Private William Dillon

Private William Dillon

9th (Service) Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (Pioneers)
Service No: 10658

354

0

3

0

74

Click here for a frameable A4 print

Personal details

Family Information

Son of William and Margaret Craig Dillon of 49b Coatbank St, Coatbridge. William's younger brother Private David Dillon of the 17th (Service) Battalion (3rd Glasgow) Highland Light Infantry was Killed in Action 6 months earlier and his cousin Private William Dillon of the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers Died of Wounds in October 1914. From the 1891 Census - Address - 55 Lock St, Coatbridge - William Dillon aged 30, Margaret Dillon aged 26, Elizabeth Dillon aged 5, Patrick Dillon aged 3, William Dillon aged 2, Margaret Dillon aged 3 months. From the 1901 Census - Address - 2h East Stewart St, Coatbridge - William Dillon aged 40, Margaret Dillon aged 34, Elizabeth Dillon aged 15, Patrick Dillon aged 13, William Dillon aged 11, Margaret Collie Dillon aged 10 (27/01/1891 - 04/04/1983), Lillias Dillon aged 8, David Collie Dillon aged 7, James Dillon aged 4, Agnes Dillon aged 3 and Janet Craig Dillon aged 1. Brother Alex and sister Sarah also both listed on William's Army Register of Soldiers Effects. William and his brother David's Pensions were awarded to their mother Margaret. David's also were awarded to his wife Elizabeth.

Born / Resided

Rutherglen / Coatbridge.

Died

Died of Wounds on the 04/05/1917 received at L'Abbayette Valley (phase of the Battle of Arras)

Enlisted

Coatbridge

Employed

Clyde Tube Works / Reservist.

Age

27 / DOB - 07/05/1889

Buried / Remembered

Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery (V. C. 34), Arras, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The French handed over Arras to Commonwealth forces in the spring of 1916 and the system of tunnels upon which the town is built were used and developed in preparation for the major offensive planned for April 1917. The Commonwealth section of the FAUBOURG D'AMIENS CEMETERY was begun in March 1916, behind the French military cemetery established earlier. It continued to be used by field ambulances and fighting units until November 1918. The cemetery was enlarged after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields and from two smaller cemeteries in the vicinity. The cemetery contains over 2,650 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 10 of which are unidentified.

Additional Information

The Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 10/05/1915 and were part of the 9th (Scottish) Division. William arrived in France on the 01/09/1915. The Battalion were at L'Abbayette Valley from the 30th April until past the date William Died of Wounds. This was a phase of the Arras offensive (Battle of Arras), 9th April - 16th June 1917 : Once again the British are called upon to launch an attack in support to a larger French offensive : the battles of the Chemin des Dames and the hills of Champagne. The opening Battle of Vimy and the First Battle of the Scarpe are very encouraging, but once again the offensive - often known as the Battle of Arras - bogs down into an attritional slog. Final attempts to outflank the German lines at Bullecourt prove terribly costly. SEE PHOTOS x 14 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY APRIL - MAY 1917. William is listed as 1st BATTALION on the Coatbridge Memorial and as DALLON in the Newspapers of the time (see photos). William was a Reservist who had served 5 years in India. I personally laid a Poppy at William's grave in 2008 (see photos). His brother Private David Dillon of the 17th (Service) Battalion (3rd Glasgow) Highland Light Infantry was Killed in Action on the 18/11/1916 and his cousin Private William Dillon of the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers who Died of Wounds on the 31/10/1914 (see Directory for both mens pages). William is also remembered in the St. Patrick's (book) (see photos for more Family information x 2) and Stewarts and Lloyds Rolls of Honour (see photos). A huge thank you to Robert D Corrins for sending me a copy of his St. Patrick's and the Great War book. See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report, William and his brother David's Pension Records x 4, William's grave, Faubourg D'Amiens Cemetery, the Seaforth Highlanders Cap Badge, a map showing the ground captured during the Arras offensive and the Seaforth's Memorial which stands on high ground above Fampoux in the Arras battlefield. Finally, see photos for Newspaper clippings x (Coatbridge Express x 1 and Coatbridge Leader x 1), Poppy Cross placed by myself in July 2023 ( also see main grave photo), Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery taken by myself in July 2023, Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery (partner Linda top right at Arras Memorial) taken by myself in July 2023, William's and 5 other Poppy Crosses placed by myself at Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery in July 2023 (William's Poppy Cross top left), William's name on the Clyde Tube Works panel of the Stewarts and Lloyds Roll of Honour plaque, the Stewarts and Lloyds Roll of Honour plaque, PHOTOS x 24 FOR THE 9th (SCOTTISH) DIVISION BOOK 5th APRIL - 26th MAY 1917 and the 9th (Scottish) Division Order of Battle x 12 (the Division Alexander was with when he died). The History of the 9th (Scottish) Division book is available to read online here

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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