DAWSON, Charles Richard
(Service number 47318)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 12 November 1891 | Place of Birth | Adair |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Adair | ||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Mary DAWSON (mother), Adair | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 26th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 9 June 1917 | ||
| Transport | Willochra | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
Operations on Welsh and Bon Avis Ridges - 28th September to 1st October 1918. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Though severely wounded in the arm while carrying a Lewis Gun during the advance, he would not abandon it, but carried on. Though under machine gun fire and not able to work his gun, he stuck to it till he found the rest of his section, and handed it safely over. If It not been for this man's bravery and determination, the fighting effectiveness of his platoon would have been greatly affected and the success of the operations endangered. (London Gazette 13 March 1919 p 3452, Rec No 2867)
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 | 23 April 1963 | Age | 71 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | |||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Charles Richard Dawson was the son of Charles and Mary (née Doharty) Dawson. He married Elizabeth Jane Gobbitt in 1925 at St Mary's Church, Timaru.
Charles was wounded on 29 September 1918 - gunshot wound to right wrist. After being transferred to the convalescent depot he was re-admitted to hospital on 13 October. In December 1918 Charles was a warded the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during operations on Welsh and Bon Avis Ridges between 28 September to 1 October 1918.
Charles' brother Paul also served in World War I.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [13 February 2018]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affiars); Timaru Herald, 26 October 1918, Evening Post, 18 December 1918 (Papers Past) [13 February 2018]; SCRoll web submission by C Mackintosh, 20 May 2019
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
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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