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30 April 2021

George C. Davies was eight years old when he joined Prince Alfred College in 1904. He began his PAC journey in a class called ‘Form 1’ along with several other little boys in the Preparatory School. Little did he know that his life would be significantly changed and impacted by events only a decade away.

George Campbell Davies (PAC 1904-1914)

George was like any young boy; he played in areas around our school that were more spacious then, with parklands to run through and trees to climb. He would have walked to and from school and worked in his classroom on a slate with chalk. As George grew up at PAC, he became a keen sportsman and eventually became captain of several of the College’s first sports teams and was honoured as a Senior School Prefect. In 1914 George graduated and moved on to work at the College for one year. In 1915, George enlisted to serve his country and the Commonwealth in World War One. He fought in Egypt and was transferred to the 27th Battalion. He sailed to France to fight and received the Military Medal (MM) for his bravery in caring for wounded comrades under fire. Unfortunately, George was killed in action on June 29, 1916.

On Friday 23 April, the Preparatory School Boys gathered in the College Chapel to remember the brave men and women from our country who fought and were injured or died to bring safety and freedom to our country and people in many other countries. George and all the brave people we remember are very much like us. They lived in our houses, went to our school, walked our streets, and loved the same views and hobbies as us. They even sat in some of the same rooms our older boys sit in today. They planned what to do at the weekend, played sport and rode bikes, just as we do. They had the same dreams that we do, of growing up, getting a good job and having a family. They were loved as we are. These are not just names we are remembering, they are people, they are lives, they are individuals who mattered very much to those who knew them.

George had a mother and a father as well as siblings. He had grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. At school he had classmates and close friends. As a keen sportsman, he had teammates in footy and perhaps cricket as well as coaches and teachers who knew him well. All these people had to go on with their lives, missing George and knowing they would never see him again.

ANZAC Day is more than remembering a name. Each name is a life, an individual like us. ANZAC Day is about realising that the price of war is a heavy one for the whole community. Just as the community was affected by what happened, we are remembering as a community on ANZAC Day, affected by the events of WWI and thankful to those who served and to those who lost people they knew and loved.

Prince Alfred College had 124 boys and teachers serve and die for the freedom we now enjoy. Over 800 former students and staff served in WWI. For many, the price of this service lasted a lifetime. For others, their life became a memory of pride for their sacrifice and sadness for their loss. The boys of PAC gathered to learn about ANZAC Day and its importance, honour the service of these brave men and women and learn that, like George, each person who died in the service of our country left behind many people who loved and missed them dearly.

“Lest we forget.”

John Stewart
Head of Preparatory School