Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Byron George was born at Queanbeyan NSW on 28 December 1912 in the Private Hospital in Campbell Street to William Patrick and Isobel Amy Dawes. He was their fifth child and fourth son. It seems he had to struggle early in life against continued ill-health and long periods of sickness interrupted his formal education. This compelled him to spend much of his school years at home where his mother home- schooled him in the fundamentals of learning. Later, as his health improved, he joined a Queanbeyan bakery; there was no apprenticeship course in those days. He learnt the trade, and was making a living at it when war broke out.
Nicknamed ‘Snowy’, he was not in the first rush of recruits to join the 6th Division, going into the A.I.F. in the first half of 1940 among the flood of volunteers impelled by the increasing gravity of the situation in Europe. In the space of what must have been a couple of busy weeks in Sydney, Snowy enlisted in the AIF at
Paddington Town Hall on 21st May 1940, and then married Agnes Peisley in St. Mary’s RC
Cathedral on 8 June. Agnes was the daughter of Charles James and Agnes (Kimber) Peisley of Bombala NSW. Agnes was to continue living at Bombala.
Byron (Snowy) and Agnes Dawes - 1940 wedding day
War Service 1940-1944
Snowy was posted to the 2/17th Battalion, joining 14 Platoon of “C” Company, beginning as a private and later rising to platoon sergeant. The 2/17th was raised as a unit of 20th Brigade in the 7th Division. It trained at Ingleburn NSW and then at Bathurst, and on 19th October 1940 embarked at Sydney in the Queen Mary. She sailed next day in company with the
Aquitania.1
Snowy and Agnes produced six children, the first two during the war years. First born was Judith (1941) while Snowy was in Tobruk, followed by Daniel (1943) while he was serving in New Guinea. Following is a summary of Snowy’s life and war service compiled by the Australian War Memorial where his medals are displayed in the World War 2 Gallery 3 : New Guinea.
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The DAWES family of Good Hope E5 Byron George DAWES “Distingtuished Conduct Medal
Lance Sergeant B G Dawes, 2/17 Battalion, AIF
Byron George 'Snowy' Dawes was born at Queanbeyan, NSW, in 1912, and
was a bread carter with a local bakery prior to his enlistment in the AIF in May 1940. He became Private NX15984 in 14 Platoon, C Company, 2/17 Battalion. In October 1940, the unit embarked on the 'Queen Mary', bound for the Middle East, where they became part of the newly formed 9th Australian Division.
Dawes served throughout the siege of Tobruk, and in the fighting around EI Alamein, where he was wounded in the back by shrapnel from a German88 mm shell on the night of 26
October 1942. After several weeks' recuperation, he rejoined his unit in time for their return to Australia. He was taken ill while on disembarkation leave, and did not return to 2/17 Battalion until just before their departure for New Guinea in August 1943, by which time he held the rank of lance sergeant. After participating in the amphibious landings at Lae and Scarlet Beach (Finschhafen), Dawes was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions on the Sattelberg road near Jivevaneng in November 1943.
Followinq this action, he was trained to become a small arms
instructor, but was afflicted by malaria and sandfly fever, and had to be evacuated to the Casualty Clearing Station at Finschhafen. After his unit's return
to Australia in March 1944, he suffered a further severe attack of malaria, and after treatment at Concord Hospital he was discharged on medical grounds in September of the same year. ...”
Snowy’s DCM Award celebrated in Queanbeyan 31 March 1944
We are indebted to the Queanbeyan Age of Tuesday 4 April 1944 for an account of a civic reception to honour Lance-Sergeant Byron (“Snowy”) Dawes, D.C.M. (A.I.F), “the first local man to receive a decoration in the present war.” Some extracts follow:
“He [Snowy] entered the hall accompanied by his wife, father and mother (Mr. and Mrs. W. Dawes of Tharwa Road). As they walked across the hall to their seats, the assemblage rose and sang,’ For he’s a Jolly Good Fellow’. The guest of honour, accompanied by his wife, parents, brothers Cecil and Gordon, and sister Enid (Mrs. Pola) took up their position on the stage of the hall at the insistence of the Mayor (Ald. H.C. Taylor)”. ...
Thus honoured, Snowy’s family would have been proud when several town dignatories made flowery speeches of welcome and appreciation of the bravery that led to Snowy being awarded his decoration. The Mayor then presented Snowy with a well-filled tobacco pouch as a memento of the occasion from the Queanbeyan townspeople.
“On rising to reply, Sergeant Dawes was greeted with prolonged applause. He thanked all for coming along and thought it was very nice for them to have a little social. He
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The DAWES family of Good Hope E5 Byron George DAWES
expressed gratitude to the Red Cross, WVS, Patriotic Fund and all organisations which were working for the welfare of the fighting man. This was not a one-man war – there were plenty of other soldiers who had earned decorations, but were not lucky enough to receive them. He thanked them all for the gift.”
Then followed a ‘social’ with music and dancing
It must have been some-time after this event and treatment at Concord Hospital after yet another malaria attack that Snowy was discharged from the AIF, on medical grounds, in September 1944. Post Snowy’s war service, he and Agnes had four more children, Mary (1945), Laurence (1947), Marjory (1948) and Mark (1951).
After his discharge, Snowy went to Bombala to live for a few months on the property of Agnes’ family. Returning to Queanbeyan, on medical advice he took a job in the forestry service at Uriarra, ACT, camping out on the job for about two years, while Agnes continued living at Bombala, as she had done during the war years. He joined the Canberra Electricity Supply in 1947 and was there for about six years as a “trades help”, until finally, in December 1953, he joined the Australian War Memorial as an attendant and second-in-charge of the exhibition galleries. He devoted the remainder of his working life to the War Memorial, and was living in Ainslie ACT when he died in 1977. An Obituary appeared in the Canberra Times on 12 Oct 19