DIXON, James Cochrane
(Service number 35887)
| First Rank | Lance Corporal | Last Rank | Sergeant |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 04/05/1882 | Place of Birth | St Andrews, New Zealand |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 5 October 1916 | Age | 32 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Morven | ||
| Occupation | Musterer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single then married | ||
| Next of Kin | (Mrs William DIXON, mother, Morven, South Canterbury); Mrs Amelia DIXON (wife), care of John GUTHRIE, 24 St David's Street, Christchurch | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 23rd Reinforcements, Mounted Rifles | ||
| Date | 19 April 1917 | ||
| Transport | Moeraki | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Mounted Rifles | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 26 June 1972 | Age | 84 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Timaru Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
James Cochrane Dixon was born on 4 May 1888 at St Andrews, South Canterbury, the eldest of the three sons of William and Elizabeth Susan (née Cochrane) Dixon. He started his schooling at St Andrews School, transferring to Waihao Native School in November 1899 and from there to Waikakahi in January 1902.
James enlisted on 5 October 1916 at Waimate. A musterer at Morven, single and Presbyterian, he initially named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs William Dixon, Morven, South Canterbury. But then he married Amelia Guthrie on 19 December 1916 at Featherston. She became his next-of-kin – Mrs Amelia Dixon, care of John Guthrie, 24 St David’s Street, Christchurch.
Lance Corporal J. C. Dizon embarked with the Mounted Rifles of the 23rd Reinforcements, departing from Wellington for Suez, Egypt, by the “Moeraki” on 19 April 1917. Draft 230 (“Kaikoura”) was to arrive at Wellington about 17 April 1919. In the list of troopers aboard was J. C. Dixon, 35887. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. The name of J. C. Dixon appeared regularly on the Waimate Daily Advertiser Roll of Honour under the sub-title of Answered the Call.
James Cochrane Dixon died on 26 June 1972 at Timaru, aged 84 years. He was interred at Timaru Cemetery, Amelia being interred with him in 1974. His brother, Ronald Alexander Dixon, enlisted for service but was not fit to go abroad. At a sitting of the Military Service Board in Timaru in late July 1917, it was noted that Stuart Martin Dixon – James’ youngest brother - had been passed by the Medical Board as C2 (fit only for Home Service), and his appeal was dismissed.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museumm Cenotaph Database [05 July 2022]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [05 July 2022]; School Admission records (Waimate Branch NZSG) [19 July 2022]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [19 July 2022]; Timaru Herald, 31 July 1917, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 30 May 1918, NZ Times, 1 April 1919 (Papers Past) [18 September 2019; 19 July 2022]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, Teresa Scott, South Canterbury Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!