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Rootsweb ID: I460705 Birth Record 31 May 1896 in Hd Of Burdett, South Australia 

Father: Albert Edward DICKSON (b: 22/1/1863 in Near Harrogate, SA - d.28/1/1947 in Murray Bridge, SA)
married:  1 Mar 1894 in Eden Valley, SA
Mother: Anna Maria Emma BARTHOLOMAEUS
(b: 25/3/1875 in Schoenborn, SA -now Gomersal - d. 19 Dec 1955 in Murray Bridge, SA)

Siblings:
Flora DICKSON   b: 30/7/1894 in Hd Of Burdett, SA - d. 1944
 - m. Howard William Lewis Downing
Hiram John DICKSON  b: 31/5/1896 in Hd Of Burdett, SA - d.1990 Adelaide, SA (buried Melrose, SA)
 - m. Margaret Cicely Dickson ; f.o. Robert Dickson & Betty Frazer
Arnold Lawrence DICKSON   b: 23/9/1898 in Burdett, SA
Murray DICKSON   b: 28/9/1900 in Mannum, SA - d. 12/5/1983 Cungena, SA
 - m. Mary Dickson ; f.o. Anne Rutherford Cooper; Glenys Mary Irvine & Ian Murray Dickson
Edna May DICKSON   b: 27/4/1903 in Hd Of Burdett Nr Mannum, SA - d. 6/5/1906 Burdett SA)
 - died of Burning Accident
Nellie Eva DICKSON   b: 27/4/1903 in Hd Of Burdett Nr Mannum, SA
Elliot Glenmore DICKSON   b: 22/2/1907 in Hd Of Burdett, SA - d. 1974
 -m. Margorie Killick Dickson;  f.o. Brian Henry Dickson and Ronald Stanley Dickson
Clifton Ivor DICKSON   b: 9/7/1910 in Harrogate, SA - d. 1976
- m. Jean Mary Isabel Dickson; f.o. Dean Wayne Dickson & Raelene Joan Jaensch
Colin Kenneth DICKSON   b: 16/12/1915 in Jamestown, SA
                                     12/9/1943  Died flying battle, in Corsica, France
Lorna Jean DICKSON   b: 16/12/1915 in Jamestown, SA - d. 1996
 - m. Reginald James Ellis

Brother:  3632 Arnold Lawrence Dickson
               Sergeant 50th Battalion
               11/4/1917 enlisted
               4/8/1917  embarked from Port of Melbourne onboard HMAT Themistocles
               8/7/1919  returned to Australia
               19/6/1955  passed away at Darlinghurst, NSW

Brother:  WWII 407414 Colin Kenneth Dickson
               Royal Australian Air Force - Warrant Officer - 458 Squadron
               12/9/1943  died in flying accident - Corsica, France

Previous service: 

Described on enlisting

7/9/1915 enlisted (19yrs of age)

26/10/1915 embarked from Port of Melbourne, VIC, onboard HMAT SS Hawkes

Sergeant in 11th Light Horse Regiment

20/7/1919 returned to Australia

Married:       Margaret Cicely Dickson

Lived at Melrose, South Australia.

Last lived at  Sim Street, Henley South, South Australia.

1990          passed away    (cremated at Centennial Park Cemetery)

Reinterned (ex Centennial Park) ashes to Melrose
buried in:    Melrose Cemetery
                 Section Row 2 East; Plot 14
(Wife - Margaret Cicely Dickson ashes interned with Hiram)

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.  22/5/2016.  Lest we forget.

Thank you to Kaye Bottrall, Jamestown, SA for her information.

Hiram was the son of Albert Edward DICKSON & Anna Maria Emma BARTHOLOMAUS and was born on the 31st of May 1896 in Mannum, SA.

His parents were married on the 1st of March 1894 at the residence of Anna’s parents in Eden Valley, SA.

His father was the son of John DICKSON & Ann FRAME and was born on the 22nd of January 1863 in Harrogate, SA.
His mother was the daughter of Johann Friedrich Wilhelm BARTHOLOMAEUS & Ernestine Pauline BAHR and was born on the 25th of Match 1875 in Schoenborn (Bethlehem), SA.

Hiram was the second child born into the family of 10 children.

The Dickson family lived at Mannum, Woodside and then Jamestown.

After leaving school Hiram gained employment as a farmer.

At the age of 19, Hiram enlisted in the 1st AIF on the 7th of September 1915 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 1289 and posted to A Company, Base Infantry Depot in Exhibition Camp.
Hiram was then transferred to the Adelaide Oval before being posted to the 11th Light Horse Regiment, 6 Reinforcements on the 30th of September.

Hiram embarked from Adelaide on board HMAS Benalla on the 27th of October 1915, disembarked in Egypt.
He served overseas for more than 3 years and 9 months before finally embarking from Kantara on board SS Morvada on the 20th of July 1919.

Hiram disembarked in Adelaide on the 23rd of August 1919 and was discharged from the AIF on the 15th of October 1919.

During his time overseas his brother Arnold enlisted into the 50th Battalion on the 1st of March 1917 (3632).

On the 1st of August 1921 Hiram secured a Soldier Settlement Block; Section 322, Hundred of Gregory (Melrose).

Hiram married Margaret Cicely WEHR on the 8th of August 1923 in St James Church, Jamestown, SA.
Margaret was the daughter of Johann Heinrich WEHR & Florence Mary NORTON and was born on the 27th of December 1890 in Pt Victoria, SA.

They welcome their first child; Robert on the 3rd of July 1924, followed by Betty on the 6th of May 1926.

With the outbreak out WW2 his youngest brother Colin enlisted into the RAAF on the 12th of October 1940 (407414).
Sadly, Colin was killed in a flying accident on the 11th of September 1943 in Corsica, France. He was attached to 458 Squadron located at Protville, Sicily and the Wellington Bomber was engaged in night reconnaissance over the coasts of Corsica & Sardinia. The plane was never recovered and he has no known grave.

Hiram and Margaret remained in Melrose for most of their lives and they later moved to Sim Street, Henley.

Hiram died on the 20th of June 1975 and was cremated and interred in the Centennial Park Cemetery.
Hiram and Margaret were then re interred in the Melrose Cemetery on the 7th of October 1990; Row 2, Plot 14.

Military

At the age of 19, Hiram enlisted in the 1st AIF on the 7th of September 1915 in Adelaide, SA and was allotted the service number 1289 and posted to A Company, Base Infantry Depot in Exhibition Camp.
He listed his mother, of Jamestown, as his next of kin.

Hiram was then transferred to the Adelaide Oval before being posted to the 11th Light Horse Regiment, 6 Reinforcements on the 30th of September.

Hiram embarked from Adelaide on board HMAS Benalla on the 27th of October 1915, disembarked in Egypt and marched into Heliopolis Camp.

The 11th Light Horse Regiment had previously been considered to be unsuitable for work in Gallipoli as mounted troops so the troops volunteered to operate as infantry.
Because of the level of casualties at Gallipoli, the 11th Light Horse Regiment had been broken up on the 26th of August 1915 with squadrons being allotted to other Regiments as reinforcements;
"A" Squadron became "D" Squadron, 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment.
"B" Squadron became "D" Squadron, 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment.
"C" Squadron became "D" Squadron, 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment.

On the 20th of December 1915 these Squadron’s had embarked from Gallipoli on board HMS Mars, transferred to HMAT Ionian in Mudros Harbor, disembarked in Alexandria on the 26th of December and entrained to Racecourse Camp in Heliopolis.

They had then commenced training on the 3rd of January 1916, with troop drill, musketry and riding tests. Mounted drill however was difficult due to the shortage of horses and saddlery.

As the 11th Light Horse Regiment was still yet to be reformed, Hiram was transferred to the 9th Light Horse Regiment on the 7th of January 1916.
Then with the reforming of the 11th Light Horse Regiment on the 11th of February, Hiram was transferred back to the 11th Light Horse Regiment, C Squadron, 11 days later and they moved to No.2 Oasis Camp in Heliopolis.

While awaiting the arrival of horses, they practiced dismounted drill and musketry until the 2nd of March hen 30 horses were drawn from the remount depot. Then on the 20th 74 mules were taken on for transport work.
Finally they were able to draw a further 185 horses from the depot at Maadi and they spent the following few days exercising the horses and preparing them for the desert campaign ahead of them.

On the morning of the 26th of April they moved to the training grounds at Tel-el-Kebir. A large camp of Australian and Imperial Infantry had been established here and the 11th Light Horse Regiment was to supply mounted patrols for the camp.

Their horses, for most of the part, were raw and untrained and the Regiment spent long hours on the hot, dusty plains teaching the horses the drill of a mounted unit.
The Regiment also had long treks, mounted, and at times on foot, to help accustom both rider and horse to desert conditions.
The meagre water supply on such occasions was a prediction of the days ahead, when they would be marching or fighting across the waterless waste of the Sinai.

On the 17th of May Hiram and his Regiment entrained at Tel-el-Kebir en route for Serapeum, on the Suez Canal. The detrained and crossed the canal, marching along a narrow gauge railway for 8 miles until they reached a post known as “Serepeum Railhead”.
Here they supported the 13th Infantry Brigade and occupied the lines of defence at night. Then on the 19th of June they took over the complete defence of the railhead, constructing trenches, erecting barbed wire, and otherwise consolidating the position.

It was here, 1 week later, that Hiram was promoted to Lance Corporal Vice.

They sent out early morning patrols beyond their lines to test the strength of the enemy and discover the enemy’s activities.
Then on the 5th of July they were relieved and moved to Moascar where the largest Australian Light Horse Detail Base west of the canal was located.
Four days later, fully equipped and mounted, they left Moascar for El Ferdan and Ballah, two small military posts on the western side of the Suez Canal.

By the 20th of July they had moved to a base outpost at Bally Bunion and conducted patrols to Hod-el-Aras, Bir-el-Jefeir, Khar-wa-Khurier and Hod-el-Simara.
The Turks had retired from the oasis at Jefeir and Bada and the Regiment was tasked with improving the water supply at these places for their own use.
Owing to the sandy nature of the country the wells they dug had to be timbered, with this timber being transported from the Suez Canal by camels.
On completion of this work the Regiment moved from Bally Bunion to El Ferdan Railhead, a few miles to the south.

At the end of July patrols were sent to reconnoitre and dig wells at El Mahadat and then on the 31st of July they received word that the Regiment would be attached to the Desert Mobile Column (or the Flying Column, as it was called) in the upcoming operations against the enemy. They then moved out on the 4th of August to Hod-el-Bada, some 16 miles away and then onto Mageibra, an abandoned Turkish outpost a further 14 miles to the north-east.
Three days later they were hastily drawn up and ordered to advance and attack the enemy’s left flank at Bir-elAweidia, some 4 miles away.

The country here was made up of a series of small sand hills packed closely together with narrow strips of desert gorse bush filling the ravines.
It was difficult country for scouting and they realised this 1 mile or so beyond Aweidia when they came within a 100 yards of a Turkish outpost.
The Turks were caught completely off guard and the 11th Light Horse Regiment was ordered to charge, and with splendid dash, they galloped forward capturing a number of Turks.
Then shortly afterwards the remaining Turks opened fire upon them with shrapnel and machine guns and then the 11th made a left and rear flank attack on the enemy position.

After this attack they rested at Mageibra as both men and horses were beginning to feel the strain of fighting under such fierce conditions. During the day the heat was intense and at night it was cold, while food and water was scarce.
Their camp was formed in a depression at the foot of Mageibra Hill and the only shade in the vicinity was a narrow latticed strip cast upon the sand by a few withered date palm fronds that had been transported from an oasis 14 miles away by the Army Medical Corps to provide shade for the wounded.
On the 9th of August an enemy plane bombed the camp while the horses were being watered, stampeding the horses, with many not recovered for several hours.

They then moved to Mushalfat, capturing more Turkish positions, before moving to Bayoud Wells and then back to Mageibra.
In October they took part in the attack at Magharra and then moved to Serapeum Railhead to carry out patrol duties in the southern section.
They remained here for the next few months and spent Christmas 1916 here and then held a sports day on New Years Day 1917.

February – took the town of Nekhl, 100 miles from the Seuz Canal
Ferry Post and spent all of March here in training before moving to Gaza for the 2nd Battle of Gaza on the 17th of April
By the 22nd of April they were in camp at Abasan-el-Kebir and May was spent patrolling in the vicinity of Shanag before they moved to Fukhari for training and then to rest camp in Marakeb on the 20th of July.

On the 17th of August, whilst at Marakeb, Hiram suffered from Gastric Enteritis and was admitted into the 65th Casualty Clearing Station in Wardan before being transferred 3 days later to the 24th Stationary Hospital in Kantara.
After 3 days here he was transferred to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Abbassia.
Hiram remained here for 3 weeks until he was transferred to the 1st British Red Cross Convalescent Camp in Montazah on the 15th of September. On the 27th of September he was discharged to the 4th Light Horse Training Regiment in Moascar and then attended a School of Instruction for 4 weeks from the 21st of October.

On the 7th of November he rejoined his Regiment at Tel-el-Sheria and was taken on strength with them after the disastrous Battle.
Then on the 27th of November they rode to Tahta and were immediately rushed into the line at the foot of the Judean Hills. For the next few days they occupied various positions in the line and then pushed forward to establish a post at Kh-Kureisimeh.
On the 9th of December they received the news that Jerusalem had fallen and so after a lapse of 674 years the Holy City again had passed into the hands of a Christian Power!

They bivouacked in heavy rain on Christmas Eve at Shilta, 12 miles North West of Jerusalem and spent the next 5 days here before marching to Belah to rest and reorganise.
On the 13th of January 1918 Hiram was promoted to Lance Corporal and after 3 months in Belah they moved to Salmeh for more training and on the 13th of April Hiram was promoted to Corporal.

They then moved from Salhem on the 19th and 4 days later they rode up the winding terraced road and there, spread out before them was the Holy City.
Skirting the heart of the city they rode by the Garden of Gethsemane, past the Mount of Olives and were soon on the Jerusalem-Jericho road on their way to the Valley of Jordan to take over a position on the banks of the Wadi Anja.

Their next major battle was at Es Salt on the 28th of April and the Regiment was issued with steel helmets for the very first time.
On the 11th of May the Regiment moved to a section of the defence line at Musallebah-Abu Tellal and immediately entrenched and began consolidating the position.
Every afternoon they were shelled by a long range gun, known to the Regiments as “Jericho Jane”. The gun was placed in the hills at Shinet Nimrin, about 10 miles east of the river.
A batch of reinforcements joined the Regiment here and comprised of 30 Australian Aboriginals, who were extremely efficient on outpost duty due to being gifted with good sight and hearing, a legacy of their Australian environment. They heard so many more suspicious sounds than other soldiers and quiet often a “stand to” was called for the entire night!

Whilst here, on the 28th of May, Hiram became quite ill and was admitted into the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance and then transferred to the Australian Receiving Station.
The following day he was transferred to the 66th Casualty Clearing Station at Gabbari Camp and then after 2 days he was transferred to the 75th Casualty Clearing Station at El Imara, then to the 47th Stationary Hospital at Gaza.
He was then transferred to the 44th Stationary Hospital at Kantara before being admitted to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Abbassia on the 4th of June.

Hiram spent 4 weeks in hospital before being discharge to the Port Said rest camp on the 7th of July. Then 10 days later he marched out to the 4th Light Horse Training Regiment in Moascar, before rejoining his Regiment on the 29th of July at Auja Bridgehead.
They then moved to Sarona and in September were involved in the charge at Samakh before moving to Kuneitra where they were engaged in patrol duty.

At the end of October they moved to Damascus before riding out towards Aleppo, some 200 miles to the north. By the 1st of November they had reached half way and bivouacked at Homs.
Late that evening they watered their horses in the Orontes River and then at 11.30pm they received the news that the Turks had signed the Armistice the previous day!!

When they reached Tripoli on the 8th of November Hiram was promoted to Sergeant and then 3 days later they received the news that Germany had signed the Armistice!
It was then that Hiram was granted short leave to visut Tripoli, Baalbeck and Besherri.

About this time a small organised band of native thieves stole a number of their horses from their lines under cover of a severe storm which rages throughout the night.
The next morning a troop accompanied by Corporal Allen and Driver Smith, two expert bush trackers, took up the chase and eventually the horses were found hidden in a deep gorge far into the mountains of Lebanon.
The thieves were captured, brought to trial and punished.
Tracking horses over rough county, after a heavy storm had apparently obliterated all ground signs of their movements was a splendid accomplishment by these two bush trackers and they were highly commended for their work.
The interpreter for the Regiment reported that the thieved, believing they were safe from pursuit, were mystified when the Australians suddenly appeared and captured them and were anxious to know how their “secret lair” had been discovered!

When informed that the Australians had followed the tracks of the horses their leader replied: “There were no horse marks for the eye to see”, and not being convinced he consigned the affair to be realms of the supernatural!

The Regiments horses had become so much a part of them throughout the campaign that most of the Regiment cherished the belief that they would go back to Australia and civilian blessedness with them after the war.
However, it was not to be and soon after they arrived in Tripoli an order was received that only a small percentage of the best horses would be retained for service in the Imperial units and the remainder would be destroyed.
When this instruction became known a distinct sadness descended upon the camp, everyone being deeply affected.
A few days later in an atmosphere both gloomy and pensive, the veterinary staff arrived to “classify” and shortly afterwards the order to “destroy” was carried out.

Hiram spent his last Christmas away from his family and friends in Homs and all of January and February was spent at Homs whilst arrangements were being made to despatch 10 percent of the Regiment to England on furlough and transport for the remaining 90 percent was being made ready at Port Said to take them home to Australia.

On the 14th of March a number of transports were standing off the shore at Tripoli and after a short delay Hiram and his Regiment were taken by lighter and boarded the SS Ellinga, which sailed for Port Said the following day.
They expected to go directly aboard a transport for Australia, but instead were ordered to entrain for Moascar.

Here they were deployed to assist in suppressing the Egyptian Uprising and by May they were located at Abu-Kebir on patrol.
When the revolt collapsed they prepared for their return to Australia and handed their horses over to the Indian Veterinary Hospital.

Hiram, with the entire 11th Light Horse Regiment finally embarked from Kantara on board SS Morvada on the 20th of July 1919 and shore leave was granted to everyone at Colombo and Fremantle.
Hiram finally disembarked in Adelaide on the 23rd of August 1919 after spending 1396 days overseas.

Hiram was discharged from the AIF on the 15th of October 1919 and awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War & Victory Medals.