Archibald Wavell and irregular soldiers - Harley Fox-Davies

Quite a bit of work this year on Wavell and Allenby as part of on going studies/course, that lead to an essay on Wavell.

Wavell credits his grandfather as having been an irregular soldier who he seems to have thought highly of. He appears to have enjoyed working with and encouraging soldiers with thoughts on irregular warfare. The minor story of one soldier caught my eye as he would later serve in the Western Desert..

Harley Fox-Davies is an officer Wavell alludes to when discussing Bernard Fergusson in the foreword to Fergusson's book "Beyond the Chindwin" but does not give his name.

Fox-Davies is mentioned by name in Fergusson's book "Wavell. Portrait of a Soldier"

Gott and Wavell appear to have signed off on a Military Cross for Fox-Davies following a raid on Sallum (Sollum) on the 14/15th April 1941, probably against an infantry element of the newly arrived 15th Panzer Division (Gruppe Knabe) who reported an attack at Solum at 5:30am on 15th April 1941, noting the attack was initially unseen and about company strength.

Fox-Davies would be killed shortly afterwards and later buried in Sollum.

Radley College appears to have a photo of Fox-Davies and a write up that seems to suggest he wrote an unpublished book called "Guerilla". I can't help but think this may have been the paper Fox-Davies presented to Fergusson to pass to Wavell.

Fox-Davies is listed as being involved with 50 and 52 Middle East Commando and to have led one LRDG patrol. I've not come across Fox-Davies yet in any of the LRDG books I have or archives viewed to date.

https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php?threads/fox-davies-harley-edmond-fitzroy.852/

https://www.commandoveterans.org/HalfayaSollum

As an aside, Robert Pipon, a Royal Fusiliers officer approached alongside Gordon Shephard to crew the Asgard in 1914 but who turned down the venture, appears in Victoria Schofield's excellent book re Wavell.

Wavell was working in London for Henry Wilson at the time of the Curragh Mutiny.

Beggars Bush Barracks : NLI Photographs and Military Archives maps

The National Library of Ireland has a very nice set of early 1900's photographs by Robert French available to view on its website. I was particularly interested in one of the NLI photos of an early Vickers machine gun loaded on a cart used on the Mount Street Bridge site but was taken in by the following photo which (zooming in) has a laundry cart and horse :

NLI photograph of Beggars Bush Barracks Dublin

The zoom feature on the NLI site is fantastic and allows easy zooming in and out. 

The ghost like figure of a soldier and a dog walking towards the two soldiers at the back, and the detail on the laundry cart :

a. the advert on the back of the cart re "Dublin's Most Progressive Laundry" and 

b. the little sign at the front of the cart "Pioneers in Modern Methods"

I half expected to find the cart belonged to the Swastika Laundry Company which opened around 1912 in  nearby Ballsbridge. A search on FindmyPast newspapers though delivered a similar text for the Inchicore based Metropolitan Laundry, with the adverts appearing in the 1911-1912 timeframe.  May need some help in checking the Irish newspaper archives.

The Irish Military Archives site has a nice map showing the layout of the buildings in the barracks but no context to it sadly. I think the route being marked may be the route taken by Captain Gerrard and CQMS Robert Gamble went they ventured from the barracks to attack members of the 3rd Battalion Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising.

The archives also have a map showing the electrical layout of the barracks giving the building letters. This means we can position the NLI photos as they carry some of the building letters e.g. the laundry horse and cart is outside the back of building U. The soldiers on parade and the Vickers machine gun crew stand in front of the large building that contains U, and are between it and building D. My rough labelling below (let me know if you think this is right or wrong) :

Behind the left most man in the machine gun photo, by zooming, in L can be seen just above his head on the building doorway behind him

Machine Gun Section photo

D Block building photo

Modern photo of Block D on Wikipedia

Additional Resources

British Pathe Film Clip. National Army soldiers march in and parade in front of Block D.

British Pathe Film Clip. The Tricolor is hoisted above Block D. Lines of men in a civilian clothing and uniform are lined up with their backs to the entrance/guard room/detention room and facing towards Block D.