Private Alexander Dickson

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Private Alexander Dickson

12th (Service) Battalion Highland Light Infantry
Service No: 18819

1386

1

4

0

85

Click here for a frameable A4 print

Personal details

Family Information

Son of Mr and Mrs Mary Dickson of 17 Stewart St, Coatbridge. Alexander's mother sent him a parcel which was returned marked "killed". Alexander's Pension was awarded to his mother Mary of 17 Stewart St, Coatbridge then 75c Biggar Rd, Airdrie on the 14/09/1916.

Born / Resided

Coatbridge / 17 Stewart St, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 25/09/1915 on the opening day of the Battle of Loos

Enlisted

Airdrie /09/1914

Employed

Waverley Iron Works.

Age

(No data. If you have details, please add a comment)

Buried / Remembered

Loos Memorial (Panel 108 to 112), Pas de Calais. France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The Loos Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay, from the first day of the Battle of Loos to the end of the war. On either side of the cemetery is a wall 15 feet high, to which are fixed tablets on which are carved the names of those commemorated. At the back are four small circular courts, open to the sky, in which the lines of tablets are continued, and between these courts are three semicircular walls or apses, two of which carry tablets, while on the centre apse is erected the Cross of Sacrifice.

Additional Information

Alexander and the Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 10/07/1915 and were part of the 46th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. The Battle of Loos : 25th September - 15th October 1915 : The first genuinely large scale British offensive action but once again only in a supporting role to a larger French attack in the Third Battle of Artois. British appeals that the ground over which they were being called upon to advance was wholly unsuitable were rejected. The battle is historically noteworthy for the first British use of poison gas. 25/09/1915 : the situation at noon - The 47th (London) and 15th (Scottish) Divisions had captured Loos, although they had been halted and were threatened by counterattack on Hill 70. There were clear signs of German withdrawal in this area and panic in Lens. 25/09/1915: afternoon and evening - the 47th (London) Division continued to consolidate the positions it had won at the Double Crassier and Loos Crassier, and was ready as ordered to meet any counter-attack that might be delivered from the South. The 15th (Scottish) Division was in some difficulty, despite having succeeded in capturing Loos itself. Men were helplessly pinned down on the forward slope of Hill 70, and the artillery support that had been called for since 10.50am was only just beginning to happen. The enemy made a determined attempt, having reinforced this area, to envelop the troops lying out in the open and to force them towards the second German line. SEE PHOTOS x 18 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY SEPTEMBER 1915. Scottish Regiments lost a huge amount of brave men at Loos. Here is a list of Infantry Battalions who lost more than 500 men at the Battle of Loos from 25/09/1915 to 16/10/1915 - 7th Cameron Highlanders 687, of which 19 Officers, 9th Black Watch 680, of which 20 Officers, 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers 650, of which 20 Officers, 10th Highland Light Infantry 648, of which 20 Officers, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers 631, of which 20 Officers, 8th Devons 619, of which 19 Officers, 8th Royal West Kents 580, of which 24 Officers, 8th Buffs 558, of which 24 Officers, 12th HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY 553, OF WHICH 23 OFFICERS, 8th Black Watch 511, of which 19 Officers, 5th North Staffordshire 505, of which 20 Officers, 8th Seaforth Highlanders 502, of which 23 Officers. Alexander was Killed on the opening day of the Battle of Loos. Alexander was 1 of 99 men from the Coatbridge Memorial who fell during and from injuries from the Battle of Loos. See photos for Alexander's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Loos Memorial Panel List, his name on the Loos Memorial, his Remembered with Honour Certificate, the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge and Alexander's Pension Records x 2. Finally, see photos of a wreath x 2 placed by myself at Loos Memorial in July 2023 remembering ALL the men who left from the Iron Burgh who are named there and one of myself at the Highland Light Infantry Panel at the Memorial in July 2023 (Alexander listed middle left), PHOTOS x 13 FOR THE 15th (SCOTTISH) DIVISION ON THE 25/09/1915, SEE PHOTOS FOR 33 PAGES FROM THE MOST UNFAVOURABLE GROUND BOOK REGARDING THE BATTALION and DIVISION 25/09/1915 (fantastic book on the Battle of Loos kindly signed by the author Niall Cherry) and the 15th (Scottish) Division Order of Battle x 13 (the Division he was with when he died).

Photos

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

We have made this information and the images available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement: © coatbridgeandthegreatwar.com

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