South Warwickshire Family History Society War Memorial Transcription Project
The Fallen Men of South Warwickshire - World War One |
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Military History |
| Theatre of War in Which Died | Campaign Medals | Commonwealth War Grave or Memorial |
|---|---|---|
| France & Flanders | 1914-15 Star, British War & Victory Medals | Leamington (Whitnash Road) Cemetery |
| First Arrived in Theatre | Bravery & Conduct Medals | SWFHS Area Memorials |
| 27 April 1917 in France | ~ | Leamington Spa War Memorial |
| Action, Battle or Other Reason Died | Date and Place Enlisted | Other War Memorials |
| Died of septic poisoning of sharpnel wound | August 1914 in Birmingham | Edgbaston, St. George |
| Place of Death | Previous Regiments or Units | |
| 4th General Hospital, Stob Hill, Glasgow | ~ | |
Circumstances of Death
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Wounded on May 11th 1915 Benjamin died of septic poisoning of a sharpnel wound which caused a badly fractured leg, and was incurred whilst assisting a wounded officer near Ypres. The following obituaries appeared in the Birmingham Post on Friday May 28th 1915 and Coleshill Chronicle on Saturday 29th May 1915 respectively. MORTALLY WOUNDED WHILST ASSISTING WOUNDED OFFICER Lance-Corporal Benjamin Dawkes, nephew of Mr. Warner Simpson, B.A of 33 Sherbourne Place, Leamington Headmaster of Leicester Boys School [Leamington] has died of wounds at the 4th General Hospital, Glasgow, at eighteen years of age. He was apprenticed to Messrs Bellis & Morcom, electrical engineers, Birmingham and enlisted in August in the King's Royal Rifles. Dawkes went to the front in April and on May 11 at Ypres was assisting a wounded officer to the dressing station when he was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. He was operated upon in Boulogne and again at Glasgow but septic poisoning set in, and he died this week. Coleshill Chronicle on Saturday 29th May 1915 Lance-Corporal Benjamin Dawkes, nephew and adopted son of Mrs Warner Simpson of Sherbourne Terrace, Leamington has died in a Glasgow Hospital from Septic Poisoning. He joined the King's Royal Rifles last August and was wounded in the leg on May 11th. He was only 18 years old. |
| Personal & Family History |
| Birth Date/Place | Baptism Date/Place |
|---|---|
| Oct Qtr 1896 in Harbourne | 2 Apr 1897 at Harbourne St. Peter |
| Parents Names | Abode |
| Charles and Amy Ann Dawkes | Both deceased circa 1900 |
| Uncle/Aunt & Adoptive Parents | Children |
| Warner and Mary Louisa Simpson | 33 Sherbourne Place, Clarendon Street, Leamington |
| Schools | Colleges |
| Infant Orphan Asylum, Wanstead, Essex | ~ |
| Address History | Employment History |
| 1897 - Harbourne, Birmingham | 1911 - School |
| 1901 - Infant Orphan Asylum, Wanstead, Essex | 1914 - Apprenticed to Bellis & Morcom, Birmingham |
| 1911 - Infant Orphan Asylum, Wanstead, Essex | |
| 1914 - Birmingham | |
- In the 1911 census Benjamin's place of birth is listed as Leamington
- We have not found any evidence that Benjamin ever lived with his adoptive parents and in 1914 he was working in Birmingham and his
name is recorded on a war memorial in Edgbaston
