208769 Pte. Harry Dowson MM.British Army 9th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment from:Thirsk, North Yorks Harry Dowson was born in the first quarter of 1888 in Thirsk and was an
agricultural labourer in pre-war life.
Like his brothers, Fred and Walter, Harry joined up at the start of WWI.
However, unlike Herbert (killed in action) and Walter, who was captured in
action, became a POW and was discharged in 1919 with no recorded
disciplinary offences, Harry seems to have committed a number of
transgressions, only one of which seemed to lead to serious punishment. But
he also won the Military Medal, gazetted 19/11/1917, presumably as a result of the action that saw him wounded by shrapnel in the shoulder.
Harry joined the York & Lancaster Regiment at York on 2 September 1914, less than a month into the War, aged 24 years and 9 months, recorded as a farm labourer living away from his father's home. Height 5ft 8in, weight 139lbs, chest 36 ins, fresh complexion, grey eyes, auburn hair.
His Reg No was 11994.
- 09/09/14 posted to West Yorkshire Regiment
- 22/09/14 Grantham: offence of losing his rifle(!) 3 days confined to
barracks
- 25/10/14 Grantham: neglect of duty when company cook - 3 days confined to barracks
- 27/10/14 Grantham: unshaved on parade - 3 days confined to barracks
- 31/10/14 Grantham: absent from defaulters parade and reveille: 7 days
confined to barracks
- 21/11/14 Grantham: not shaved on parade - 3 days confined to barracks
- 17/01/15 Grantham: Absent from midnight until 8pm 18/01/15
- 18/01/15 forfeits 7 days pay and 7 days confined to barracks
- 07/05/15 Witley Camp: Absent from night operations; deprived of 2 days pay and 8 days confined to barracks
- 28/05/15 Witley Camp: absent from tattoo until 7am - 3 days confined to
barracks
- 02/07/15 Embarked Liverpool for Alexandria (9th Battalion West Yorkshire Rgt)
- 07/02/16 Disembarked Alexandria
- 01/04/16 awarded 2 days loss of pay and 10 days field punishment number 2 (which involved being shackled but not tied up to any particular object) for being absent from 12.30 30/03/16 to 10.30 31/03/16
- 25/06/16 embarked Alexandria
- 02/07/16 disembarked Marseilles
- 19/10/16 granted leave to 29/10/16
- 10/09/17 granted leave to 20/09/17
- October 1917 Wounded in action in France - date unclear - shrapnel left
shoulder - fractured clavicle
- 10/10/17 1st Canadian General Hospital, Etaples
- 17/10/17 to England and hospital
- 19/11/17 Award of Military Medal announced
- 06/12/17 discharged from hospital
- 12/12/17 Posted to Yorks and Lancs Regiment
In 1918 he rejoined his original Regiment, the Yorks and Lancs.
- On 06/11/18 only a few days before the Armistice he was posted to the Expeditionary Force for France or Italy
- 11/11/18 (Armistice Day) Harry was proceeding to join the Italian
Expeditionary Force and did apparently serve there, even though the war was
over.
- 10/03/19 Posted to Ripon
- 10/04/19 Posted at York to Army Reserve Class Z on demobilisation.
In addition to the Military Medal, he was also awarded the 1915 Star,
Victory Medal and British War Medal ("Pip, Squeak and Wilfred").
He married in 1922 but there do not seem to have been any children to the
marriage.
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