Looking for information on grandfather George William Dickinson possibly No.6 Commando

I'm looking for help to find out any information I can about my grandfather George William Dickinson, who I believe served with No.6 Commando having checked the nominal role. He enlisted into the Army at 17 in 1937 but his service record in the book I have matches that of the regiment he was originally in and appears to make no reference to service with the Army Commandos.

I have an image of him, and others, which shows him on the top of Ben Nevis in March 1942 during his training. I have service books in my possession including an old comrades association one which gives his number as 7520 dated 1947 and has on the back page some sort of code.

It seems that he may have been wounded in France sometime in 1944 but this isn't clear.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Ben Nevis Mar 1942 on back of original.

Hi si73 (presumably Simon?),

Thanks for your post and welcome to the CVA Website & Forums.
At the moment I can't pinpoint you grandfather, G W Dickinson, to any particular Commando Unit, I think you already know we have a few 'Dickinsons' on the various nominal rolls.
However, it seems you do have a fair bit of supporting evidence which may help - so if I can elicit a bit more information from you that might help.

Can you tell me:
a. His parent regiment?
b. His rank & service number?
c. Where he came from?

You mention service books and, in particular, an 'Old Comrades Association' one - could you give us the full title of this booklet please, and the 'code' on the back page...
Do you have any other photos of him in uniform - particularly studio portraits?

Although you have service & pay books, I don't think you have his Army service record - this is a document consisting of several pages of foolscap ( roughly A4) and larger sheets which detail his service from enlistment to demob.
Service records include training, postings, convertion to commando, embarkation for overseas, disembarkation, theatres of operations, woundings, hospitalisations, promotions (and demotions), disciplinaries, medal entitlement etc.
Your family can apply to the MoD for a scan of the original handwritten copy of these records - this link will give you further information of how to do that:

http://forum.commandoveterans.org/cdoForum/posts/list/179.page

The photo of your father and his comrades on top of a snowy Ben Nevis could be a fantastic piece of commando history and it may be possible to recognise other faces or pick up some other clue from the photo - but, unfortunately, the resolution is quite poor. Is it possible to get a scan of the photo?

Sorry for all these questions but if you can provide most of the answers it will help speed up our research...

Thanks,

Nick

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 11/12/2017 14:23:10

Nick,
4343934 DICKINSON G. W. Lance Corporal East Yorkshire Regiment & 6 Commando
Wounded in action in North Africa 6th January 1943

He was also wounded serving with 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, as part of the B.E.F. in France on the 18th May 1940
The surname has been misspelt as DICKENSON, and only one initial.
Guy

Many thanks Guy,
Once again brilliant research.

No.6 Commando Nominal Roll has now been amended with this information.
http://www.commandoveterans.org/6CommandoNomRollD-H

Would definitely like a hi-res copy of the Ben Nevis photo now please... :D

Regards,
Nick

Here is the service doc I have. I will try and get a scan of the Ben Nevis picture tonight or tomorrow as my sister has the original. I'll also take try and add other images as and when.

Thank you so much for the information so far provided. Blown away by this.

I have heard apocryphal stories from my father regarding my grandfather?s service including one that stood out.
Apparently when he was in N.Africa the position his unit was occupying was under daily attack from dive bombers despite camouflage and moving positions regularly. The O.C sent out a patrol to one of the high points nearby (a djebel?) including my grandfather. From there they could see that a local Arab farmer was putting stones in a field that was giving away their position. When they went to the farmhouse the farmer fired on them and they returned fire, killing him. When they searched him and his house they found a large amount of money/gold and a very fine pistol, either with a pearl handle or engraving on it, which my grandfather 'liberated'. Unfortunately a few days later one of the officers had heard about my grandfathers 'find' and made him hand the pistol over, something which he wasn't pleased about, as the officer kept the weapon as his own sidearm. As I say it seems a very memorable story so hoped it might ring bells.

The service book you attached won't show his service in the Commandos as they were Irregular Units.
As with all Army commandos, your grandfather was only 'on loan' to the Commandos and would have worn the East Yorks Regt. cap badge in his green beret.

Nick

The code in the back of the Association book reads;

A B C D E F G H I -
21 S 23 T 24 U 25 U V 42

J K L M N O P Q R -
31 X 32 Y 34 Z 45 46 47 48

It is Old Comrades Association of the Army Commandos.

The code hasn't transferred properly. 21 is below A, S below B and so on up to 42 below -. I'll grab images to post for all of these.

The inside rear cover of George Dickenson's Commando Association Membership Book has a code in it - any budding code crackers out there?

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 31/10/2018 13:06:21

Picture of the man himself in his East Yorks Rifles uniform. I presume he'd have been called Geordie given his upbringing in the North East.

Hi,
Great photo, have you sent away for your grandfather's service records yet?
I would recommend that you do - they will tell you loads about his service ...

Nick

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 31/10/2018 16:22:56

NIC wrote:
Hi,
Great photo, have you sent away for your grandfather's service records yet?
I would recommend that you do - they will tell you loads about his service ...

Nick

Think I'll do that this week. Been busy being a dad again. :shock:

Would it be too much to ask for this picture to be added to the No.6 Commando gallery please?

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 31/10/2018 17:59:56

I have now added the image of LCpl Dickinson with some detail to the No. 6 Commando gallery and it is currently located on page 1 of that gallery. Here is a direct link to the image.

Gallery entry for George William Dickinson.

Would you be able to provide me with the following information so as I could add it to the detail:

1. Your full name for the credit.
2. The dates of birth and death of your Grandfather.

Thanks

In relation to the date of his wounding - two days before, on the 4th January 1943, Operations commenced in the Djebel Azzag (Sedjenane) area involving No 6 Commando and other units.

Pete wrote:I have now added the image of LCpl Dickinson with some detail to the No. 6 Commando gallery and it is currently located on page 1 of that gallery. Here is a direct link to the image.

Gallery entry for George William Dickinson.

Would you be able to provide me with the following information so as I could add it to the detail:

1. Your full name for the credit.
2. The dates of birth and death of your Grandfather.

Thanks

In relation to the date of his wounding - two days before, on the 4th January 1943, Operations commenced in the Djebel Azzag (Sedjenane) area involving No 6 Commando and other units.

Thank you so much. My father would have been over the moon to see his dad recognised like this. I'm definately sending off for his service documents now. His date of birth was 21.07.1920 in Sunderland, Co.Durham. I have his death certificate at home and will forward that information to you asap.