DICKSON, Robert
| Service Numbers: | V143049, VX86110 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 October 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Maffra, Victoria, Australia, 19 April 1923 |
| Home Town: | Maffra, Wellington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Cancer, Traralgon, Victoria, Australia, 27 November 1986, aged 63 years |
| Cemetery: |
Gippsland Memorial Park Traralgon, Victoria |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 9 Oct 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Trooper, V143049, Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, HQ | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Aug 1942: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Trooper, V143049, Armoured Fighting Vehicles School, HQ | |
| 3 Aug 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX86110, 2nd/7th Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 May 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX86110, 2nd/7th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Robert Dickson (Service No:VX86110) initially served in the ACMF (Trooper; Service No: V143049) from 9 October 1941 to 2 August 1942 Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) School. According to family anecdote (Jessica Dickson) 'Dad {Robert Angus Dickson} and Nuggie {Alexander Rutherford Dickson} got drunk one night and Nuggie urged Dad to enlist. The next day Dad was not aware of what he had done, but reported in due time and went to War'. On 3 August 1942, Private Dickson enlisted in the AIF, and served in New Guinea (Moresby, Milne Bay, Aitape, Wewak) with 2/7 Infantry Battalion (16 March 1943 - 7 October 1943 and 29 December 1944 - 1 March 1946). Private Dickson was attached to 2/7 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 28 May 1946. Sibling Alexander (Nugget/Nuggie) served in the ACMF and RAAF in WWII.
Bob was born in Maffra, Victoria in 1923, eldest of five children of Alexander (Alex) Dickson (b1886 in Lauder, Scotland) and Jessie May Wishart (b1897 in Bega, NSW). Alex was a Mill Hand in 1909 when he immigrated, arriving in Melbourne, Victoria on board the Marathon. He was working in Maffra as a Labourer when he enlisted in the AIF (Private; Service No:3808) and, following his Discharge, returned to Maffra where he was working as a Driver in 1923 when he and Jessie married. Alex and Jessie settled in Maffra, where they raised their family and Alex worked as a Driver and Carter.
Bob worked as a Labourer in Maffra before enlisting in the Army and, following his Discharge, returned to Maffra where he worked as a Labourer and in 1950 married Shirley Jean Davis (b1927 in Maffra, Victoria) - Shirley was a Factory Worker. Bob was a keen surfer, and daughter Christine wrote in 2012 'He could not settle and we moved constantly. My first memory was when I was around two years old living in Lakes Entrance and he was working on the fishing trawlers .... We roamed the country. mostly east coast of Australia and some time in South Australia. My mother was a crack shot and Dad would have the guns hung up in the cabin of the car behind our heads'. In the 1960s/1970s Bob was in Rockhampton, QLD, Moree and Bondi Junction in NSW and Perth WA before returning to the Gippsland region where he died in 1986.
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