From stowaway to hero
CAREER soldier Dicky Dewson was already a decorated war veteran when he enlisted for active service in World War I.
Born in England, he was a soldier of the British Army when he stowed away on a ship bound for the Boer War in South Africa.
Only 18, he was not old enough to serve overseas but was ultimately awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
By the start of World War I, he was living in Davey St, Hobart, with his wife, Margaret, and was an officer with the Australian Army Services Corps.
Keen to embark on active service once again, he went to Sydney to volunteer in August 1914.
Two months later he sailed to war as a warrant officer.
He saw action at Gallipoli, where he received a bullet wound to the left knee that resulted in him returning home in December 1915.
He left again in June 1916 as a captain and adjutant with the Army Service Corps.
In August 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in personally taking a convoy of ammunition to its destination under exceptionally difficult circumstances.
The citation explained that despite intense gas shelling and having to deal with an almost impassable river, trenches, wire, and other obstacles, he brought his convoy through with the greatest skill and initiative, setting a splendid example to his men.
But Dicky Dewson wasn’t without his faults, and he faced a court martial six months after being honoured for his gallantry. He was found guilty of 14 charges relating to irregularities in soldiers’ paybooks and acquitted of 14 other charges, relating to events in November 1916.
Three months after being court-martialled, Dicky Dewson was killed in action in France on May 27, 1918, and was buried in the Longueau British Cemetery.
Captain Richard William Dewson is remembered at tree 404 on the Soldiers’ Memorial Avenue.