)” wounds to his back from an exploding “H E [high explosive] shell.”
Andrew was admitted to No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Bayeux, Normandy, on July 25 and evacuated to No. 19 Canadian General Hospital in the UK the following day. Fortunately, his injuries were slight and he was discharged to duty on August 8. He immediately reported to No. 4 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU), where he awaited orders to return to France.
On August 25, Andrew crossed the English Channel for the third time since his overseas arrival. Upon landing in Normandy the following day, he was assigned to No. 2 Canadian Base Reinforcement Group, where he waited another two weeks before he rejoining the NSR’s ranks on September 8.
By the time of Andrew’s return, Allied units had cleared German forces from the Normandy peninsula and were pursuing the retreating enemy northward toward the Seine River. The NSR was encamped at Reclinghen, approximately 20 kilometers east of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where Canadian units were preparing to clear German forces from several key “Channel Ports” along the French coast.
In anticipation of an Allied attack across the English Channel, German forces had constructed the “Atlantic Wall,” an elaborate network of fortifications that defended strategic locations from attack by sea and land. The area assigned to the NSR’s 8th CIB—the villages of La Trésorerie and Wimille, and the town of Wimereux—were part of this system and contained several gun installations protected by reinforced concrete bunkers.
The 8th CIB attack commenced on the morning of September 17, the NSR advancing across open country toward a fortification in La Trésorerie. The first two attacking platoons quickly reached the village’s outskirts, completed their intermediate objective, and were instructed to wait for supporting comrades to join them.
The initial attack succeeded partly because German forces had not anticipated an attack from that direction. Once the advance resumed, the supporting platoons encountered heavy fire as they attempted to cross the open ground. The initial soldiers had also somehow managed to cross a hazardous minefield without realizing their good fortune. The second wave of attackers was not so fortunate.
Despite attempting a variety of tactics, the forward party was unable to advance further throughout the day. The minefield to its rear eliminated any possibility of retreat, forcing the soldiers to hold their positions as Canadian engineers cleared a path through the mines. Meanwhile, enemy artillery and machine gun fire blanketed the area where the NSR was situated..
At dusk, a group of soldiers pushed forward to the northernmost gun casemate—a fortified concrete chamber from which a gun can fire through a narrow opening—and managed to secure half of the structure. The remaining section—a power plant—was still in German hands. The attackers consolidated their positions through the night and prepared to resume the advance in the morning.
The various fortifications were built with thick concrete walls that had easily withstood the preliminary artillery bombardment. As a result, close combat was required to clear each one, attackers using grenades to enter and flamethrowers to clear each structure. While the NSR managed to secure the southeastern side of La Trésorerie, enemy fire blocked further advance along the village’s eastern edge.
During the morning of September 18, the NSR forward party secured the remainder of the casemate and over-ran a smaller gun position, softening enemy resistance. With the co-operation of a German prisoner of war, the soldiers persuaded the remaining enemy forces in the village to surrender.
As the day progressed, the NSR secured the remaining sections of La Trésorerie. Its war diary commented, “ Casualties had been fairly heavy, but so were those of the enemy.” While the unit captured 450 prisoners during two days of fighting, 16 of its soldiers were killed in action during that time.
Private Andrew McRitchie Davidson was wounded during the September 17, 1944 attack and succumbed to his injuries before day’s end. Eight more NSR soldiers died the same day. Their remains were initially interred in a temporary Canadian military cemetery established at Hardingen, approximately 20 kilometers east of Wimille. On August 1, 1945, Andrew and his comrades were re-interrred in Calais Canadian Military Cemetery, Saint-Inglevert, France.
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| Calais Canadian Military Cemetery, Saint-Inglevert, France (Source: War Graves Photographic Project) |
In the aftermath of Andrew’s death, military officials commenced what quickly became the challenging process of contacting his nearest living next of kin. The search started with Andrew’s friend, Wallace Carty, identified on his attestation papers as a “friend.” In a letter to authorities, Wallace recommended that they contact “Children’s Aid at Amherst, NS,” as Andrew had spent his adolescent years in Malagash with Luther and Margaret Betts, both of whom had passed away.
Months passed before military officials made any progress. A letter from A. J. Mason, Mayor of Springhill, dated October 13, 1945, informed them that Andrew had been married to Annie Archibald, daughter of Mrs. George Archibald, Fir St., Springhill, and that the Davidsons had two children. Annie had been “working in Halifax at different restaurants during the past few years.”
In early November 1945, two Army Provost officers visited a Halifax address where Annie had resided. The landlord at the premises informed them that she had departed two months earlier, leaving her furniture and belongings but no forwarding address. He also informed the officers that Annie had used several names while living there—Mrs. Annie Davidson, Annie Archibald, and Mrs. Stanley Plummer.
In fact, on January 6, 1942, Annie had married Stanley John Plummer, a native of London, England, a marine engineer employed with Canadian National Steamships. The ceremony took place in St. George’s Church, Halifax. Annie was working as a “waitress” in the “HMC Dockyard” at the time. On theProvince of Nova Scotia marriage license, her surname is recorded as “Davison” and her marital status as “spinster.”
A second name written in the “Other Relations” section of Andrew’s paybook provided another lead. The entry identified “Ruby Mattatall, Malagash, NS” as another “friend.” Ruby was in fact the daughter of Luther and Margaret Betts, the family with whom Andrew lived after leaving the Halifax children’s home.
On November 10, 1945, Ruby wrote to the Department of National Defence (DND), confirming Annie’s second marriage and suggesting that DND contact Mrs. George Archibald, Springhill, who was taking care of Andrew and Annie’s children. Three days later, Annie contacted DND herself, confirming arrangements to meet with officials concerning Andrew’s estate.
On December 17, 1945, Annie completed the standard Department of Defence Estates Branch form at Liverpool, where she was employed as “manager” of the South Shore Inn, She identified herself as Andrew’s “widow” and provided officials with significant information—the date and place of her marriage to Andrew, and the names, ages and address of their two children. Annie was unable to provide any details on Andrew’s family, specifically the names of his parents and siblings.
In late December, Ida May Archibald wrote a letter to DND, inquiring about “the money coming to the children of Pte F57838 Andrew Davidson, who was killed overseas in September 1944.” She provided additional information on the family situation:
“As I have kept the children all their lives… I think they have the right to their father’s money. Their mother left them when they were babies and is married for the last three years to Stan Plummer. I am the children’s grandmother and their father asked me to keep them because he had no place to take them and was not working…. [T]hey are getting big and need their money to help them in school…. Their mother has never given them anything in 10 years.”
In April 1946, the Department of National Defence dispersed one-third of Andrew’s estate funds to Annie Laurie Plummer and sent the remaining two-thirds to his two minor children, c/o Ida May Archibald. In March 1950, military officials dispatched a Memorial Bar to Andrew’s son, George Kenneth Davidson, Fir St., Springhill.
According to information included an Ancestry.ca family tree, Andrew’s father William Marshall Davidson passed away in Prince Edward Island in 1945. The exact date and location cannot be confirmed. At present, no further information is available on the subsequent lives of Andrew’s widow Annie or his two children.
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