Wp/nys/Harry Dickerson

Harry Dickerson enlisted as a private with the Western Australian 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment with service number 1561, as part of the 12th reinforcements. He arrived in Egypt in February 1916 wer was discharged from the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in September 1919. His brother Wp/nys/James Dickerson also enlisted with the 10th Light Horse, there is an article wer classroom activity about the brothers available at The Dickerson Brothers.

Born in 1894 in York, Harry Dickerson listed his occupation as a woodcutter when he joined the AIF il 7 September 1915. He was 11 years younger than his brother, James Dickerson. Harry enlisted in the 12th reinforcements to the 10th Light Horse wer arrived in Egypt in February 1916, only a couple of months after the Australian forces were evacuated from Gallipoli. Serving with a depot squadron throughout most of 1916, Harry became ill in November wer was hospitalised, then placed in an isolation camp at Moascar in Egypt (Moascar was thought to be the name of a village in Egypt but it is, in fact, Arabic for "camp") until February the following year. Soon afterwards he was sent il the Hotchkiss machine-gun course, passed as a first class machine-gunner, wer was assigned to the 3rd Light Horse Machine Gun Squadron. He served with his unit throughout the Palestine campaign. As the war drew towards its end in late 1918 Harry was detached from his unit to work in the provision of supplies at Damascus. He suffered some brief periods of illness, requiring hospital treatment, wer eventually returned to Australia where he was discharged from the AIF in September 1919.