Colonel. Davies, H.F.

Subject: Colonel. Davies, H.F. Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:56 pm

Colonel. Davies, H.F. Gren. Gds. Proceeded to the Cape in March 1879, in command of drafts for the 24th Regt. Served in Newdigate’s Div. during the war, commanding the garrison at Landman’s Drift in May.

Extracts from Mackinnon & Shadbolt's South Africa Campaign of 1879

Subject: Re: Colonel. Davies, H.F. Sun May 23, 2010 3:03 pm

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Lieutenant-General Henry Fanshawe Davies (1837-1914), of Elmley Castle, Worcestershire; Midshipman Royal Navy 1852 and served with the Navy in the Burma War and in the Baltic; the family has a long history of association with the Grenadier Guards and with the death of his brother Lieutenant F.B. Davies in the trenches before Sebastopol (see lot 996), H.F. Davies resigned his Naval Commission and continued with the family tradition by taking a Lieutenancy in the Grenadier Guards in 1854; Captain 1857; advanced Colonel 1870; he sailed for the Cape, for service in the Zulu War, in March 1879 and commanded the drafts of the 24th Foot, on board the Troop Transport Clyde ; which sank after running onto the reefs off Dyers Island; Davies was in charge of all the troops at the wreck, ensuring their eventual safety; arriving in South Africa he joined Major-General Newdigate’s Staff and was appointed Officer Commanding of an advanced depot at Conference Hill, May 1879 and was appointed Officer Commanding of Fort Newdigate, the advanced post for the assault on Ulundi (M.I.D. London Gazette7.5.1879); Commanded the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, 1880-85; Major-General Commanding Cork District, 1889; Lieutenant-General 1893; retire 1898 and was made Honorary Colonel of the Lincolns, 1908. He is buried at Elmley Castle, near Evesham. Approximately 16 South Africa 1877-79 medals, all with ‘1879’ clasp awards were issued to the Grenadier Guards. Davies was the Senior Officer present during the campaign.

Posts : 3066 Join date : 2009-03-03 Location : Devon

Hi All

Lieutenant-General Henry Fanshawe Davies (1837-1914), of Elmley Castle.

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The mansion of Elmley Castle was a large stone Elizabethan house of two stories with gabled attics.

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house around 1960

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All that remains today of this once great house is the entrance

Posts : 2583 Join date : 2009-04-25

DAVIES, HENRY FANSHAWE (1837-1914), son of General F. J. Davies, of Danehurst, Sussex. As a Naval Officer he served in Burmese War, 1852-3, and in the Baltic, 1854 ; joined Grenadier Guards, 1854 ; commanded the troops at the wreck of the Clyde, and fought in Zululand, 1879 ; Lieut. -Colonel commanding 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, 1880-85 ; Major-General, 1886 ; commanded the troops in Cork district, 1889-93 ; Lieut. -General, 1893. Married, 1863, Ellen Christine, daughter of J. A. Hankey, Balcombe Place, Sussex. After retiring from the Army in 1898, he was active as a county administrator in Worcestershire, residing at Elmley Castle, which he inherited from his uncle, Col. T. H. H. Davies (q.v.). In 1908, he was made Hon. Colonel of the Lincolnshire Regiment.

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Lieutenant-General Henry Fanshawe Davies, Medals awarded.
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Subject: colonel . Davies Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:21 am

hi 1879graves .
Do we know why the house was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair ?.
cheers 90th.

Posts : 2583 Join date : 2009-04-25

"Colonel Davies’s widow married Sir John Pakington, afterwards Lord Hampton, and died in 1892, when the house passed to, Lieut.-General Henry Fanshawe Davies, J.P., D.L., son of General Francis John Davies.He was the last in the long line of squires to live in the great house, when he died in 1948 the house began its descent into ruin.

The property fell into the ownership of a Mr L.W. Hill a builder from Bourton on the water who, according to local opinion, demolished the building, just three weeks before a listing order would have preserved it for the nation.

Part of the site was used to build the houses at Parkwood and the surrounding fields and “Church Pond” were sold off. All that remains today of this once great house is the entrance, "

Posts : 1261 Join date : 2010-04-12

Quote :: just three weeks before a listing order would have preserved it for the nation.

Now that is tragic. And so much History lost with it. Mad

Posts : 3066 Join date : 2009-03-03 Location : Devon

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Memorial Tablet, Elmley Castle Parish Church, Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England