James Lennox Dawson
Corporal, 187th Company. Royal Engineers
- Register No.
- 314 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Corporal all Corporals →
- Unit
- 187th Company. Royal Engineers (register: Corps of Royal Engineers) all Corps of Royal Engineers VCs →
- Date of action
- 13 October 1915 on this day → all of 1915 →
- Conflict / campaign
- First World War
- London Gazette
- 7th December 1915 on this day → all of 1915 →
- Born
- 25th December, 1891 at Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire,
- Died
- 15th February, 1967 at Eastbourne, Sussex
- Memorial / grave
- not known
Digest of citation
On 13th October, 1915 at Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, during a gas attack, when the trenches were full of men, Corporal DAWSON exposed himself fearlessly to the enemy's fire in order to give directions to his sappers to clear the infantry out of the sections of the trench which were full of gas. Finding three leaking cylinders, he rolled them well away from the trench, again under heavy fire, and then fired rifle bullets into them to let the gas escape. His gallantry undoubtedly saved many men from being gassed
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
DAWSON, James Lennox. (reg No. 314).
Corporal. 187th Company. Royal Engineers.
London Gazetted on 7th December 1915.
Born on 25th December, 1891 at Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, Scotland.
Died on 15th February, 1967 at Eastbourne, Sussex.
Memorial not known.
Digest of Citation reads: On 13th October, 1915 at Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, during a gas attack, when the trenches were full of men, Corporal DAWSON exposed himself fearlessly to the enemy's fire in order to give directions to his sappers to clear the infantry out of the sections of the trench which were full of gas. Finding three leaking cylinders, he rolled them well away from the trench, again under heavy fire, and then fired rifle bullets into them to let the gas escape. His gallantry undoubtedly saved many men from being gassed.
Additional information:. James Dawson later attained a rank of Colonel. His cousin was Corporal J. D. Pollock VC.
Additional information
James Dawson later attained a rank of Colonel. His cousin was Corporal J. D. Pollock VC.
Scotland.
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: not known
Map links open a search for the place name Alf recorded; please check opening times and exact locations before travelling. Many VC graves have since been restored by the Victoria Cross Trust.
Research this recipient further
Would you like to honour James Lennox Dawson by sponsoring this page from £1 a month — in memory of someone, in your own name or for your company? Sponsor this page.