DAWSON, Robert Cyril
| Service Numbers: | 2316, W70816 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 June 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th (WA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
| Born: | Balaklava, South Australia, 17 March 1891 |
| Home Town: | Katanning, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Applecross, Fremantle, Western Australia, 3 November 1979, aged 88 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2316, 43rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2316, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Melbourne embarkation_ship_number: A16 public_note: '' | |
| 30 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2316, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Melbourne, Fremantle | |
| 6 Sep 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 1st Field Ambulance | |
| 18 Jul 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2316, 1st Field Ambulance, from Weymouth for RTA per HT Takada | |
| 16 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 2316, 1st Field Ambulance |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Jun 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), W70816, 5th (WA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Apr 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), W70816, 14th (WA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Robert Cyril Dawson (Service No:2316) enlisted with his brother Harry (Service No:2317) on 2 June 1916 and the siblings embarked with 43rd Infantry Battalion from Fremantle for Devonport on 30 October 1916 on board HMAT A16 Port Melbourne. Private Dawson served with 43rd Infantry Battalion and 3rd Field Coy Engineeers in France before being transferred to 1st Field Ambulance on 6 November 1918. Private Dawson embarked from Weymouth for the RTA on 18 July 1919 on board HT Takada (Nursing Staff) and was Discharged on 16 October 1919. Private Dawson later served in WII - enlisting with the ACMF on 14 June 1942 (Service No:W70816) with 5th Battalion (WA) VDC. He was attached to 14th Battalion (WA) VDC at Discharge on 3 April 1944.
Born in 1891 in Balaklava in South Australia, Robert was the seventh of eleven children of Arthur Dawson (b1858 in Littlehampton, South Australia) and Deborah Margaret Peck (b1858 in Adelaide, South Australia). Arthur (a Blacksmith) and Deborah married in 1880 in Balaklava, South Australia where they lived and raised their first seven children and Arthur worked as a Blacksmith before moving to Two Wells in the 1890s. Arthur had started work as a Station Hand on sheep and cattle stations in the Balaklava District before completing a Blacksmith Appprenticeship. In 1895 he won medals at the Port Wakefield Show for his wagons and ploughs. In 1893 Arthur moved his family to Cleve, where he built the first General Store, and in 1900 he and Deborah travelled by horse and wagon with their two eldest sons to Western Australia, where Arthur had purchased land at Bullock Spring. In 1903 Arthur returned to Cleve and brought the rest of his children to Bullock Spring - by boat to Albany, train to Katanning and then by horse and cart. Arthur was a Farmer in Bullock Springs and later Kojunup.
Robert was a Farmer at Bullock Spring' Katanning when he enlisted in the AIF, and in 1921 in Katanning WA he married Clara Maud James (b1892 in Templars, South Australia). Robert and Clara settled at Dindinnup where Robert was a Farmer before moving to Armadale, WA following his service with the ACMF in WWII. In the late 1950s Robert retired from farming, and he and Clara settled in Applecross, Fremantle WA. Clara died in 1977 and Robert in 1979.
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