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William Dawson

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H.M.H.S. Rohilla, images courtesy of Wikipedia

Military Information

  • Date of enlistment:
  • Place of enlistment:
  • Service no:
  • Rank: Fireman and Trimmer
  • Service Occupation:
  • Awards:
  • Regiment/Service: H.M.H.S. Rohilla
  • Unit/Ship: Mercantile Marine
  • Place of Death:
  • Age at Death: 44
  • Date of Death: 30/10/1914
  • Burial Country:
  • Cemetery:
  • Grave/Mem Ref no:

Personal Information

  • Date of Birth:
  • Place of Birth:
  • Address: 29 Dalgleish Street, Tayport.
  • Occupation:
  • Mother:

    Mrs Joanna Dawson of 29 Dalgleish Street, Tayport.

  • Father:

    Mr William Dawson of 29 Dalgleish Street, Tayport.

  • Siblings:
  • Spouse:
  • Children:

More about William Dawson

William Dawson was the son of Mr William and Mrs Joanna Dawson of 29 Dalgleish Street, Tayport. The Hospital Ship Rohilla was on passage from Scapa Flow to Dunkirk and, earlier had put into Aberdeen to land Midshipman Prince Albert, the future King George VI, for an operation to remove his appendix. It is reported that she called at South Queensferry and then Tynemouth and was wrecked off Whitby on the night of 30 October 1914. Despite desperate efforts from those ashore and lifeboat crews the ship broke up and, of the 229 men and women onboard, only 146 were saved. Five local men were lost. William Dawson is not commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial or by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, probably because the loss was accidental and not caused by enemy action. He is listed on the Whitby Rohilla Memorial. The Dundee Royal Naval Reserve records show that he applied to join RNR in April 1914 but was rejected because of skin disease. An In Memoriam note was made in the Peoples Journal in February 1917.

Information supplied by Iain Stewart and Iain Birnie, memorial photo courtesy of Sambt, findagrave.com

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