DIXON, Joseph William, Private, died 04/09/18, aged enlisted Warley, Essex. Service No. 41854, Hertfordshire Regiment, Killed in action, France & Flander. Buried at Ruyaulcourt Pas-de-Calais. Son of Edward and Harriet Dixon of The Row.
A photograph of his grave can be found at the War Graves Photographic Project.
The Battalion diary says:
4/9/1918 [The Second Battles of the Somme 1918 -the Second Battle of Bapaume]. Coys moved forward to attack at 7am. The New Zealand Division who were advancing on our right did not assemble so far east as we did, consequently we were not in touch with them when the battalion advanced at 730am. A report was received that the battalion was held up by machine gun fire. Shortly after this No.3 Coy reported that their patrols had reached the wood in K.31.c and that the Coy was advancing behind its patrols. No.3 Coy reported enemy debussing in HAVRINCOURT and many of them seen working inwards towards wood in Q.2.c. The artillery was turned on to the enemy debussing point with unknown results.
At 1pm a runner from No.2 Coy who had been lost for a considerable time arrived and went back to the Coy and bought them back to Battn H.Q. They had got mixed up in the New Zealand Brigade and were unable to move until darkness fell. No change secured during the night which passed quietly in the forward area but there was a fair amount of shelling around battalion headquarters and behind. Enemy using much gas. Casualties to Battn. were 112 of which 8 were killed, 73 wounded, 1 wounded and missing, 20 missing and 10 sick. Captain A. Foll [Arthur FOLL] Comdg. No.3 Coy was wounded in the back about 7pm and had to be evacuated after done having some excellent work with his Company. The enemy though not in great strength fought stubbornly and proved very difficult to drive off as there was no artillery support of any sort during the attack. [Comment: also wounded was2/Lt Percy James HOLT, who died two days later].
Thanks to Glyn Warwick for providing details from the battalion war diaries. He is written a book about the fallen heroes of Stansted Mountfitchet, “They Sleep In Heroes Graves” ISBN 978-0-9558964-0-8 and Bedfordshire Regiment Website.
The data is the editor’s interpretation of documents from the:
The National Archives London, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ancestry and Find My Past.