DYSON, Douglas Frederick
| Service Number: | WX3943 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 June 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/7th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Perth, Western Australia, 18 December 1919 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX3943, 2nd/7th Field Ambulance | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1940: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX3943, 2nd/7th Field Ambulance, per HMAT S3 to Greece | |
| 6 Jun 1941: | Imprisoned Reported Missing on 6 June 1941, officially reported PoW on 6 January 1942 at Stalag VIIIB PoW No: 7994 | |
| 11 Sep 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX3943, 2nd/7th Field Ambulance, to Fremantle per 2/2 Hospital Ship via Barcelona, Algiers and Alexandria | |
| 23 Nov 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX3943, 2nd/7th Field Ambulance |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Doug was the second of six childrew of Andrew (Sam) Samuel Dyson (b1893 in Perth, WA) and Mabel (Mary) Ursula Gould (b1896 in Berkshire, England). Sam (an Australian Soldier) married Mary (a Lady's Maid in Pimlico) when he was posted in London in August 1916. Sam was a Private (Service No:26) and had served in Gallipoli and France - he was Discharged in December 1918. Mary and their first son arrived in Melbourne, Victoria in October 1918 on board the Patria. The family settled in Perth WA where Sam worked as a Packer/Warehouseman and Salesman, and served with the ACMF in WWII (Warrant Officer II; Service No:W237592).
Doug was working as a Labourer in Perth WA when he enlisted in the Australian Army in June 1940. He was a Private (Service No:WX3943) in June 1941 when he was captured by the Germans at Sparkia in Crete. Initially reported Missing on 6 June 1941, he was confirmed as a PoW (No:7994) on 6 January 1942. Doug was held initially at Salonika (July 1941 - 21 September 1941) and then at Stalag VIIIB (20 October 1941 - May 1944). He was recovered on 29 May 1944. In his Deposition (National Archives Australia), Doug states that he was only wearing shorts and a shirt when he was captured, and was without boots for four months. The reason he says they were captured was because there was 'insufficient transport to take us all off' (Sparkia, Crete). He describes the conditions - 'Rations impossible to eat. Without Red Cross issue would not have survived three months'. Doug worked as a Medical Orderly in the Camp, and was injured on three occasions as a PoW - a bayonet wound whilst trying to escape, blinded for three weeks as a result of a furnace blast in a quarry explosion, and a stone in his hip. Doug's return home started in North Africa, and he embarked for Fremantle on board 2/2 Hospital Ship on 13 June 1944 via Barcelona, Algiers and Alexandria. Doug was Discharged on 23 November 1944.
Two days after his Discharge, Doug married Doris (Dot) Cheesewright (b1922 in Guildford, WA) in Perth, WA. The couple settled in Perth where Doug worked as a House Painter. He died in 1982 and Dot died in 2004.
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