Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
Elsie Eaton from Manchester has subscribed the following:
My two great uncles are listed on this memorial F.A. Dixon and M.B. Dixon , both my grandmother’s brothers, both killed in the first world war, Frances in 1917 in Belgium and Matthew in 1918 in France near the end of the war. One brother returned home, Robert Dixon.
The brothers were Miners from Windy Nook, and their fathers and grandfather owned some of the Public houses in and around Windy Nook. My husband and I visited both the graves of these two brothers last year, very sobering to see the thousands of young men all in their graves in France.
My grandmother Margaret (known as little Meg), now deceased, never got to see the graves of her beloved brothers and would cry for them often, even at her age of 79 when she died. So we decided to visit them for her and show our respect to them both for giving their young lives to save this country for all of their families to come.
Pauline Priano has submitted the following:-
Francis Albert Dixon was born at Gateshead, County Durham in 1901, one of 5 children, 3 sons and 2 daughter born to Francis Dixon Snr 1867 and his wife Mary Connolly born 1871 as Mary Burnett, both natives of Heworth, near Gateshead. After their marriage in 1889/90 they lived in a four bedroomed house at 2 Church Street occupying 2 rooms, Lawrence and Anne Kelly with their young son James occupying the other 2, Francis (Frank) was employed as a coal miner. Ten years later he was an innkeeper, running his own pub, The Bay Horse Inn at 19 Caldwell Street, later in 1911 employed by publican Mrs White as bar manager and living with his family at 56 Split Crow Lane, Heworth. Only their son Matthew (19) was still living at home, he worked as a putter at the colliery, also living with them was James Connolly a ship yard worker and Sarah Tingley, a servant. Aged 5 years Francis was living with his maternal grandfather Matthew Burnett, a hotel manager and his wife at 24, Stephenson Street, Heworth.
No further record can be found for his grandparents or indeed Francis Albert until on the outbreak of war he left his employment as a miner and enlisted at Newcastle-upon-Tyne as Private 423 assigned to the 18th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, October 14th 1914 and began training at Newcastle, part of which entailed, after the issue of picks and shovels, marching every day to Benton to dig trenches. The first week was very competitive, the expert miners amongst them managed to dig down 4 feet 6 inches in an hour. After spending time at Rothbury and Cramlington, February 8th 1915 it officially became a Pioneer Battalion and in July joined the 34th Division at Kirkby Malzeard. Divisional training continued at Salisbury Plain and Sutton Veny until being taken over by the War Office, November 4th 1915. December 28th preparations were made for embarkation at Southampton and they departed January 7th arriving at Le Havre, on the 8th. Entrained the Division was sent on to the depot at Etaples and underwent a fortnight of route-marching as preparations were already underway for the commencement of the Battles of the Somme. The 34th Division departed from St. Omer for the Somme April 18th 1916. British attacks began July 1st 1916, engaged at the Battle of Albert and Bapaume, capturing La Boisselle, July 4th. “B” Company on the 4th and 5th were given the task of burying the dead, then moved up to Becourt Wood and marched back on the 6th transferring to the 37th Division. July 11th “B” and “D” Companies went into the front line at Bienvillers to find gas cylinders in the trenches ready to be deployed agains the Germans which they were when the wind was favourable on the 14th and 15th. Ordered back on the 18th to Verdrei they were lent to the 63rd Division engaged in reopening old trenches destroyed in earlier bombardments, then on to Villers-Au-Bois working mostly at night as the Germans from certain high points on Vimy Ridge could see all they did and they sustained constant bombardment during the day. They remained on the Somme battlefields for the rest of 1916. January 26h 1917 they were moved to billets just north of Meteren until the 29th when they were moved again by bus to Robecq, from where they marched reaching on February 2nd, St Catherine a suburb of Arras.They participated during the battles of Arras in spring 1917 until they transferred to the Belgian salient in July 1917 for the commencement of the Battle of Passchendaele which lasted until November 10th 1917.
Wounded, exact date unknown, Private Dixon was taken to the Casualty Clearing Stations near Lijssenthoek. Private 423 Francis Alfred Dixon Northumberland Fusiliers died of wounds sustained, September 4th 1917 and was interred at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, 12 kilometres west of Ypres, Belgium, grave XVIII. H. 9. He was 22 years old and single.
His mother Mary as his sole beneficiary received all monies due to him, a pension and his awards of the British War Medal and Victory Medal sent to her at Windy Nook, Gateshead, County Durham.
Little over a year later the family received news of the death of Francis’s elder brother Matthew Burnett Dixon serving as Private 403, 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, leaving a wife Frances Ellen and three children. Recipient of the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
Their eldest brother Richard Dixon, born 1890 at Heworth, also served, details unknown, however he did survive the conflict.
In Gods safe keeping. Rest In Peace.
Francis Albert Dixon is remembered at Felling on F32.06 and F32.23 at Heworth on H92.03, H92.04 and H92.07 at Windy Nook on W95.01, W95.02 and W95.16, and in the Battalion History
