Description
India General Service Medal 1935, 2 bars, North West Frontier 1936-37, North West Frontier 1937-39, 4449118 Pte Thomas Dixon, 2nd Bn Green Howards, Wounded in Action with the South Lancs on 11th April 1945 in Germany.
Officially impressed: “4449118 Pte T. Dixon. Green Howards.”
Confirmed on the medal roll for the medal and both clasps.
Pte Dixon was wounded in action in Germany whilst serving with the 1st Bn South Lancashire Regiment on 11th April 1945, less than a month from the end of the war.
Before the outbreak of World War 2, the 2nd Battalion of the Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regiment”, aka the Yorkshire Regiment, were posted to the North West Frontier of India, in what is now part of Pakistan.
They served there for about 3 years, during this they first earned the IGS Medal with bar 1936-7, followed by further service earning the extra 1937-9 clasp.
During World War 2, Pte Dixon had joined the 1st Bn South Lancashire Regiment, retaining his old service number.
The 1st South Lancs spent most of the War at home since they were brought home and rescued from Dunkirk back in 1940.
However they got their chance to get back to the war front when they joined the 8th Infantry Brigade, and were attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, known by their nickname “Monty’s Ironsides”.
With this division, the 1st South Lancs landed at Sword Beach on D-Day, 6th June 1944, and fought their way through Normandy, the Netherlands and on to the Invasion of Germany.
The men landed by amphibious crafts and were part of the first line of assault, as one of the two leading assault battalions of the 3rd Division.
They landed on Queen White Beach at 7.20am and despite losing their Commanding Officer as well as over 100 casualties, made good progress through the well prepared German beach defences and pressing insland to capture Hermanville by 9am.
Over the next2 days, the South Lancs captured the villages of Plumetot, Cresserons and La Deliverande, the enemy strong point known as “Trout”, as well as securing the famous Pegasus Bridge across the Orne.
They proceeded through the Bocage at Caen, taking part then in Operation Goodwood and the fighting at Falaise in August.
Following on to the Netherlands and their service after Operation Market Garden, they fought at Overloon where the South Lancs took part in some of the bitterest fighting of the campaign around Overloon and Venraij from 12-18th October.
Moving on to the Invasion of Germany, the South Lancs crossed the Maas into Germany and began to clear the enemy from between the river and the Rhine.
The South Lancs had a grim struggle in the Hochwald near Goch, when they fought their way slowly forward against stubborn opposition and took many casualties.
At the end of March 1945 the Lancs crossed the Rhine and began the final advance across the North German Plain.
Particularly on the 5th April around the time of his wounding in action, the South Lancs were engaged at Lingen on the Dortumund-Ems Canal mounting a successful attack at Delmenhorst during the operation to capture Bremen, which fell on 26th April.
During the fighting, Pte Dixon was wounded in action on 11th April 1945 in Germany.
After a year of hard fighting through 3 countries, the war came to an end less than a month later on 8th May 1945, marking “VE Day”.
