DYKES, Samuel McPherson
| Service Number: | 41 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, Randwick, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 56th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Darvel, Scotland, 1 January 1892 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Darvel Public School |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 1 November 1916, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Warlencourt British Cemetery III. E. 8 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 41, Randwick, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 41, 4th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 41, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 25 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 41, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 6 May 1915: | Wounded Private, 41, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Wounded Private, 41, 4th Infantry Battalion, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, 2nd occasion - GSW (thigh and shoulder) | |
| 3 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 41, 4th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 17 Nov 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 4th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Jan 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 4th Infantry Battalion | |
| 13 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Corporal, 56th Infantry Battalion | |
| 15 Feb 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 56th Infantry Battalion | |
| 9 Apr 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Company Sergeant Major, 56th Infantry Battalion | |
| 30 Aug 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 56th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 56th Infantry Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 56th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-11-01 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by mathew Friend
I have found lots of information about Sam, he seems to be nice, he had no wife or children, but he had a family. I know of his mother, father and a brother: Alexander and Margaret Irvine McPherson Dykes are his parents and Alex Dykes is his brother, his brother served in the AIF for some time but I cannot find his brother on the AWM, so that suggests he survived the ordeal and that they both signed up for the war together at the same time.
When Sam first joined the army he was a private and within a two year period he became a second lieutenant. He died at a time that was unusual for soldiers because it wasn’t at any certain battle, it must’ve been an accident or a one off skirmish. He joined up on the 11/8/1914. He wasn’t born in Australia, he was born in New Milnes in Scotland. He arrived in Australia at the age of 18.9. He used to be a carpenter before the war. His religion was Presbyterian which is like Christian but a bit different and it also originated in Scotland. Apparently his actual age of death is 24.3 but when he was put in a cemetery he was 26. The Ancre, France is where he was killed. The ship he travelled on to war was called Euripides, the ship number was A14, it was 150000 tons in weight, travelled at 13 knots, fit 136 officers, 2204 troops and 20 horses. He was in the 4th battalion first and then went to 56th. The 4th battalion was a part of the first brigade along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions.
He was involved in Gallipoli, either in the second or third wave and he came out alive. I don’t know when he was departed from Gallipoli but I know he was there. Then he became a part of the 56th battalion and was killed at a time which may suggest a one off skirmish or something else. I do not believe it was a sickness because there were no files on him in the Australian red cross wounded and missing files. He had no award recommendations either. I personally think it is impossible to thank him enough for his efforts to keep us safe from harm by him sacrificing his own life for us, but I hope my research and my enourmous amount of respect and gratefulness for him will get me one step closer.
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