SHAW, Hugh Thomas

Harold Reginald Davis enlisted in the Army at Claremont on 18 June 1941. He was born on 25th September 1916, was single and worked as a Labourer. After three weeks training at Naval Base he was transferred to Northam Army Camp, then embarked for the Middle East on 7 November 1941, bound for Palestine. Following additional training in the desert near Alexandria, the Battalion was called into battle.

In July 1942 the Germans and Italians had reached El Alamein, only 70 miles from Alexandria. Harold's Battalion was rushed to El Alamein and the first major attack began on 17 July 1942. The 2/32nd captured the ridge line, however the Germans counter-attacked with tanks. During this and subsequent attacks, the 2/32nd suffered heavy casualties, with nearly half of its men either killed, wounded, or taken prisoner of war.

Harold was captured on 17 July 1942 at El Alamein. In his own words:

After making a night attack on a certain position which we captured from the Italians, and not being able to dig in owing to the fact that the ground was hard and stony. In the morning my Company was surrounded by German tanks, and not having Anti-tank guns, our Commanding Officer gave the order to surrender.

Harold was held at the following Prisoner of War Camps: Benghazi (25/7/1942 to 13/11/1942); Bari, Lower East Coast of Italy (18/11/1942 to 24/11/1942); Udine, North Eastern Italy (from 27/11/1942); and Vercelli, North Western Italy (from 11 April 1943). On the night of 10/11 September 1943, Harold and a number of fellow Australian soldiers escaped from the Vercelli camp.

Harold and his mates survived more than two years behind German enemy lines, with the assistance of a number of Italian partisans. Harold eventually made his way to safety in Switzerland, traversing the Italian Alps in the process — which according to Italian locals was an incredible feat of endurance. He was recovered and deplaned in the United Kingdom on 30 June 1945, and returned to Australia on 21 September 1945, subsequently demobilized with an Honourable Discharge on 6 November 1945.

In correspondence from the Central Army Records Office in 1955, the following Campaign Stars and Medals were noted as awarded but never claimed: 1939/45 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal, War Medal, Australia Service Medal. Harold subsequently collected his medals in 1956.

Harold is buried in an official Australian War Grave in the Bunbury General Cemetery, Methodist D Section, Plot No. 16.

Italian Researcher Marco Soggetto has been researching the stories of the Australian Prisoners of War who escaped from the Vercelli Camp, and is keen for family members to contact him at marco.soggetto@gmail.com to assist in gathering further information for a book detailing the survival and exploits of these POWs.