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Trooper John Russell Dawson
Description
TitleTrooper John Russell DawsonSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionJohn was born 6th July 1888 in Christchurch, son of William and Margaret Dawson, Dunsandel. Before enlistment he was a farm labourer for G. Cummings in Hawkes Bay. He was 5ft 9in tall with a fair complexion, grey eyes and fair hair.
John enlisted on 20 August 1914 when he was living at Bells Boarding House in Bealey Ave. He was assigned to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and embarked 16 October 1914 with the Main Body, bound for Suez. He disembarked in Egypt at Alexandria on 3 December 1914 and later sailed to Gallipoli. He was wounded on June 12th 1915 and after a period of recovery in St Andrews Hospital, Malta was sent back to the front on arriving on 14 Aug 1915. During 25 August the Canterbury and Otago Mounted returned to the trenches of Hill 60. An attack was planned on 27 August at 5pm to consolidate positions on Hill 60 and the Canterbury Mounted were in the first wave. On the 19 September he was declared to be missing believed killed on the 28th August, aged 27. A court of enquiry in January 1916 confirmed him believed dead. As his body was not recovered or identified his name is recorded on the Hill 60 Memorial to the Missing, Gallipoli. In New Zealand John is remembered on the Irwell Plaque of the Ellesmere County War Memorial.
At the beginning of August 1915, Hill 60, which commanded the shore ward communications between the forces at Anzac and Suvla, was in Turkish hands. On 22 August, it was attacked from Anzac by the Canterbury and Otago Mounted Rifles, it was partly captured on 27-29 August. The Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial is one of four memorials erected to commemorate New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli Peninsula and and whose graves are not known. This memorial relates to the actions at Hill 60. It bears more than 180 names. Hill 60 Cemetery lies among the trenches of the actions of Hill 60. It was made after those engagements, and enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from Norfolk Trench cemetery and from the battlefield. There are 788 burials and commemorations in the cemetery. 712 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 34 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.First NameJohn RussellLast NameDawsonFamilySingleSon of William and Margaret Dawson, DunsandelDate of Birth6 July 1888Place of BirthChristchurchDate of Death28 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoliCause of DeathKilled in action Age at Death27
John enlisted on 20 August 1914 when he was living at Bells Boarding House in Bealey Ave. He was assigned to the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and embarked 16 October 1914 with the Main Body, bound for Suez. He disembarked in Egypt at Alexandria on 3 December 1914 and later sailed to Gallipoli. He was wounded on June 12th 1915 and after a period of recovery in St Andrews Hospital, Malta was sent back to the front on arriving on 14 Aug 1915. During 25 August the Canterbury and Otago Mounted returned to the trenches of Hill 60. An attack was planned on 27 August at 5pm to consolidate positions on Hill 60 and the Canterbury Mounted were in the first wave. On the 19 September he was declared to be missing believed killed on the 28th August, aged 27. A court of enquiry in January 1916 confirmed him believed dead. As his body was not recovered or identified his name is recorded on the Hill 60 Memorial to the Missing, Gallipoli. In New Zealand John is remembered on the Irwell Plaque of the Ellesmere County War Memorial.
At the beginning of August 1915, Hill 60, which commanded the shore ward communications between the forces at Anzac and Suvla, was in Turkish hands. On 22 August, it was attacked from Anzac by the Canterbury and Otago Mounted Rifles, it was partly captured on 27-29 August. The Hill 60 (New Zealand) Memorial is one of four memorials erected to commemorate New Zealand soldiers who died on the Gallipoli Peninsula and and whose graves are not known. This memorial relates to the actions at Hill 60. It bears more than 180 names. Hill 60 Cemetery lies among the trenches of the actions of Hill 60. It was made after those engagements, and enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from Norfolk Trench cemetery and from the battlefield. There are 788 burials and commemorations in the cemetery. 712 of the burials are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 34 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.First NameJohn RussellLast NameDawsonFamilySingleSon of William and Margaret Dawson, DunsandelDate of Birth6 July 1888Place of BirthChristchurchDate of Death28 August 1915Place of DeathGallipoliCause of DeathKilled in action Age at Death27
Connections
CollectionSoldiers of Selwyn World War OneImageLeeston and Ellesmere County War MemorialMore InformationAuckland War Memorial Cenotaph
Military Service
Memorial or CemeteryHill 60 Memorial to the MissingEllesmere County War MemorialOccupation before EnlistingFarm labourer Regiment or ServiceCanterbury Mounted RiflesEnlistment Details20th August 1914Service Number5/322A Embarkation16th October 1914CountryNew Zealand
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. Seaton
Trooper John Russell Dawson. Selwyn Stories, accessed 15/06/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/240