Private Hugh Dixon
This man appears to be the Hugh Dickson (or Dixon) born on 2 August 1888 at 17 Howard Street South, Belfast, the only child of baker James Dickson and his wife Charlotte (née Gardner). At the time of the 1911 Census he was living at 24 Melrose Street, Belfast, with his half-sister and her two children, and his widowed mother, and working as an apprentice baker.
Dixon enlisted in the North Irish Horse at Belfast on 9 August 1917 (No.2657 – later Corps of Hussars No.71944). He was described as being 5' 8¼" tall, with a pale complexion, black hair and blue eyes. He gave his age as 24 (some years less than his true age), his place of birth as Shankill, and his occupation as a baker.
He trained at the regiment's reserve base at Antrim, posted to No.13 Hut, G Squadron.
On 31 January 1918 he married domestic servant Mary Kathleen Smyth in St Nicholas's Church of Ireland Parish Church, Belfast. Their first child, Patrick, was born on Armistice Day later that year.
Dixon was reported to have deserted from the regiment's reserve base at Antrim on 16 February and 11 July 1918. He must have been apprehended or surrendered himself on both occasions, for in Patrick's birth record he was described as being a soldier.
After the war the family lived in Cavan, Hugh working as a baker. Their second child, Hugh, was born there on 14 January 1920. They later returned to Belfast, again residing at 24 Melrose Street, Hugh recorded as a driver.
Three of Hugh and Mary Kathleen's sons served in World War 2. One, Sergeant-Pilot Hugh Dickson, was shot down on 19 July 1940 and remained a prisoner until liberated in 1945.
"Warrant Officer Hugh Dickson, R.A.F., 24 Melrose Street, Belfast, with his father [Hugh] and brother ..." (Belfast Telegraph, 2 May 1945)
This page last updated 15 February 2024.