The Mystery of the Pastor of the 18th Battalion

In the paper En Route to Flanders Fields there is a quote that is currently a mystery:

Sergeant Dickson of the 18th Battalion Canadian Infantry was, until enlistment, a pastor at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Cleveland City, Ohio and was invited to lead a service from the pulpit in the Grace Hill Wesleyan Church, Folkestone.

Initial research using the 18th Battalion Nominal Roll (1915) lists 3 soldiers with the surname ‘Dickson’. The initial research indicated that a Harry Dickson (53098) was the most likely candidate but his attestation papers do not bear this fact out at this stage. He is listed with a rank of Captain at the LAC web site and the attestation papers have a notation of ‘Lieut’ under his service number.

This is curious as from previous research a commissioned officer attesting at the beginning of the war may have had a peace time rank of Captain would usually keep this level of rank or have it changed to the rank below. In addition, the attestation papers would be filled out on the first page only and the details on the second page would be blank save for the signatures at the bottom of the page. Last, the commissioned officer’s attestation paper would generally not have a service number attached to them.

In the case of Harry Dickson (53080) he has an attestation paper filled out completely which is usually the case when a non-commissioned officer or private soldier was attested in the Canadian Army at this time.

The primary source of the quote (Folkestone Library, Soldier In The Pulpit, Folkestone & Hythe Sandgate Cheriton Herald, 29/5/1915, p6.) could not be found online and no other sources were found relating to this incident at the time of writing this article.

It is hard to reconcile a 29 year old recruit with the notation ‘Lieut’ being giving the rank of Lance-Sergeant but, at the same time, the attestation papers are filled out for him in  manner of a common private soldier.

Regardless, is Lance-Sergeant Dickson the pastor referred to in the quote above?

There are two other soldiers listed in the same nominal roll: Private Dickson, Charles H. Service no. 53908 and Private Dickson, George Service no. 53410. Of note is they are related listing their next of kin as a George Dickson at 306 Eastlet [Easter] Road, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Reviewing the attestation papers of both soldiers clarified some information. Note that the town listed for the next of kin reference is Lieth, Scotland which is close to Edinburgh. In addition, the correct street name is Easter, not Eastlet as it is referred to in the Nominal Roll as Eastlet where as Easter as it is written in the attestation papers of both soldiers.

So now we have 2 mysteries. First, which Dickson of the 18th Battalion is the Pastor listed in the quote? Second, what was the relationship between Privates Charles H. and George Dickson?

The second mystery is relatively easy to solve. The birth dates given for both Dickson soldiers (C.H. Dickson 23/04/1892 and G. Dickson 02/07/1894) indicate they are brothers with the same next of kin (George Dickson, father) at the same address in Scotland. Their service numbers are close together because they both joined on October 23, 1914 in London, Ontario.

As a side note, a casualty search at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site determined they both survived the war.

Ironically, Lance-Sergeant Harry Dickson’s fathers first name was George but the next of kin address is different so there is no direct familial relationship from Harry to George and Charles to confuse things.

What do we know of Harry Dickson from his attestation papers that is relevant to this mystery?

The strongest current evidence is Harry Dickson lists his religious affiliation as Wesleyan. The service was given at Grace Hill Wesleyan Church, Folkestone and with the historical affiliation between the Methodist (United States) and Wesleyan (Canada and United Kingdom) faiths coupled with Harry Dickson’s rank at the time of publication of the 18th Battalion Nominal Roll (1915) as Lance-Sergeant it is with a high degree of probability at this time this is indeed the soldier who was a Pastor from the 18th Battalion that gave the church service at the Grace Hill Wesleyan Church in Folkestone.

Lance-Sergeant Dickson lists his occupation as ‘student’ but given his age at time of attestation as approximately 29 this probably refers to him being a student at a seminary in the process of becoming a Pastor.

It appears that Lance-Sergeant Dickson survived the war. Sadly, the church no longer exists.