An extremely fine pre-war Palestine and WW2 group of seven to Warrant Officer 1st Class, Regimental Sergeant-Major A. G. Davey, 1st Battalion, The Royal Sussex Regiment, who was Mentioned in Despatches for the Mediterranean theatre, having previously been wounded in action on 22 November, 1941, during fighting at the Halfaya Pass, Egypt.
Group of 7:: General Service Medal 1918, 1 clasp Palestine (6398242 PTE. A. DAVEY, R. SUSS. R.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp 8th Army; Italy Star; Defence Medal; WW2 War Medal with M.I.D. emblem; 1953 Coronation Medal, mounted swing-style as worn.
Condition: Nearly Extremely Fine.
Together with the recipient’s Certified Copy off Attestation; Regular Army Certificate of Service; Mentioned in Despatches Certificate, named Warrant Officer II A. G. Davey, The Royal Sussex Regiment, dated 23 May 1946; Warrant for the Emergency Appointment of Warrant Officer in The Royal Sussex Regiment, dated 20 March, 1950; Warrant for the Appointment of Warrant Officer in The Royal Sussex Regiment, dated 6 August, 1952; award certificate for the 1953 Coronation Medal, named to No.6398242 W.O.I. R.S.M. A. G. Davey, The Royal Sussex Regt.; pair of slip on, black on green, embroidered R. Sussex cloth titles; Stirling silver and enamels Royal Sussex Regiment cap badge with lug fittings to the reverse; unmarked silver and enamels Royal Sussex Regiment cap badge with lug fittings to the reverse; J. R. Gaunt and Son hallmarked silver and enamels Royal Sussex Regiment cap badge with slider fitting to the reverse, dated 1946, together with a pair of silver metal and enamels Royal Sussex Regiment shoulder rank pips.
Arthur George Davey was born in the parish of Horsham, Sussex on 5 Oct, 1914, and attested for the Royal Sussex Regiment on 8 Aug 1933, aged 18. He embarked for service in Jerusalem on 2 Dec 1936 and remained in service there until being posted to Egypt on 14 Oct 1937. He was serving in Egypt when war broke out and on 26 Dec 1940 embarked for Sudan where he remained until 25 Aril 1941 when he returned to Egypt.
He was serving with the 1st Battalion which fought the vast majority of the war within the 4th Indian Division in Eritrea and all of the major campaigns in the Western Desert including the Battle of El Alamein where they joined the 2nd, 4th and 5th Battalions.
Wounded in the fighting at Halfaya Pass on 22 Nov 1941, he embarked for Cyprus on 31 March, 1942 and remained there until 23 August when he returned with his regiment to Egypt. The 1st battalion ended the campaign in North Africa by taking the surrender of General Von Arnim in Tunisia in 1943.
After reorganisation, Davey embarked with the 1st Battalion for Italy on 2 Jan 1944 and took part in the slog up the Italian peninsular, where the 8th Army took severe casualties at the Battle of Monte Cassino. Conditions here were the closest of any WW2 battle to the conditions of the First World War. After the invasion of Europe the 8th Army were nicknamed the ‘D-Day Dodgers’ a term attributed, wrongly, to Viscountess Astor MP as there is no record of her saying it, but the term stuck. Those serving in the Italian campaign proudly responded by putting their own words to the song Lili Marlene, using the nickname as its title.
Davey returned home on 7 July 1946 and other than just over a year served withe Middle East Land Forces during 1949 and 1950, remained in the UK until his discharge on 7 Aug 1955.
He completed 22 years service, his military conduct assessed at Exemplary. This medal combination confirmed in his Red Book Certificate of Service.
