Dawson James Pte. 4459362
Personnel Entry
Name Dawson James
Army number 4459362
Rank Private.
Decorations None known beyond Service Awards.
Date of birth 20/10/1917, mother's maiden surname Lee-Prudhoe.
Age 79 at the time of his death.
Unit Enlisted in The Durham Light Infantry 17/1/1940. Posted to the 11th Battalion DLI. Served in Northern France with the BEF. Wounded. Taken Prisoner of War 20/5/1940 at Abbeville. Returned to the UK 4/5/1945. Posted ? Battalion DLI. Transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps 2/8/1945, Docs to Hastings 4/9/1945. Relegated to the Class Z Army Reserve 9/6/1946.
Company/Battery Not yet known.
Platoon or other sub-unit Not yet known.
Task or role Not yet ascertained. Probably Rifleman.
Joined Brigade 17 January 1940.
Promotions None known.
Wounded Yes - at the time of his capture he sustained a perforated eardrum, possibly caused by a mortar fragment. He received medical treatment but the injury continued to affect him.
Prisoner of War Yes - PoW Number 2768. Held in Camps XXIB Schubin, Poland June - July 1940, XXID Warthelager July 1940 - January 1941, XXID 2 Kosten January to September 1941, XXID Posen April 1942 - August 1944, 344 Lamsdorf August 1944 - March 1945, 353 Hohenfeld March to April 1945. Warthelager, Kosten and Posen were Work Camps.
Died/Killed in action Death registered May 1997, aged 79, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Home address The General Register of September 1939 shows him working as a Co-op Warehouseman and living with his parents, James and Mary at 23 Holystone Crescent. The MI9 form gives his address as 20, Freeman Road, High Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne. Marriage details have not yet been confirmed.
Source table 11DLI
Private Dawson's MI9 Questionnaire was completed on 6/5/1945 just after his arrival back in the UK and details from the form have been utilised on this Page.
