The Wartime Memories Project - The Great War

Cpl. William James Dickson British Army 13th London Regiment


Great War>


This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.


If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.



    Site Home

    Great War Home

    Search

    Add Stories & Photos

    Library

    Help & FAQs

 Features

    Allied Army

    Day by Day

    RFC & RAF

    Prisoners of War

    War at Sea

    Training for War

    The Battles

    Those Who Served

    Hospitals

    Civilian Service

    Women at War

    The War Effort

    Central Powers Army

    Central Powers Navy

    Imperial Air Service

    Library

    World War Two

 Submissions

    Add Stories & Photos

    Time Capsule

 Information

    Help & FAQs



    Glossary

    Our Facebook Page

    Volunteering

    News

    Events

    Contact us

    Great War Books

    About


Advertisements

World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

212482

Cpl. William James Dickson

British Army 13th London Regiment

from:London

My Grandfather, William Dickson was a Drummer Stretcher Bearer, he left England for France on the 3rd of November 1914. He saw service at Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, the Somme, Guillemont, Ginchy, Arras, Ypres and Cambrai.

He was wounded on 3 separate occasions, being hospitalised in England and then returned to the front. Tuesday December 1st he was part of the guard of honour at EStaires to the King and the Prince of Wales. At the time of the unofficial Christmas truce in 1914, he was not in the front line, being in reserve he missed that.

Sunday 14th of March 1915, as he was loading an ambulance wagon,a German shell went through it cutting one man in half and rewounding the others,he notes in his diary that, the driver and horses were unharmed. This was Neuve Chapelle. April Saturday 17th during an inspection by General Sir John French , a billet burst down, as they were all on parade no body was blamed.

During the attack on the Aubers Ridge, May Tuesday 9th he was wounded in the arm, and was visited by Mr Churchill in the Hospital at Merville. Monday 17th March 1916 he is made up to Lance Corporal.He was with Major Cedric Dickens, Chales Dickens Grandson near Hebuterne, after the attack on Saturday July 1st ,from 2 companies of men only Major Dickens and 13 men were left.

He was at Angle Wood when tanks were first used in an attack, which he says in his diary was a disaster. December 1916 he is made a full Corporal, on Monday the 4th. His diary goes on until September 4th 1917 when he leaves the diary at home while on leave.

We have no record as to when he went back to France, but by the 12th December 1917 he is sent home again wounded. His military papers show him being discharged on May 4th 1918 as no longer fit for military service.

He passed away peacefully in 1963 aged 74, a wonderful old gentleman. We Will Remember Them.









Related Content:







Can you help us to add to our records?

The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them


Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?

If so please let us know.

Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"

We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.

Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.




Celebrate your own Family History

Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.

Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.














The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.

This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.

If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.


Hosted by:

The Wartime Memories Project Website

is archived for preservation by the British Library





Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -

We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.