Dickens John Henry 1877

John H Dickens

1877-1961

Father Nm:Edward Dickens born 1849 Banbury died APR 1935 • Nuneaton, Warwickshire,

Mother Nm: Harriet Betts born  1850  Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
died OCT 1933   Nuneaton

Marriage Dt:

1. 2 Apr 1898   Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, England
2. 7 Jun 1919 Banbury, St Mary, Oxfordshire

K comments:
Spouse comments:

• Martha Grimes was born abt 1879 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and died  January 1914 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Ellen Blencowe [4277] was born on 18 September 1888 Banbury and died Jan 1976 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England

Children of Martha Grimes.Ada Elizabeth Dickens 1899–1985
John T Dickens 1904-1991
.

Born 1877

26 JUN 1877  Banbury

1881 Census

Grimsbury, NorthantsEdward Dickens 33
Harriett Dickens 30
Sarah Ann Dickens 10
Jesse Dickens 8
Isabella Dickens 7
Emma Dickens 5
John Dickens 3
James Dickens 2
Kate Dickens
(not transcribed)

1911 CENSUS

Chilvers-Coton Warwicks

George Grimes Age52 Father-in-lawJohn Dickens Age33
Martha Dickens Age30 wife
Ada Dickens Age12 dau
John DickensAge7  son

WW1

John H Dickens, Private 5449, 12904, 201539, 1st Bn Royal Warwickshire Regiment, 1/4th Battalion Northants Regt.

1915

• 25 June. Enlisted at Warwick and was in training at the home base until 12 February 1916.

1916

• 13 February. Transferred to the 1/4th Northants, the East Midlands Brigade in East Anglian Division retitled later the 162nd Brigade of the 54th ( East Anglian) Division. The 1/4th Northants were at Gallipoli and John would have been part of a contingent to re-enforce the battalion when it was moved to Egypt.
• 17 February. Embarked for Egypt on HMT Olympic.
• 20 February. Arrived Sid Bahir.

  

   

• John was originally listed in the records as a Bomber, someone who raided the enemy with grenades. However, due to his age, it seems his role was as a Cook by the end of his time in Egypt.
• 7 March. Joined the Battalion at Mena right next to the Pyramids.

  

1917

• January. The 1/4th Bn located until now In the Suez Canal area of Egypt began to move forward and followed the British column as it advanced into Palestine. The Gaza Campaign started in March.

• 

• 2 November. The 1/4th Bn was in its first combat where it took casualties in the third Battle of Gaza..

  

1918

• 20 February. After two years in North Africa, John developed Malaria and was admitted to the 17th General Hospital in Alexandria..After initial treatment, John was sent to the Command Depot at Mustafa

  

   

• 3 June. John is well enough to rejoin his unit where he and it remained until the war was over.
• 27 December. The 1/4th embarked for England on the troopship SS Kaisar-i-hind

  

1919

• 10 January. John is discharged at travels to his home which is 61 Chilvers Coton, Nuneaton

Medals

Sources

1. 1. Ancestry  and BFA database
   2. National Archives
   3. Long long trail WW1 website

After the War

Re Married

1939 Census

25 John St Nuneaton

Household Members Age
John H Dickens 62 Colliery repairer below Heavy worker
Ellen Dickens 51
John T Dickens 35

Death 1957

details

Gallery

There are service records in the National archives for this person they can be viewed and downloaded from their website https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

 

Notes on 54th Division

The division took over the southern section of the Suez Canal defences on 2 April,[5] as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under General Archibald Murray.[7]

Then in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, during the First Battle of Gaza, on 26 March 1917, the 161st Brigade and divisional artillery were in reserve while the 53rd (Welsh) Division carried out the main attack. These reserves were committed as the battle progressed resulting in the British gaining a foothold in the Turkish defences but the British commander called off the attack as night fell. In the Second Battle of Gaza, the 1/4th and 1/5th Battalions of the Norfolk Regiment sustained 75 per cent casualties (about 1,200 men).[8] It took part in the successful Third Battle of Gaza as part of XXI Corps led by General Bulfin, and by the end of 1917 Edmund Allenby’s forces had taken Jerusalem. The division fought in the Battle of Jaffa on 21 and 22 December.[5]

Men of the Norfolk Regiment resting on the road to Beirut, late October 1918
The 162nd Brigade participated in the Fight at Ras el’Ain during the Battle of Tell ‘Asur on 12 March 1918. The division fought in the attack at Berukin on 9 and 10 April/ In September 1918 the division took part in the Battle of Sharon between 19 and 23 September. After the end of the battle, the division concentrated at Hableh on 24 September and was ordered to move to Haifa three days later. It began advancing to Haifa on 28 September through Atlit, and finished concentrating there on 4 October, where it improved communications. The division was ordered to begin the advance to Beirut on 20 October, which was conducted by the brigade group in daylong intervals. The advance began three days later, through Acre, Naqoura, Tyre, and Sidon. The division reached Beirut between 31 October and 5 November, as the war with the Ottoman Empire ended on 31 October.[5]

The division moved back by sea to El Qantara on 28 November, beginning with the 163rd Brigade, and then moved to Helmie, where it concentrated on 7 December without its artillery and train. The divisional artillery and train arrived via El Qantara by 14 December, except for the CCLXXII Brigade, which marched from Beirut to Tulkarm before entraining for Helmie on 9 December. The demobilization of the division began on 6 January 1919 with the disbandment of the three brigade trench mortar brigades. The division personnel filled the time with educational courses in January as they were gradually demobilized.