DICKENS, Edward Joseph
| Service Number: | 1854 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 February 1916, Kadina, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Mount Browne, Tibooburra, New South Wales, Australia, 21 March 1895 |
| Home Town: | Cowell, Franklin Harbour, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Wallaroo Public School, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Flers, France, 15 November 1916, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Longueval Road Cemetery, France Row G, Grave No. 14 |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cowell Men from Franklin Harbour WW1 Roll of Honour, Cowell War Memorial, Elbow Hill Methodist Church WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1854, 5th Pioneer Battalion, Kadina, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1854, 5th Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 15 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1854, 5th Pioneer Battalion, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 |
Correction to Newspaper artical
There needs to be a correction of a name in the newspaper artical that stated that He was the son of the "Late Samuel Dickens"when he was in fact the son of the Late William Dickens. Samuel was his brother who was also my grandfather. Edward also had a brother by the name of William John Dickens.
Submitted 2 June 2020 by Neville Dickens
Biography contributed by Cowell RSL
Educated at the Wallaroo Public School, Edward Joseph Dickens worked between Wallaroo and Cowell as a farm labourer before enlisting. Edward Dickens was the middle son under the care of his uncle - also named Edward Dickens- as Edward’s father had died when Edward was about 10 years old. He had an older brother William and a younger brother SE Dickens. Edward enlisted on 28/2/1916 and was posted to Mitcham Camp Adelaide. He embarked on 11/4/1916 on HMAT “Aeneas” to join the 5th Pioneer Battalion at Etaples France on 25/8/1916.
Private Dickens served in Egypt, France and Belgium - on the Western Front. On 15/11/1916 he was killed in action and was buried at the Longueval British Cemetery, Somme area northern France.
Excerpt from the Adelaide Observer 16 December 1916:
‘LATE PTE. E.J. DICKENS. WALLAROO, December 6. – Information was received in Wallaroo on Tuesday that Pte. Edward Joseph Dickens had been killed in action in France. The late Pte. Dickens was 21 years of age, and was born in Tibooburra, N.S.W. He was well known in Wallaroo and Cowell, from which latter place he enlisted. He has a brother now serving in France (Lieut. W.J.Dickens), who in his last communication referred with pride to the fact that he had met his brother, who had just then come into the firing line. Another younger brother resides in Wallaroo. The father, the late Mr. Samuel Dickens, met with a fatal accident at the Wallaroo Smelting Works about 11 years ago, and since that time the sons have been under the guardianship of their uncle, Mr. Edward Dickens, of Wallaroo.’ from the Adelaide Observer 16 Dec 1916
*Private Edward Dickens’ brother, Second Lieutenant William John ‘Bill’ Dickens (548 27th Battalion) was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry in action when on Jan 5 1916, he, with a portion of his company, entered the enemy’s trench and held it for twenty four hours against several desperate counter attacks. He set a fine example of courage and determination throughout.
Reference List
World War 1 Biographies (Folder, located at Cowell RSL) Stocker, B.
National Archives of Australia – NameSearch
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No. 116 of 25th July 1917
Trove from the Adelaide Observer 24 Mar 1917 (nla.gov.au)
Click images to start slideshow.