DICKINSON, Keith Johnson
| Service Number: | VX57167 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 June 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/15th Field Regiment |
| Born: | Collie, Western Australia, Australia, 24 December 1903 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Perth Modern School |
| Occupation: | Land surveyor |
| Died: | Executed (POW of Japan), Burma, 2 March 1943, aged 39 years |
| Cemetery: |
Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, (Burma) A11 B 4 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Subiaco Perth Modern School WW2 Supplementary Honour Board |
World War 2 Service
| 4 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Private, VX57167, Royal Park, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Jun 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX57167, 2nd/15th Field Regiment | |
| 2 Mar 1943: | Involvement Gunner, VX57167, 2nd/15th Field Regiment, Prisoners of War |
Executed after escape from Prison Camp Burma Railway
This is just a brief outline and I need to check what documents I have.
Keith Dickinson was in a group of 4 or 5 other prisoners who attempted to escape from one of the Jap POW work camps on the Burma Railway.
They were recaptured and Dickinson was beheaded.
He is buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery (Thanbyuzayat) in Thailand.
Submitted 8 February 2018 by Gary Martin
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Alfred Edward Dickinson and Rose May nee Thomas. His mother died in 1912.
HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE
Married to Kate Cecelia nee Hughes, of Bendigo, Vic. and had a son Douglas Johnson Dickinson born in Seremban, Malaya.
Keith orked for Bendigo Mines Ltd, a surveyor on the State Rivers and Water Commission, Melbourne and Zinc Corporation in Broken Hill.
NEWS OF WOUNDED.
Letter from Staff Nurse.
Recently Mrs K. J. Dickinson, of Denmark received a letter from a staff nurse formerly attached to the 13th Austraian General Hospital Sgapore, giving news of her husband who was a Patient at the hospital before the island fell. The letter included a few items of interest to others whose menfolk were among those who remained there.
The nurse wrote: "When leaving your husband gave me your address and sent the enclosed message -.. Our experiences in getting out of Singapore seem only as a bad dream, but the courage and endurance of our men I shall never forget. It was not easy for we nurses to walk out and leave our brave wounded boys, but the men were anxious for us to leave. Our hospital was left intact; all our medical officer, nursing orderlies and staff remained behind and carried on. We left a good medical supply so that our men would not lack treatment.
"I met 3 officers who were wounded and escaped from our hospital after it was surrendered. They said that a perimeter was formed around the city on February 13. As our hospital was situated outside this line of defence it was surrendered under the Red Cross. They told me that the work was being carried on as usual and many of the men who had recovered from their injuries but were not fit to go back to the lines volunteered to work in the hospital and assist with the wounded"
He was survived by his wife and son, stepmother Winifred and brothers Ralph and Douglas.
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