Geburtsdatum: 01/10/1897

Geburtsort: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Beruf: Gepäckträger

Land: England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Truppe: British Expeditionary Force

Rang: Private

Dienstnummer: 86060

Einberufung datum: 04/12/1915

Einberufung ort: Oswestry, Shropshire, England, Vereinigtes Königreich

Einheiten:  —  Machine Gun Corps, 55th Coy.  (Letzte bekannte Einheit)

Sterbedatum: 12/10/1917

Sterbeort: Dozinghem Casualty Clearing Station, Westvleteren, Belgien

Todesursache: Verwundet

Alter: 20

British War Medal Medaille

Victory Medal Medaille

Private Arthur Edward Dixon served in the Machine Gun Corps 55th Company, part of the 55th Brigade of the 18th (Eastern) Division. The Division participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele on the 12th of October 1917.

At 5.25 a.m. the Division attacked Poelkapelle and the German strongpoint at Meunier House East of the village. The attack was carried by the 55th brigade with the 7th West Kents, the 7th Buffs and the 8th East Surreys in single file. The Machine Gun Corps 55th Company supported the advance with their machine guns. Two guns were detailed to go to Tracas Farm with the 8th East Surreys on the right and two guns went towards Meunier House with the 7th Buffs in the centre. Two guns went to Hellas House with the 7th Royal West Kents on the left. Two guns stayed in position at the Poelkapelle Church. While the four guns of “G” section remained in Rose Trench for barrage fire.

The attack was checked due to the ghastly state of the ground, the bad weather and heavy German machine gun- and artillery fire. The guns destined for Meunier Farm were held up by snipers and machine gun fire. They were forced to position themselves in shell holes, suffering six casualties. The two guns for Tracas Farm lost direction, having close to no landmarks, and took up positions near Gloster Farm. The two guns detailed for Hellas House, did not move forward, as the advance was held up at the Brewery. “D” Section also suffered casualties due to gas shelling. “G” Section’s positions near Rose Trench were heavily shelled by the German artillery. They were unable to fire their guns due to the heavy shelling and the heavy rain and the remaining men were used as stretcher bearers for “B” and “D” Sections. “D” Section and the remaining three teams, including their officers all became casualties when their positions were hit with gas shells around noon. When the Germans launched a counterattack towards the West of the village. The counterattack was repulsed and German counterattacks were fend off on several more occasions during the afternoon.

The remaining eight guns were positioned in the rear to defend the line. In the evening “A” Section only had one operational gun team. “D” Section was out of action and one gun team of “B” Section was still in position near Gloster Farm. Two other guns of “B” Section were positioned Southeast of Poelkapelle, while three guns of “C” Section remained in reserve.

Private Arthur Edward Dixon was mortally wounded during the attack on Poelkapelle and Meunier House. He sustained shrapnel wounds to the lower abdomen, possibly at Rose Trench, as this Trench was heavily shelled during the attack. Private Arthur Edward Dixon died of his wounds on the 12th of October 1917 at Dozinghem Casualty Clearing Station in the village of Westvleteren. He was buried on Dozinghem Military Cemetery.

McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 116-117. Verwendete Quellen

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/620460

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=da85689d-2571-491c-b984-b3d884fe8c76

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/1644809