DEAN, Edwin Theyer
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Last Unit: | 1st Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Adelaide, SA, 11 December 1884 |
| Home Town: | Moculta, Barossa, South Australia |
| Schooling: | St Peter's Collegiate School, School of Mines, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Stock Salesman/Grazier |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Angaston, South Australia, 3 June 1970, aged 85 years |
| Cemetery: |
Angaston Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Rowing Club WW1 Pictorial Honour Board, Hackney St Peter's College Honour Board, Moculta & District Honour Roll, Myrtle Bank War Memorial |
Peacetime
| 20 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Adelaide, South Australia |
|---|
World War 1 Service
| 24 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Major, Officer, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Botanist, Melbourne | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Nov 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Major, Officer, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Botanist embarkation_ship_number: A59 public_note: '' |
|
| 23 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , Battle for Pozières | |
| 5 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 | |
| 1 Mar 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line and Outpost Villages | |
| 24 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , Third Ypres | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Third Ypres | |
| 1 Nov 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant Colonel, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Third Ypres | |
| 22 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant Colonel, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, German Spring Offensive 1918 |
World War 2 Service
| 12 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Keswick, SA |
|---|
Awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Major Dean 'displayed the greatest fearlessness and gallantry in personally extinguishing three serious fires amongst his gun pits and ammunition, working at the imminent risk of his own life'.
Submitted 15 January 2015 by Steve Larkins
Biography
Dean, Edwin Theyer (1884–1970)
This article was first published in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (adb.anu.edu.au), Volume 8, (MUP), 1981.
Edwin Theyer Dean (1884-1970), was born on 11 December 1884 in Adelaide. After attending the St Peter's College, he joined his family's stock and station agency. Keenly interested in military affairs, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Australian Field Artillery, Australian Military Forces, in 1905 and was promoted lieutenant in 1907 and captain in 1908. He served with the 34th Battery in 1909-12 and was then transferred to the unattached list. He married Gladys Jean Grieve at Stow Memorial (Congregational) Church, Adelaide, on 3 December 1912.
See the full article HERE. (adb.anu.edu.au) Please note that Edwin Theyer Dean's entry is the second part ; the first relates to his father George Dean.
Edwin Theyer was a member of the member of the Adelaide Rowing Club from whence his image was sourced.
In 1914, Edwin Dean returned to duty with the Militia Artillery. By mid 1915 the 2nd Division, A.I.F, was in Egypt and preparing for deployment to Gallipoli. Its Artillery componenet was being hastily put together. 18th Battery, 6th Field Artillery Brigade, was raised in South Australia. On 20 October, Edwin Dean, as the Officer Commanding (OC) 18th Field Artillery Battery, was appointed to the AIF as a major.
Too late to see service at Gallipoli, the 18th Battery with Dean in command embarked for the Middle East on the Botanist.
After the AIF re-orgnaisation in Egypt following the extraction of the Gallipoli force the AIF ambarked for France and the Western Front.
During 1916-17 he commanded 18th Battery in Flanders and on the Somme. In January 1917 he assumed temporary command of the 6th Field Artillery Brigade.
He was wounded (gassed) on 4 June 1917,returning to duty on 27 September. In August he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, the citation stating that he had 'displayed the greatest fearlessness and gallantry in personally extinguishing three serious fires amongst his gun pits and ammunition, working at the imminent risk of his own life'.
On 4 October Dean was transferred to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade as commanding officer and was promoted lieutenant-colonel on 1 November. His unit was then serving in the Ypres sector and he retained command until the end of the war except for brief periods when he held temporary commands in the Royal Artillery.
He was mentioned in dispatches four times in 1917-18 and awarded the Légion d'honneur in 1919. Discharged from the A.I.F. in June 1919, he was placed on the reserve of officers in August 1920 as a Lieutenant-Colonel. He was awarded the Volunteer Officers' Decoration in 1926.
After the war he took up a grazing property, Karinya station, near Angaston.
In World War II Dean commanded the 25th/33rd Garrison Battalion. In this capacity he was commandant of the Internment Camp at Loveday near Barmera in South Australia's Riverland. He was appointed M.B.E. for his service. The complex was disbanded in 1946 and that year he published a booklet on the history of internment in South Australia in 1940-46. In 1947 he was placed on the retired list with the honorary rank of Colonel.
He then resumed his pastoral activities near Angaston. He died on 3 June 1970 and was buried in the local cemetery, and was survived by a son and two daughters.
Nathan Rohrlach December 2014
Click images to start slideshow.