#England #Kent #Military
George1 was the eldest of eight children born to Edwin1 DIXON (1857 – 1939), a Shepherd, and Eliza1 GOODBEN (c1859 – 1939).
Edwin1’s family have been around the East Langdon area for a few generations. Eliza1’s parents moved there from Ringwould and the Elham area before she was born. She is registered as I think GOODBOURN for birth and GOODBEN for marriage but her father is the more usual GOODBAN. Edwin1 and Eliza1 married in Q4 1878 in Dover District when both in their early 20s.
George had just one brother in Edward DIXON (1883 – 1968). He married and stayed local to have his family.
He also had six sisters – Eliza2 Jane DIXON (1880 – 1959), Blanche Elizabeth DIXON (1884 – 1902), Amy Ella DIXON (1886 – 1929), Harriett DIXON (1889 – 1980), Fanny DIXON (1891 – 1981) and Hilda DIXON (1899 – 1985). All of the girls, apart from Blanche, married and had offspring but sadly at least two lost infants.
In the 1871 Census George1’s father was working as a Farm Servant and living in East Langdon. He is just 13 but presumably working with his father Robert DIXON (1806 – 1881) an Agricultural Labourer. His future wife Eliza1 can’t be too far away since at 12 she is living with her family in the first property listed for Martin. Her father Thomas GOODBAN (1821 – 1885) is also an Agricultural Labourer.
Edwin1 and Eliza1 married towards the end of 1878 and George came along a few months later. He was apparently born on 12 Jun 1879 in Northbourne. By the time of the 1881 Census he had a 4 month old sister. The family were living at Eythorne Green.
Five more siblings came along over the next decade. The 1891 Census finds them at Malmains Farm in Waldershare. His father Edwin1 is the Shepherd. George is working as a Farm Servant at just 11 years old. Presumably the family continued working and living locally and he gained one more sister in 1899 so there was an age gap of almost 20 years between them.
George decided to join the military and attested into the Army at Dover on 13 Dec 1900 with ID T17401. In the 1901 Census he is a 20-year-old soldier at Woolwich Barracks. I think he became a Driver in A S Corps. On 12 December 1903 transferred into Reserves.
He has then returned to service during the 1914 – 1918 War and continued until 31 March 1920. He was working as Farm Labourer in Chartham in 1914 before leaving for France on 22 August 1914. He returned on 11 May 1918 and transferred into Reserves again on 5 March 1919.
Although not completely legible in some places his military file is fairly full. He was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.
Not sure how George1 and his wife Eliza3 Ann TUPPER (1886 – 1971) met. In 1901 Census, aged 15, is a servant for the Jones family at 56 Broadmead Road, Folkestone. Her birth location given as Everden which I think comes under Alkham.
However, they must have come across each other somewhere between Folkestone and Dover. They married Q4 1904 in Elham District. Sadly, their first child Dorothy had birth registered Q1 1905 and death Q2 1905. They continued to have more children and the next one Edwin2 DIXON (1906 – 1968) was born on 12 July 1906.
They had another three children before George1 went abroad to fight. Fanny Edith DIXON (1909 – 1995), George2 Dixon (1911 – 1988) and Hilda DIXON (1914 – 1971). Around the time of 1911 Census the family were living at Water Farm Cottage, Sellindge and George1 working as a Waggoner. It does appear they moved with the work as they are settled about 13 miles away in Chartham by the beginning of 1914.
Not sure what Eliza3 did whilst George1 was away apart from bring up the children but on his return, they had 5 more offspring. The eldest ones had possibly moved away as there is almost a 20-year gap between the first and last.
First Josephine DIXON (1920 – 2008), then Constance K DIXON (1923 – 1923) who didn’t survive as her death was registered in the same quarter as birth, Robert DIXON (1924 – 1944), Geoffrey Thomas DIXON (1927 – 2002) and James Peter DIXON (1930 – 2020).
His son Edwin2 whilst living in Nottinghamshire got married in 1930. Then daughter Fanny 1931 in Chartham. The first grandchild came along in 1936 but she was in Nottinghamshire. Hilda married in the summer of 1937 with it registered in Bridge District.
The next available record for George1 is the 1939 Register. Although 60 he is still working and a Horseman on Farm and they are living at 1 Nickle Bank, Chartham. If they had stayed in the same property since circa 1914 is unlikely but not impossible.
Some of the records are still officially closed but they do have his father Edwin1 living there as an Old Age Pensioner. It would appear that his mother had died a couple of years earlier at the age of 78.
There are eight in the household and so the original thought would be that 5 of their 8 living children are still there as well however I do not believe this is the case based on the document detail.
George2 married a local girl in 1940. George1’s father then passed away Q1 1941 with the death being registered in Elham District. His daughter Josephine married Q3 1941 in Bridge District. Other grandchildren were born in 1938, 1940 and 1942.
George1’s son Robert was away fighting in World War II and sadly killed on 21 August 1944 in a plane crash over Austria. He was just 20 years old. So, at this time he’d outlived 3 of his 10 children and then lost a son-in-law as well.
His youngest sons then got married – Geoffrey married in 1950 and then James Q1 1952. There were a couple more Grandchildren born before George1 died on 24 December 1952. Apparently, he died at home with the address given as 2 Nicklebank, Chartham.
Eliza3 lived almost another 20 years and her death was registered in Q2 1971 in Bridge, Kent whilst daughter Hilda’s was registered just before in Q1 1971 Nuneaton, Warwickshire. She would however have had majority of the family living nearby it seems. In the end they seem to have had at least 16 Grandchildren from the seven children that survived and married.
George Robert DIXON was the husband of a 2C 3R to me but apparently there are 21 relationships between us in total – so far!! I have several DNA matches on Ancestry with descendants of the family.
The nearest shared ancestors to his spouse Eliza Ann TUPPER are my 4x Great Grandparents Jesse TUPPER (1811 – 1894) and Elizabeth Betsy DANIELS (1811 – 1893).
Footnotes –
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