Lt Col
Stephen Hamilton Dix
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 20/08/1879 |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Lieutenant Colonel |
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Service number: / |
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Units: — The Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) attd. Northumberland Fusiliers 12/13th Bn. (Attached) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 04/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Reutel, Beselare, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 38 |
Cemetery
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Tyne Cot Cemetery Plot: XLVI. Row: B. Grave: 1. |
Distinctions and medals 3
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British War Medal Medal |
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Military Cross Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 1
| #1 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Hamilton Dix served in the Leinster Regiment but was commanding the Northumberland Fusiliers 12/13th Battalion, part of the 62nd Brigade of the 21st Division, on the 4th of October 1917 during the Battle of Broodseinde.
The 62nd Brigade had three objectives. The 3/4th Bn. of the Queen’s had to consolidate the first objective, the 12/13th Northumberland Fusiliers were to go through to the second objective and the 1st Bn. Lincolnshire had to move forward to the final objective. At 6 a.m. (zero hour) the Battalion moved forward. During the attack, the Battalion became scattered due to the boggy state of the ground and suffered several casualties, due to German machine gun fire coming from a strongpoint near Judge Trench. C Company of the 12/13th Bn. was able to capture this strongpoint by using rifle grenades. Lt.-Col. Dix was killed in action when he tried to reorganize C Company and was leading his remaining men to the first objective (J.11.c.60.55 – J.11.a.85.30). Dix’s remains were found near Reutel at the following coordinate 28 J 11 c 40.70, near the first objective. He was later reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery.
The 62nd Brigade had three objectives. The 3/4th Bn. of the Queen’s had to consolidate the first objective, the 12/13th Northumberland Fusiliers were to go through to the second objective and the 1st Bn. Lincolnshire had to move forward to the final objective. At 6 a.m. (zero hour) the Battalion moved forward. During the attack, the Battalion became scattered due to the boggy state of the ground and suffered several casualties, due to German machine gun fire coming from a strongpoint near Judge Trench. C Company of the 12/13th Bn. was able to capture this strongpoint by using rifle grenades. Lt.-Col. Dix was killed in action when he tried to reorganize C Company and was leading his remaining men to the first objective (J.11.c.60.55 – J.11.a.85.30). Dix’s remains were found near Reutel at the following coordinate 28 J 11 c 40.70, near the first objective. He was later reburied at Tyne Cot Cemetery.
Sources 2
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12/13 Northumberland Fusliers, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/2155/3). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 98. 100). Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/462569 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=b71b9a95-f5c3-4e2e-9456-63ed5a4de4c3 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/5310443 |