Depot
Died in Liverpool Camp
DAWSON Henry
According to newspaper reports of the day, Henry Dawson was 29 years old when he died on 11 January 1915 of heat stroke and heart disease. He had been in training at Liverpool Camp for only a short while when he became ill and died at Liverpool Hospital of heat stroke and heart disease. Henry was given a military funeral and buried in the Liverpool Cemetery. He is commemorated on the Tooraweenah War Memorial, the Gilgandra & District Honor Roll and the Methodist Church Commemorative Plaque Henry was born to Henry and Jane Dawson in 1886, the eldest of three sons, Henry, John and Percy. His mother died at Tooraweenah in 1912 and his father on 31 January 1927 and is buried in the Gilgandra Cemetery. Percy Dawson was born 1893 and died in 1907, aged 14. John Dawson was born in 1888 and served as Corporal John Dawson 2466, in Egypt and Palestine with the 1st Light Horse and the Imperial Camel Corps. He returned to Australia in July 1919.
Newspaper reports
Dubbo Liberal Fri August 20, 1915
A MEMORIAL.
The pathetic story of the death of
the late Henry Dawson is still fresh in
the minds of the people of Tooraweenah.
The deceased soldier was a man of high
integrity, and accordingly was held in
the highest respect by all. To per-
petuate his memory the pupils of the
Tooraweenah Public School recently
erected a brass tablet in the local
church worded as follows:-“Pro Pat-
ria-In memory of Private Henry Daw-
son, aged 28, who died at Liverpool
Camp on January 11th, 1915, while
training for active service.-A Christian
Soldier.” The tablet was draped with
the Union Jack, and at the unveiling
ceremony the teacher. Mr. W. H.
Young, gave a short address, pointing
out that although their friend had not
died in the trenches, he was none the
less a hero. His name was on the roll
of honor, inasmuch as he had given his
life for his country. No man could
give more.
Sources
Trove
NSW Birth Deaths and Marriages
Betty Bartley’s ‘History of Gilgandra Methodism’
AIF Database
National Archives of Australia; John Dawson’s service record
Email sent to NAA as Henry Dawson’s service record not found
Prepared by Margo Piggott 2018