Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Sir Jonathan Roberts Davidson (29 May 1874 – 21 June 1961) was a British civil engineer and

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

.Entry at National Portrait Gallery
/ref> Davidson pursued a professional career as an engineer which resulted in him being elected president of both the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

and of the

Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers was founded in England in 1771. It was the first engineering society to be formed anywhere in the world, and remains the oldest. It was originally known as the Society of Civil Engineers, being renamed fo ...

. He also served as an officer in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

where he saw combat as a battalion commander in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the

Liverpool Scottish The Liverpool Scottish, known as "the Scottish", was a unit of the British Army, part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve (formerly the Territorial Army), raised in 1900 as an infantry battalion of the King's Regiment (Liverpool), K ...

and was twice wounded in action.

Early life

Davidson was born in 1874 at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

. Although an engineer by profession, Davidson also served as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

. His was first commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 8th (Scottish) Volunteer Battalion of the

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

on 6 February 1901. He received promotion to Lieutenant on 22 November of the same year. Davidson was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 7 March 1903.

First World War

When the Volunteer Force was reorganised into the

on 1 April 1908, Davidson remained with the

, now numbered the "10th", whilst retaining his rank and precedence. He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and subsequently held the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel and command of the battalion from 1914 to 1917. During this time, the battalion was called up for regular service in the First World War during August 1914, leaving Britain for Belgium on 1 November 1914. Davidson and the Liverpool Scottish spent much of 1914 and 1915 in trenches in the

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

area.Brief History of the Liverpool Scottish
During the spring of 1915, whilst at Zillebeeke, Davidson used his civil engineering expertise to significantly improve his battalion's trenches. Davidson was himself injured during the attack on Bellewaarde Farm on 24–25 May 1915 in the

Second Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 22 April – 25 May 1915, during the First World War, for control of the tactically-important high ground to the east and the south of the Flanders, Flemish town of Ypres, in western Belgium. The ...

. During this period, Davidson was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

and his temporary rank was confirmed as substantive on 29 May 1916 with precedence of 19 June 1915. Whilst personally rallying the battalion during the

Battle of Guillemont The Battle of Guillemont (3–6 September 1916) was an attack, during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War, by the British Fourth Army against the German 2nd Army near the village of Guillemont in northern France. The village is on ...

in the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

area in 1916, Davidson was once again wounded in action. The battalion's

medical officer Medical officer may refer to: * Physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring healt ...

Noel Chavasse Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, (9 November 1884 – 4 August 1917) was an English medical doctor, Olympic athlete, and British Army officer from the Chavasse family. He is one of three people to be awarded a Victoria Cross twice, the others be ...

, was also wounded during the battle whilst rescuing injured soldiers and in doing so won the unit's first

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

(VC).Chavasse biography
Chavasse would subsequently win their second and last VC at the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

in 1917. Davidson spent the remainder of the year convalescing and returned to the battalion in 1917.. Later that year, he left the unit and returned to Liverpool where he became that city's Chief Engineer. Davidson temporarily held command of a battalion of the

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

from 14 November 1917. He then transferred back to the Territorial Force Reserves on 9 March 1918, retaining his rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He relinquished his army commission during

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

on 30 September 1921, retaining his rank and being entitled to continue to wear his uniform. After the war, he was also awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

for his service.

Post-war

After the war, Davidson joined the

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nightin ...

, an unpaid volunteer unit providing engineering expertise to the British army. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of that corps on 10 August 1938. Davidson was knighted by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

on 10 February 1942. He was elected president of the

, the highest authority in his profession, for the November 1948 to November 1949 session. He was also a member of the

from 1937 and was elected their president in 1955. Davidson died in 1961. The

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

holds five photographic portraits of Davidson in their archives. The

William Girling Reservoir The William Girling Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water. It is named after William Girling OBE, a chairman of the Metropolitan Water Board ( ...

Chingford Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walt ...

was built to a design by Davidson.William Girling reservoir
Retrieved 26 November 2008

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Jonathan 1874 births 1961 deaths British civil engineers Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Liverpool Scottish officers Royal Norfolk Regiment officers Knights Bachelor Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers Military personnel from Liverpool Territorial Force officers Volunteer Force officers