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47958 (WR-40006) Company Sergeant Major
HERBERT DICKINSON
Royal Engineers
(formerly 26699 Sergeant, 107^th Company, Imperial Yeomanry)  

by

Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis, MSCE, PE, MInstRE  

1.  INTRODUCTION  

            Unless otherwise noted, the details supplied in this narrative were obtained from the soldier’s service papers.  It should be noted that Dickinson’s Great War service papers were located in the burnt document files, therefore they were not completely legible.  Some information pertaining to his service had to be omitted because it could not be read clearly from the papers.  Some place names or dates may also be in error due to the poor condition of the service papers.  His Imperial Yeomanry service papers were located in WO128/78 and were found to be in legible condition.

2.  EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION  

            Herbert Dickinson was born at in the Parish of Redcar, near the town of Middleford, in the County of Yorkshire on 12 July 1874.[1]  Redcar was a chapelry parish of the town of Marsk, part of the archdiocese of Cleveland, in the North Riding of Yorkshire.[2]  The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the parish of Redcar was Wesleyan Methodist; however, the members of the Dickinson family were Presbyterians.   

Redcar is a coastal town on the North Sea located south of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and northeast of Middlesbrough.[3]  It is a small town and at the time of Dickinson’s birth it probably had a population of about 800.  The 1881 British Census showed no record of a Herbert Dickinson being born in our around Redcar or Marsk.  The 1881 Census of England for the Dickinson family shows that Herbert Dickinson was born in Coatham, Yorkshire and not Redcar, Middlesbro (or Middlesboro) or Marsk as shown on his two attestation papers.  It is confusing to try to understand why his birthplace was listened in so many different towns.  He was from Yorkshire, no doubt, but the town remains a mystery.

The following table shows the composition of the Dickinson family in 1881.
1881 Census of England

 The 1891 Census of Scotland was located on Ancestry.com by noting that Herbert had listed his father, W.G. Dickinson, as his next of kin in 1901.  It also was necessary to use the year of his birth as 1872 rather than 1874 as stated above (see ENDNOTE 1).  The census provides the following information regarding the family.

1891 Census of Scotland

NOTES:

1. William G. Dickinson changed his occupation from Insurance Agent to Moulder, a rather unusual switch of occupation.  Perhaps the insurance business was not flourishing at the time.
2. Alfred Dickinson in the 1881 census does not appear in the 1891 Census of Scotland.   He would have been 22 years of age in 1891 and probably was living in England.
3. An Ernest Dickinson, aged 18, pops up in the 1891 census and is not in the 1881 census, unless George E. Dickinson in 1881 was George Ernest.  However, his age appears to be wrong.

            The 1901 Census of Scotland shows a much diminished Dickinson family living on Croftbank Street in Bothwell, Lanarkshire.  William G. Dickinson, aged 63, was still the Head of the family and was again working as an Insurance Agent.  His wife Mary is not included in the census and perhaps was deceased.  Daughter Emily, aged 35, was at home, not employed, and probably was undertaking the work of housekeeper for the family in place of her mother.  Lily, aged 27, was a Draper’s Assistant, Frederick, aged 22, was a Butcher’s Assistant and Lawrence, aged 19, was a Grocer’s Assistant.  Herbert, of course, was not at home as he was then serving in the Imperial Yeomanry.

3.  MILITARY SERVICE

Imperial Yeomanry (1901-1902)

            Herbert Dickinson enlisted in the Imperial Yeomanry in 1901 to serve in the South African war.  He attested for Short Service (one year with the Colours) at Glasgow on 18 February 1901.  At the time of his enlistment he indicated that he had been born in the Parish of Middlesbro, near the Town of Yorkshire.  The entry on his Army Form B. 111 obviously is in error with regard to the Town.  It appears that Yorkshire was meant to be inserted on the line below Town where it called for “in the County of  . . .”  Also, Middlesbro was an older and shorter version of the name Middlesbrough, which is the name of the borough in North Yorkshire today.

            At the time of his attestation Dickinson indicated that he was a British Subject, his age was 28 years and 7 months and that he was a “Stocktaker” by trade.  His attestation was duly certified by a Lieutenant in the Imperial Yeomanry and he was posted to the 18^th Company, 6^th Battalion of the Scottish Yeomanry, Regimental Number 26699.           

            Dickinson’s Description on Enlistment is shown in the table below.

            Dickinson had been examined and found fit for military service by a Medical Officer in Glasgow on 9 February 1901.  He also was found fit for service in the Imperial Yeomanry on this same date.  His Attestation was certified by a Colonel Wilson of the Imperial Yeomanry at Glasgow on 18 February 1901.

            Herbert Dickinson was posted to the 107^th Company, Imperial Yeomanry for service in South Africa.  While serving in the Imperial Yeomanry he rose to the rank of Sergeant.  The 107^th Company had no County affiliation and formed part of the 6^th Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry.  The company had only one contingent of men, approximately 170 in strength, which went to serve in South Africa.

The make up and nature of the Imperial Yeomanry that Herbert Dickinson so eagerly joined as a family man, aged 28 years, is best summed up by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his book, The Great Boer War:

“. . . the Imperial Yeomanry, a corps of riders and shots, appealed to the sporting instincts of our race.  Many could ride and not shoot, many could shoot and not ride, more candidates were rejected than were accepted, and yet in a very short time eight thousand men from every class were wearing the gray coats and bandoliers.  This singular and formidable force was drawn from every part of England and Scotland, with a contingent of hard-riding Irish fox-hunters.  Noblemen and grooms rode knee to knee in the ranks, and the officers included many well-known country gentlemen and masters of hounds.  Well horsed and well armed, a better force for the work in hand could not be imagined.  So high did the patriotism run that corps were formed in which the men not only found their own equipment but contributed their pay to the war fund.”  

Although Doyle’s description of the Imperial Yeomanry is rather chauvinistic, nevertheless, this is the unit that Dickinson joined to fight the Boers in South Africa.  Churchill’s statement that “Many could ride and not shoot, many could shoot and not ride” is interesting because it calls into question Dickinson’s qualifications.  He was a 28-year old “Stocktaker,” born in North Yorkshire and raised in Scotland in a middle-class family.  From where did he acquire the skills to ride and shoot?

After his enlistment Dickinson served in the U.K. for 28 days and on 17 March 1901 he proceeded to South Africa with his company.  He served in the theatre of the war for 248 days and returned home on 5 November 1901 and was posted to the 1^st Provisional Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry.  He was discharged on the termination of his employment on 31 October 1902.  For his service during the war he was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps [CAPE COLONY][ORANGE FREE STATE][TRANSVAAL] [SOUTH AFRICA 1901].[4]

Figure 1.  A Trooper of the Imperial Yeomanry on the South African Veldt.
(Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia)  

The Great War (1914-1918)

            Herbert Dickinson enlisted in the Royal Engineers on 10 September 1914 at Edinburgh, Scotland.  He had been a civilian for about 12 years since his discharge from the Imperial Yeomanry.  It appears that during this period he was employed as a tube maker[5] with some firm and had risen to the position of foreman.  On his Attestation papers he gave information regarding his prior service in the Imperial Yeomanry, indicated that he was married, that he was not an Apprentice and that he had never been imprisoned by civil power.  Dickinson enlisted in the Army Reserve for one year of service, but he did indicate that he would serve for more than one year if the war lasted longer.  His initial enlistment in the Army Reserve most likely was due to his age.

Dickinson was issued a Certificate of Medical Examination on the same date as his enlistment and was found to be fit for service in the Army Reserve.  He was also issued a Certificate of Primary Military Examination on this date and was found fit for service in the Royal Engineers.  His prior service and civilian trade would have made him especially useful to the Sappers.  As noted above, this was probably the primary reason for him being allowed to enlist at his age.[6]

His attestation papers were found to be correct and were given the Certificate of the Approving Officer at Edinburgh on 10 September 1914.    The local Magistrate in Edinburgh certified Dickinson’s Attestation on 12 September 1914.

Upon completion of the formal paper work for his enlistment, Herbert Dickinson was assigned Regimental Number 47958 and the rank of Sapper.  He then was posted to the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion at Brompton Barracks, Chatham, Kent.  This was to be a temporary interim posting until a use could be found for his skills and experience.  His stay at Chatham would amount to about ten days.

            The following is a description of Herbert Dickinson at the time he enlisted in the Army in 1914:

            Dickinson might have been considered to be overage at the time he enlisted.  His civilian trade and his prior military experience were probably mitigating factors that enabled him to join up.  As will be seen, he was quickly promoted to non-commissioned officer rank.  It is interesting to note, however, that instead of being assigned to a support-type unit where he could serve behind the front lines, he was immediately assigned to a front-line field company.

            Sapper Dickinson was transferred from the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion to the 77^th Field Company, Royal Engineers on 21 September 1914.  The 77^th Field Company was one of the divisional field companies of the 17^th (Northern) Division.  The other field companies of the 17^th Division were the 78^th and the 93^rd.  The division’s Commander Royal Engineers (C.R.E.) was Lieutenant Colonel H.R. Hale, R.E.

            Dickinson joined the 77^th Field Company at Wareham, located about 11 miles west of Bournemouth in the County of Dorsetshire.  The units of the 17^th Division then made a number of moves in preparation for their deployment to France, as indicated below:

Wimborne, Dorsetshire:[7]         December 1914

Woolwich, Kent                      March 1915

Hursley, Hampshire[8]               July 1915

After joining the 77^th Field Company, Dickinson was quickly promoted to Corporal, then to Sergeant, and then to Company Quartermaster Sergeant, all within about six and a half months.  Following a period of training with the other units in the division at the locations listed above, Dickinson’s company embarked for France on 14 of July 1915.  The 17^th Division went into the front line in the Ypres Sector on 21 July and saw action at Hooge from 30 July to 9 August 1915.

            The 77^th Field Company reached St. Eloi, France on 1 August 1915 and was at Vierstraat on the next day.  The company remained in this area during the winter of 1915 and during the spring of 1916.  The 77^th Division saw action during this period in the battle of the Bluffs from 14 February to 2 March 1916.

While in the Ypres Sector the company performed field engineering works and prepared for the large British offensive on the Somme in the summer of 1916.  On 1 July 1916, the first day of the British Somme offensive, Company Quartermaster Sergeant Dickinson and his company were at Morlancourt.  The company took an active part in the first phase of the Battle of the Somme that ended on 13 July 1916.  The 77^th Field Company was next involved in the Battle of Delville Wood, which began on 15 July 1916 and ended on 3 September.[9]

            Dickinson remained with the 77^th Field Company until 6 February 1917,  when he received orders transferring him to the Railway Training Depot, Royal Engineers at Longmoor Camp, about 13 miles south southeast of Aldershot, in the County of Hampshire.  He embarked for home the next day and proceeded to Longmoor upon his arrival in England.  One may assume that his age and the stress and strain of serving in a field company at the front was becoming too much for him and that this had become obvious to his commander.  Upon his transfer to Longmoor his Regimental Number became WR. 40006. 

            Training in railway operations and construction was the principal activity at Longmoor during 1917 when Dickinson arrived at the Camp.  In that year 6,212 recruits, the highest number trained in one year at Longmoor, were sent overseas.[10]  As a Fitter, Dickinson may have had a dual role while serving at Longmoor: training of new recruits in the maintenance of the railway equipment and maintenance and repair of the equipment to keep it operational for training purposes.

            The Longmoor Military Railway (LMR) was built by the Royal Engineers from 1903 in order to train soldiers on railway construction and operations in occupied countries. It was initially known as the Woolmer Instructional Military Railway. As a training railway, it was often being constructed and deconstructed. The railway ran from Bordon to Liss but in the process was part of a large loop so that trains could be run without the need to turn them, rather like on a model railway. The layout would often change, and at one time housed a machine which could lay 1,500 yards of track a day. At its peak, the railway ran to over 70 miles of operational laid track and sidings.  

Figure 2.  Layout of the Longmoor Military Railway.
(Map courtesy of pinterest)

            Dickinson served at Longmoor until his discharge from the Army on 9 March 1920.  For his service during the Great War of 1914 to 1918, Company Sergeant Major Herbert Dickinson was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.[11]  

Figure 3.  The Medals of CQMS Herbert Dickinson, Royal Engineers
(Photograph from the author’s collection)  

4.  PROMOTIONS AND CONDUCT  

a.                  Promotions:  Herbert Dickinson received the following promotions during his time in service with the Royal Engineers in the Great War of 1914-1918:

            Dickinson’s rapid promotion to Company Sergeant Major within 6½ months of his enlistment was undoubtedly due to his previous military service as a Sergeant in the South African War and his trade as a Foreman Tube Maker.  He possessed both the technical and the supervisory skills required of an engineer non-commissioned officer from the day he enlisted in the Royal Engineers.

b.                  Conduct:  There are no notations in Dickinson’s military papers regarding his conduct during his time in service.  It may be assumed that his conduct was “very good” or “exemplary” as indicated by his rapid promotion to Company Quartermaster Sergeant.  

5.  EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS  

a.                  Education:  There is no indication in Dickinson’s military records of his civil or military education.

b.                  Qualifications:  Corporal Dickinson was qualified as a Proficient “Fitter” on 13 September 1914.  This proficiency was most likely due to his civilian trade as a Foreman Tube Maker.

6.  MEDICAL INFORMATION  

            No medical records were included in Company Quartermaster Sergeant Dickinson’s service papers.  The records do indicate that on 6 February 1917 he was transferred to a less physically-demanding posting and his Regimental Number was changed to WR-40006 as a result of his age or an undisclosed disability.  On 11 February 1920 he was placed in Medical Category B.III.  This category indicated that he was only fit for sedentary work and that he was unfit for general service.[12]

7.  MARRIAGE AND PERSONAL INFORMATION  

            Herbert Dickinson married Susan Russell at Hamilton, in Lanarkshire, Scotland on 9 November 1901.  Hamilton is located approximately 10 miles to the southeast of Glasgow.  The Dickinsons had a daughter, Catherine Whyte Russell, born on 31 August 1910 at Dumbarton, Scotland, a town located about 13 miles northwest of Glasgow.  

            Prior to his service in the Great War, the Dickinsons lived at 805 Dalmarnock Road in Glasgow, Scotland.  Herbert worked as a tube maker and although he had never served as an Apprentice he appears to have learned his trade very well.  By 1914 he had become a foreman at the place where he worked prior to entering the Army.

8.  DISCHARGE  

            Company Quartermaster Sergeant Herbert Dickinson was issued a Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity at Longmoor Camp on 11 February 1920.  The Certificate indicated that in case of emergency, he was to rejoin the Colours at Longmoor.  His intended place of residence after discharge was 805 Dalmarnock Road in Glasgow, Scotland (see Figure 4 below).

Dickinson was discharged from the Army at Longmoor Camp on 9 March 1920.  His total service was reckoned as shown in the table below:

 9.  POST SERVICE LIFE  

            No information about Herbert Dickinson’s post service life was uncovered during the research for this work.  It is known that he returned to Glasgow to live.  He probably returned to his former trade as a tube maker.  It is also possible that his acquired skills as a fitter while in the Army may have opened up some additional avenues of employment for him.

Figure 4.  805 Delmarnock Road, Glasgow.
((Image courtesy of Google Earth)

REFERENCES  

Books

1. ATTERIDGE, A.H.  History of the 17^th (Northern) Division.  Robert Maclehose & Co., Ltd., The University Press, Glasgow, 1929.  

2. DOYLE, A.C.  The Great Boer War.  Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., London, 190_.  

3. GORDON, L.L.  British Battles and Medals.  Spink & Son, Ltd., London, 1971.  

4. LETTS, C.  Roadbook of Britain.  Charles Letts and Company Limited, London, 1977.  

5. RONALD, D.W. & CARTER, R.J.  The Longmoor Military Railway.  David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1974.  

6. SMITH, F.  A Genealogical Gazetteer of England.  Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore, 1977.  

Census

1.  1881 Census of England (RG11/4843).

2.  1891 Census of Scotland (CSSCT1891_224).

3.  1901 Census of Scotland (CSSCT1901_247).  

Documents  

1. The Great War service papers of Herbert Dickinson, consisting of the following documents:  

            a.  Attestation Paper, Army Reserve, One Year Service, Army Form B.248.  

b.  Statement of Services.  

c.  Description on Enlistment.  

            d.  Military History Sheet.  

e.       Form of Receipt to Accompany Documents and Statement as to Disability (Army Form Z. 22), Army Form Z. 69.  

f.       Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity, Army Form Z. 11.  

2.  The Imperial Yeomanry service papers of Herbert Dickinson, consisting of the following documents.  

a.       Army Form B. 111 Short Service Attestation.  

b.       Description on Enlistment.  

c.       Military History Sheet.  

d.      Statement of Services.  

3.  Royal Engineers Medal Roll, Roads and Quarries.  

3.      Medal Index Card: 47958 CQMS Herbert Dickinson, R.E.  

4.      Medal Roll, 107^th Company, 6^th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry (WO100/122).  

Internet Sources  

1.      Expediamaps.com  

2.      Multimaps.com  

3.      The Longmoor Military Railway
https://transportsofdelight.smugmug.com/RAILWAYS/WAR-DEPARTMENT-LOCOMOTIVES/LONGMOOR-MILITARY-RAILWAY/i-k6dpRV8  

4.      Longmoor Military Railway
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/barron3555/longmoor-military-railway/  

Periodicals  

Battle Honours of the Royal Engineers.  The Royal Engineers Journal, Chatham, Kent, 1925-1932.

 ENDNOTES: