DAWSON, Jack McKay
| Service Number: | 1608 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Gladstone, Tasmania, Australia, 10 July 1892 |
| Home Town: | Queenstown, West Coast, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Porter |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Egypt, 16 May 1915, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery Row M, Grave No. 170. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Queenstown State School WWI Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1608, 15th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1608, 15th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan McGillivray embarkation_ship_number: A46 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1608, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Clan McGillivray, Melbourne |
Help us honour Jack McKay Dawson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Jack Dawson was the son of Hannah Dawson of Queenstown, Tasmania, whose husband Alexander had passed away in 1901 when Jack was only 9 years of age. She had two other sons enlist during WW1.
Jack’s brother 4409 Pte. Henry George Dawson 22nd Battalion AIF, was killed in action during the bitter winter fighting near Flers on 13 October 1916, aged 25.
From newspaper reports it seems that both Jack and Harry Dawson were survivors of the North Lyell mine disaster of 1912. Due to an outbreak of fire at the 700 feet level in the North Lyell Mine, Western Tasmania, nearly 100 men were entombed, of these, 42 perished. The two brothers were remembered by other survivors by keeping up the spirits of the party considerably by singing songs.
Jack was married in 1914 to Adelaide Mary and at the time of his death probably didn’t know he was the father of a little girl, Pearl Ethelwin Dawson.
Jack Dawson served at the Anzac Landing and would have been up near Quinn’s Post when he was mortally wounded in the chest. According to his mother he died of wounds some seven or eight days after he was wounded.
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