David Clements Bates was the only son of William Jennie Bates. David was born in 1889 in Castleblayney, County Monaghan. His father, William Bates, was a bank manager with Belfast Bank. He worked at Crossmaglen and at Saintfield, Belfast. David attended the Royal School Dungannon between 1901 and 1903. After leaving school he too joined the Belfast Bank. After his father died the family moved to Canada. He enlisted in Toronto in April 1916. Private David Best was killed in action on 14th September 1917, a day before the unit’s stint at the Front was due to end.
Willerval is a village in the Department of the Pas-de-Calais, 10 kilometres north-east of Arras. Beehive Cemetery is 1 kilometre north of the village and 600 metres by the footpath from the west side of the D50E road to Mericourt in a place called Lorgette.
