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Remembrance
- The Yorkshire Regiment, First World War Captain Francis DODGSON Close window to return to main page |
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The thumnail photo photo of Captain Dodgson has been provided
by Charles Fair <charles.fair66@gmail.com>, to whom we are very grateful.
Select the thumbnail image above for a larger image which opens in a new window.
Below is a photo of Captain Francis Dodgson from the Marlborough
College Roll of Honour.
Captain Francis DODGSON.
8th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Henley F. Dodgson, of Bovingdon,
Herts. Educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge. Killed
10 July 1916. Aged 27.
Buried SERRE ROAD CEMETERY No.2.
(Was originally commemorated on the THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, - an example of a body
being recovered and identified after the name was put on a memorial as having
no known grave.)
Also commemorated on the Trinity College, Cambridge, War Memorial.
The following information is taken from the Marlborough
College Roll of Honour;-
"Son of H F Dodgson Esq. of Frognal Rise, Hampstead, was born on May
10th 1889 and was at Marlborough College (B.3) from 1904 to 1907. He was in
the Gym VIII of 1907. He went to Trinity College Cambridge where he took his
B.A. in 1911. He volunteered for service with the 8th Battalion Yorkshire
Regiment. He was promoted Captain in 1916. He was killed in action leading
his Company at the third and successful attack on Contalmaison. July 11th
1916."
The following biographical information is taken from Robert Coulson's "Biographies
of Yorkshire Regiment Officers";-
"Francis Dodgson was born in Sheffield in 1890 (sic) and was educated
at Marlborough College followed by Trinity College Cambridge which he entered
in 1908.
An original territorial officer of the 8th Battalion he is listed as a Lieutenant
with “C” company in September of 1914. He arrived with the battalion
in France on August 26th 1915 at Boulogne.
They were first in the trenches at Bois Grenier south of Armentieres in October
of 1915 and in the spring of 1916 were fighting at Gouay Servins and in the
Angres sector. They moved down to prepare for the Somme offensive in late
June.
Francis Dodgson and his battalion were not involved on the first day of the
Somme battle but came into the line for an attack on Horseshoe Trench on July
5th 1916.
This attack went in at 6-00 p.m and by later in the evening the trench was
secured.
July 8th found them in trenches in front of Becourt Wood where the roof of
the battalion HQ was blown in causing casualties.
Contalmaison village was the next objective and Captain Dodgson and his men
assembled in Horseshoe Trench late morning on July 10th.
The advance towards Contalmaison began at 4-50 p.m. on July 10th when the
8th Battalion scrambled out of Horseshoe Trench. Five hundred yards from the
village heavy machine gun and rifle fire from the front and left flank and
then unexpected fire from the rear caused many casualties among the Yorkshires.
Late in the evening the village of Contalmaison did fall to the British troops.
Captain Francis Dodgson was killed in this action on July 10th 1916 at the
age of 27, just weeks before his planned wedding to Miss Marjorie Secretan.
Francis Dodgson is buried in Serre Road No2 Cemetery, the largest on the Somme.
He is also remembered on Bovingdon
War Memorial and in the
local church are plaques to both him and his brother Guy who died in 1918
with the Hertfordshire Regiment. A third brother Phillip also fought and survived
the war.
Today just to the west of Contalmaison village stands a private memorial to
Captain Dodgson (erected by his mother) and interestingly his original wooden
grave marker can be seen at Salisbury Cathedral.
A great deal of information on the life of Captain Francis Dodgson, and his
career with the 8th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, is told in "Marjorie's
War" by Reginald and Charles Fair, published by Menin House and
available from Amazon
Books.
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