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Pte. Septimus Joseph Dawson
British Army 10th Btn. B Coy. Durham Light Infantry
from:Middleton, Hartlepool
I remember my dad telling us a story about his father, our grandad Septimus Dawson, and that when they were enlisting for WW1 my grandad lied about his age and made himself older so he would be able to enlist. He was assigned to B Company, 10th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry.
On 21st of May 1915 they were mobilised and landed at Boulogne and engaged in various actions on the Western Front including, The Battle of Loos, German gas attacks near Hulluch, The defence of the Kink position, The Battle of Pozieres, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Le Transloy. The First Battle of the Scarpe, The Second Battle of the Scarpe, The Battle of Pilckem, The Battle of Langemark.
On the 13th April 1917 he was admitted to hospital for a Gunshot wound to his scalp and discharged back to his battalion on 14th April 1917. He was entrained at Warlincourt and detrained at Abbeville.
For WW2 he lied again and made himself younger so he could re-enlist. So when he died in the 70s they could not issue a death certificate because nobody knew his proper age or date of birth. He also only had half a thumb on one hand and he always told us a mouse bit it off, but really it was shot off during the war.
