DAWSON, Arthur
(Service number 25063)
| First Rank | Sapper | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 5 May 1880 | Place of Birth | Geelong, Victoria, Australia |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 10 March 1916 | Age | 35 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Ronaldsay Street, Palmerston South | ||
| Occupation | Telegraph linesman (P & T Department) | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Married. 4 children | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs A. DAWSON (wife), 45 William Street, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 14th Reinforcements Divisional Signallers | ||
| Date | 26 June 1916 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Devonport, Devon, England |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Field Engineers | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 10 December 1944 | Age | 64 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | 215 Aro Street, Wellington (residence) | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Karori Crematorium, Wellington | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Arthur Dawson who was born on 5 May 1880 at Geelong, Victoria, Australia, was the son of Charles Boyle and Harriet Ann (née George) Dawson. Arthur came to New Zealand about 1900. He married Margaret Halkett on 1 July 1903 at Oamaru. They had seven children - three sons (John Charles born in 1904 at Reidston near Oamaru, Arthur Alexander born in 1906 at Dunedin, their first-born Arthur dying in infancy) and two daughters (Ruby May born in 1908 at Dunedin and Irene Jane born in 1911 at Dunedin) before the war, and two daughters after (Marion Margaret born in 1921 and Joan Sylvia in 1922). By 1908, Arthur was employed as a telegraph linesman.
He enlisted on 10 March 1916 at Trentham. Married and Presbyterian, he named his wife as next-of-kin – Mrs A. Dawson, 45 William Street, Timaru. In March 1916, the Dawson children transferred from Palmerston School to Timaru Main School, their parent/guardian Arthur D and their address William Street. Sapper A. Dawson embarked with the 14th Reinforcements Divisional Signallers, departing from Wellington on 26 June 1916 per the “Maunganui” and disembarking at Devonport, England on 22 August. Embarking at Southampton on 28 August 1918, he transferred to the Hospital Ship “Maheno” at Marseilles. The ship was due in the Dominion in October. Dawson was discharged on 4 October 1919, in consequence of being no longer physically fit for War Service on account of illness contracted on active service. In 1919, Arthur Dawson, returned soldier, was residing in Timaru. The family was back in Timaru by 1930 after time at Rangiora and Christchurch, Arthur having resumed his employment as a telegraph linesman. Some time from the late 1930s to the early 1940s, Arthur and Margaret retired to Wellington.
Arthur Dawson died, quietly and peacefully, at his Wellington residence on 10 December 1944, aged 64 years and was cremated at Karori. He was survived by his wife Margaret and children – Jack, Arthur, Ruby, Irene, Marion and Joan. By 1946, Margaret was back in Timaru where she resided until her death on 21 November 1961, aged 79 years. Margaret was a sister of Thomas Halkett who, along with three sons, enlisted for service in World War One.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [19 March 2025]; Timaru Herald, 15 October 1918, 12 December 1944, Evening Post, 11 December 1944 (Papers Past) [19 & 20 March 2025]; Karori Crematorium record (Wellington City Council) [23 March 2025]; Timaru Cemetery headstone image (Timaru District Council) [24 March 2025]
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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