MASONIC HERO- LT.
COL. JHS DIMMER, VC, MC
W/BRO. W.T. Brown, MBE, Kipling Newporton
315, Chichester 313 and Lodge of Research 200
INTRODUCTION
This paper illustrates the short but very
heroic life of an Englishman who was an Irish Mason and Hero of the First World
War. Jack Dimmer's early life, his military and importantly his Masonic career
is highlighted, as is his most heroic conduct, which earned both the Victoria and
Military Crosses. Sadly Jack Dimmer was to be killed within months of the end
of the First World War and so passed into history the life of an exceptional
Mason. The
Victoria Cross was instituted by Queen Victoria
on 29th January
1856 and made retrospective to 1854 in order to include actions
during the Crimean War. To date there have been 355 awards of the Victoria
Cross. This total includes three bars to the Victoria Cross and the award to
the American Unknown Warrior made in 1921. There are currently (2006) 12 living
holders of the award. The first VC was won by Rear Admiral Charles Lucas VC born
at Drumagole, Co
Armagh, Northern Ireland,
on 19 February 1834.
EARLY LIFE
JHS
Dimmer known by his family as Jack, was one of four sons of John Dimmer, a
railway worker. He was born at 37
Gloster St South Lambeth on 9th Oct 1883 and spent his
boyhood in Wimbledon living at No 55a Griffith's
Road, now a block of flats. He attended the local elementary school in Melrose Rd, Merton,
Surrey. At the age of 13 with the aid of a
scholarship he went to Rutlish
Science School,
also in Merton. Many years later a future British Prime Minister, John Major
was also to attend Rutlish
School. When Dimmer left
school at the age of fifteen he worked briefly in an Engineer’s Office, but had
a hankering for the military life.
MILITARY
SERVICE
Jack Dimmer was initially
to serve with the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. In 1900-1 he joined the 1st Cadet
Battalion of the KRRC Militia and was made a Sergeant when still only seventeen
years old. In 1902 he joined the regular battalion of the KRRC and won prizes
for drill and shooting and for other military work. He was made a Lance
Corporal. In the autumn of that year he joined the 4th Battalion in South Africa
where he served until 1904. He became a Corporal following reconnaissance work
in the Orange River Colony. Later he was promoted to Lance-Sergeant for
scouting and signalling in the Mounted Infantry serving at one time on
Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. General Sir Ian Hamilton commended him for
military sketching and for some time he served as an instructor to NCOs.
In
1906 at his own expense, he visited Belgium
and Germany
to study their military systems. The following year he carried out some
intelligence work and was thanked by the Army Council for this. He attended the
School of Signalling and passed out the top of his
class subsequently becoming a Sergeant Instructor. His duties and
responsibilities at this time seemed to be those more associated with the rank
of a commissioned officer. At the end of 1906 he attended an officers
examination and passed with high marks. In 1907 he obtained a first class Army School
certificate but it was not until January 1908 that he was finally recommended
for a commission by Lord Methuen. This delay may have been caused by his
background. The KRRC was second only to the Guards in terms of
class-consciousness. During the next few years Dimmer did ‘special work’ in Africa serving with black troops. He came home on leave
on Ist May 1914 and was called up over the August Bank holiday, on the outbreak
of the First World War.
In 1914 he had twelve years service, six as an
officer, was already 31 years of age and was to see more active military
service in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps from which he would be attached to other
regiments as the conflict progressed. He joined the Kings Royal Rifle Corps Reg No. 329 and was gazetted
on 19th November.The Regiment was raised in
1755 as the 62nd or Royal American Regiment and became the 60th Foot in 1757.
The regiment served with distinction in the Seven Years War 1756-63, the
Napoleonic and Peninsular Wars 1803-1814, the Second Sikh War 1848-49, the
Eight Kaffir War 1851-53, the Indian Mutiny 1857-58, the China, Zulu and Basuto
Wars 1857-79, the Afghan and Sudan Wars 1878-1884, the Boer War 1899-1902 and
both World Wars. Twenty members of the Regiment won the highest decoration for
valor the Victoria Cross. The regimental museum is located at Winchester.
THE REGIMENTAL BADGE THE KINGS COLOURS
The West African Regiment was raised in 1889 at Sierra Leone in West Africa specifically for the
defence of the major naval base at Freetown.
Most of the Regiment's service was understandably in West
Africa. The regiment served with great distinction at Sierra Leone 1898, Ashanti
1900, and Duala in the Cameroons 1914-16.They
must have cut quite a dash in their uniforms which consisted of khaki tunic,
shorts and puttees; red cummerbund and the headdress of red fez with black
tassel. The regiment was disbanded on 1" August 1928.
The Royal Berkshire
Regiment was raised in 1744 as the 49th Foot and 66th Foot in 1758. The two
regiments became the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Berkshire Regiment in 1881
and got the Royal prefix in 1885. The Regiment served in the various campaigns
like the KRRC with the exception that they also included the War of American
Independence, The French Revolutionary War and the Crimean War. Six members of
the regiment won the VC. In 1959 the regiment was amalgamated with the
Wiltshire Regiment to form the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment. The
regimental museum is located in Salisbury,
Wiltshire.
JOHN
DIMMER IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
1st Division - On the outbreak of war the units
that made up this division were the 1st (Guards), 2nd and 3rd Brigades. The
Guards brigade only had two guards units in it and the infantry units that made
up the rest of the division were drawn from a wide variety of regiments. Units
from the division began landing in France
around 12th August 1914,
but did not take part in the fighting for Mons.
However, during the Retreat From Mons, our own 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers
fought a famous and gallant action at Etreux on 27th August, when this
battalion was all but wiped out in holding up a German force many times its
size. One of the few divisions to actually fight in the Battle
of the Marne, the 2nd Royal Sussex and 1st
Loyals engaged the Germans at Priez. Following fighting on the Aisne in
September, the division moved to Flanders for First Ypres, and was heavily
involved in the Battle of Langemarck, at Gheluvelt (where the South Wales
Borderers fought a famous action at the Chateau) and at Nonne Boschen during
October/November. At the end of 1914, 1st Division moved down to the La Bassee
front and took over the trenches at the Cuinchy Brickstacks
As the Prussian Guard advanced in massed formation
from the cover of a wood at Klein Zillebeke on 12th November 1914, the British
machine-guns mowed them down with a storm of bullets. But the gun, which
Lieutenant John Henry Stephen Dimmer, of 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifle
Corps, was working, suddenly jammed. With great bravery he climbed onto the
emplacement to put it in order, and while doing so a rifle bullet struck him in
the jaw. He continued, however, to work the gun until it jammed once more, and
while putting it in order he was hit in the shoulder. After again getting the
gun to work, three shrapnel bullets struck his injured shoulder, but he most
gallantly continued working it until it was destroyed by shell-fire. His
magnificent courage and tenacity were awarded with the Victoria Cross.
Painting -Lieut. Dimmer
Repairing a Machine-Gun While
Exposed to the Fire of the
Advancing Prussian Guard
Allan Stewart
The citation reads
On
12th November 1914 at Klein Zillebeke, Belgium, Lieutenant Dimmer went on
serving his machine gun during an attack, and stayed at his post until the gun
was destroyed, in spite of being shot five times.
VICTORIA
CROSS
Lieutenant- Colonel Dimmer also
won the Military Cross. He was awarded the MC for action one month earlier for
devotion to duty between 29th and 31st October 1914 and for gallantry
displayed on many occasions. He was later promoted through the
junior officer ranks and was appointed a Lt. Colonel in the 2nd Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps.
Dimmer like many other VC holders became a temporary national hero. In August
1918 he had married the daughter of a carpet millionaire a Miss Mary Bayley
Parker. She afterwards married the 4th Baron Garvagh and died as
recently as 1982.
.
MISS BAYLEY PARKER 1919
JOHN
DIMMER'S MASONIC CAREER
John
Dimmer had membership of two Irish Masonic Lodges: -
1 1st Battalion West Indian Regiment Lodge
No 390
2 West African Regiment Lodge No 157
1st Battalion West India
Regiment Lodge No 390
The name John Henry Stephen
Dimmer was placed on the books of Lodge 390, South Carolina, West India
Regiment on 8th August 1908, for the usual period previous to
ballot. He was entered an Entered Appretice on 20th August 1908,
passed to the Fellow Craft Degree on 9th September and raised to the
third or sublime degree of Master Mason on 7th October 1908. The
Lodge history is as follows:-
Issued to brethren in The Queen's Royal Irish Regiment
of Foot, actually. 2nd Foot, The Queen's Royal Regiment (West
Surrey), then on the Irish Establishment, 2nd December 1762.
It is quite common in the eighteenth century for an
Army Lodge to be lost sight of soon after its establishment. Thus this Lodge,
formed 2nd December 1762,
in the 2nd or Queen's Royal Regiment, is not heard of in the Grand Lodge
Records after that year. The Warrant was cancelled in 1815.
Reissued to 'South Carolina
Lodge' in The West India Regiment, 27 October 1905.
From the Minutes of the Grand Lodge Board of General
Purposes. Lodge 157 and 390
3rd October, 1910 - Read a letter from Lodge 157 West African
Regiment asking if the Lodge is subject to the rules governing Colonial Lodges,
having regard to the fact that the Regiment is permanently stationed outside
the United Kingdom.
The Board resolved that the Lodge should be subject to the Laws and fees
applicable to Colonial Lodges and that Lodge 390 West India Regiment being in
the same position should be treated in the same manner, the change to come into
force from the 1st January next.
The Warrant of the Lodge
was granted on 27th
October, 1905, to Brs. S.C. Thompson, H.W. Coneybeare and J.A.
McCleod as the first W.M. and Wardens. The name given to the Lodge was `The
South Carolina Lodge, lst West India Regiment, No. 390'. Why "South Carolina"?
The Lodge has no definite proof but the answer must surely be connected with
the history of the West India Regiment.
During the American War of Independence, a British
Expeditionary Force from New York captured the
State of Georgia.
As a result, Loyalists flocked to the British camp where they were formed into
a number of Corps, the South Carolina Corps being one of them. This Corps took
an active part in the war, became a Cavalry Regiment in
1780 and, at the end of the
war, moved to Jamaica.
The new South Carolina Regiment had a short life as such, however, for in 1795
it was amalgamated with another Regiment to form Whyt's Regiment of Foot, a
title which was changed shortly afterwards to The West India Regiment. The link
with the original corps was perpetuated by the formation within the 1st
Battalion of the new Regiment of a "South Carolina Company." It is
not known whether the founders of the lodge were members of the Company or
whether they were merely brethren with a nice sense of history. The Lodge, to
quote from the 1913 by-law's, was "erected and consecrated at Sierra Leone
on 27th February, 1906."
Unfortunately, little is known of those early days for all the Minute Books
covering the period prior to 1938 are lost. Presumably, however, the Lodge
moved with the Battalion between the Gold Coast and Jamaica
until the First World War and the chances are that it went to France when the Battalion served
there during the war. We know that in 1914 there was a Royal Arch Chapter No.
390 West India Regiment which also worked the Mark Degree as can be seen from
two Certificates photographs of which are included in the reference.
After the War the Battalion moved into permanent
quarters in Jamaica
and this had a profound effect on the type of membership of the Lodge. Instead
of membership being confined to serving members of the Battalion, as was the
case until then, the Lodge was opened up to permit pensioner's and serving
members of HM. Forces together with "Such Civilian Brethren (preference
being given to those who have served in, or are otherwise connected with, HM.
Forces) as may be invited to join the Lodge." [1925 By-Laws]
This change in membership is reflected in a new name
for the Lodge which, in 1925, had become 'The South Carolina Lodge (West India
Regiment and Associated Garrison) No. 390.
In March 1927 the West India Regiment was disbanded
and the Warrant surrendered to Grand Lodge.
Ref. H 527
Sixty-four members served in the 1914-18 War and Bros.
Lieut. H. W. Coneybeare, Lincoln Regt., Lt. Col. J.H.S. Dimmer, VC., K.R.R.
& W.A. Regt., J.F. Drayton, R.A.O.C., Capt. A.C. Hyde, W.I. Regt., Capt.
L.J. Jones, W.I. Regt., Capt. T.H. Mills DSO., E. Yorks. Capt. J.C. Richardson,
DCM, W.A. Regt., E.A. Siddle, Canadians and Major H. W. Thelwal l, W.I. Regt.
made the supreme sacrifice.
From the Minutes of the Grand Lodge Board of General
Purposes. Lodge 390
16 February, 1927 - Read letter from Lodge 390, West India
Regiment, returning the Warrant as the Regiment has been disbanded. Recommended
acceptance with regret.
Reissued to 'South Carolina
Lodge' in Kingston, Jamaica, 16 December 1927.
From the Minutes of the Grand Lodge Board of General
Purposes. Lodge 390
16 November, 1927 - Read Memorial from various praying for a
warrant to establish a Lodge in Kingston, Jamaica to be called the South Carolina. Recommended. Grand Lodge
Minutes 1st December, 1927
- Confirmed
In November, 1953 HM. Queen
Elizabeth and Bro. H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh paid a visit to Jamaica.
Along with the English and Scottish Constitutions, the Lodge
presented an Illuminated Address to W. Bro. Sir
Hugh Foot, Governor of Jamaica, for transmission to Her Majesty'
The
warrant No 390 is currently held by Lodge South Carolina
at Kingston, Jamaica.
West African Regiment Lodge
No 157
In the history of this Lodge
Jack Dimmer was a founding member on 2nd October 1908, he was at this stage a Fellow
Craft of Lodge 390.
The
warrant No 157 was issued to brethren in Dublin,
on 7th May 1747.29 years later 4th
July 1776. The warrant was again reissued to Wm. Young, Peter
Stewart and Alex. Adams, all from Lodge No. 818, to form a Lodge in Stranocum,
Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, 4th October 1810. The warrant was cancelled on 6th August 1840 for going in
procession. Lodges 64, 91, 96, 197, 229, 231, 298, 302, 818, 829, and 1001 were
also suspended for going in Masonic Procession which Nos. were to be cancelled
unless they sent in their Warrants. On 18th June, 1842 - Grand Lodge had an application from
Lodges 229, 157, 818 and 96 praying for the restoration of their warrant which
was recommended by Archdeacon Mant. It was ordered that said Lodges be restored
to good standing.
The warrant was cancelled, 7th August 1851 for non-payment of arrears and
reissued to 'Hibernia Lodge' in Lima,
Peru, 9th July 1863. Grand Lodge
records show that Warrant No. 157 Lima, Peru, S. America
as Hibernia Lodge", 9th
July, 1863. Richard Higgins Kartley (151); Robert Britten (151) and
Thomas Theelock (151) registered along with eight others from various lodges, 9th July, 1863. This seemed
to be a short-lived solution for there were no returns after 1868. Warrant No
157 was dropped from List, of Lodges in 1882.
Warrant No 157 was reissued to Meredith P. Whitla
(Lodge 794), Rev. Chas. Knox Pooler (Lodge 409) and Francis J. Kennedy (Lodge
36) to form ' Ormeau' Lodge in Ballynafeigh, Belfast, 7th December 1894.
29 October, 1894 - Read an application from Bros. Whitla, Pooler,
Kennedy and three others for a Warrant to hold a Lodge in Ballynafeigh, Co.
Down. Recommended by Lodges 198, 1000 and 37 and by the P.G.M.of Down. Regular
fee enclosed. The Board recommend the prayer of the Memorialists be granted and
a Warrant to be issued numbered 157.
Grand Lodge Minutes dated 6th December, 1894 -
Confirmed the grant of warrant No 157.
The Lodge was constituted by Rt. Wor. Bro. Major
Leslie J. Thompson P.D.G.M. on 29th March 1895 at the Masonic Rooms,
Ballynafeigh, Belfast from whence it was removed to Rosetta School-room,
Ballynafeigh, Belfast 1897.
31st December 1906 - Read communication from Lodge 157 Ballynafeigh
Surrendering the Warrant owing to the place of meeting not being convenient to
the majority of the members. The Board recommended that it be received in
Trust.
Records show that the warrant No 157 was surrendered, 7th March 1907 and reissued
to ' Babadori Lodge' in the WEST AFRICAN REGIMENT, on 2nd October 1908.
From the Minutes of the
Grand Lodge Board of General Purposes it is recorded that on the 28th
September, 1908 - Read Memorial from Bros. Menage, Taylor, Watts and 26 others
praying for a warrant to establish a Lodge in the West African Regiment at
present stationed in Sierra Leone to be called the Babadori. Recommended by
Lodge 390, West Indian Regiment and by Lodge 2506 EC. - Recommended.
Lodge 2056 EC is St George's Freetown, Sierra Leone
Grand Lodge Minutes dated 1st October 1908 - Confirmed From the Minutes of the
Grand Lodge. Board of General Purposes. Lodge 157 and 390
3 October, 1910 - Read a letter from Lodge 157 West African
Regiment asking if the Lodge is subject to the rules governing Colonial Lodges,
having regard to the fact that the Regiment is permanently stationed outside
the United Kingdom.
The Board resolved that the Lodge should be subject to the Laws and fees
applicable to Colonial Lodges and that Lodge 390 West India Regiment being in
the same position should be treated in the same manner, the change to come into
force from the 1st January next. One hundred and five members served in the
1914-18 War and Bros. Lieut. F. Andrew, G. Beaton, Capt. J. Bremner, L. Canton,
Lt. Col. J.H.S. Dinner, VC., H. McGuirk, Capt. T.H. Mills, DSO., Capt. H.M.
Powell, Capt. J.C. Richardson, DCM.. Lieut. ,T.H. Rigby, G.F. Stevens and Major
W.F. Williams made the supreme sacrifice. A total of 73 brethren registered up
to 5 April, 1928.
In most cases the dates when the issue of certificates is shown, together with
the rank of the brother.
Warrant surrendered to Grand Lodge on 29th September 1928 on the
occasion of the disbandment of the West African Regiment.
From the Minutes of the Grand Lodge. Board of General
Purposes. Lodge 157
19 September, 1928 - Read letter from Lodge 157, West African
Regiment returning the Warrant as the Regiment has been disbanded. The Board
recommended acceptance with regret.
Grand Lodge Minutes 29 September, 1928 - Confirmed
From the Minutes of the G. L. Board of G. P. Lodge 157
15 September, 1977 - Read Memorial for the issue of a New Warrant
to establish a Lodge at Accra,
Ghana to be
called "Anniversary" No. 157. The Memorial was recommended by the
P.G.M. of Ghana.
G.M.L. 8 October 1977 - Confirmed
This warrant is currently
held by Anniversary Lodge.
THE DEATH OF BRO LT COL DIMMER VC, MC
REGIMENTAL OBITUARY IN THE KRRC CRONICLE
CAPT. (TEMP. LIEUT.-COLONEL) JOHN HENRY STEPHEN
DIMMER, V.C., M.C.
Possessed of all the qualities that go to the
making of a successful soldier, it only required the upheaval of the present
war to bring a man like Capt. Dimmer, V.C., to the top. Born in 1884, he
started life as a Civil Engineer in 1901, and after passing through a Cadet
Battalion enlisted in the Regiment in 1902, and served with the 4th Battalion
in South Africa.
In 1906 he was sent to Belgium
and Germany
to study the military methods of their armies, and in 1908, on the recommendation
of Lord Methuen, was given a commission in the Regiment. He then went to the
West African Regiment, where he served for six years, being promoted Captain.
Returning from West Africa at the outbreak of
the present war he joined the 2nd Battalion, and was brought into considerable
prominence by his gallant conduct on November 12th, 1914, at Klein Zillebeke, when he was
mentioned in Despatches and awarded the Victoria Cross. The text in the London
Gazette stated:" This officer served his machine gun during the attack on
November 12th until he had been wounded five times, and continued at his post
until his gun was destroyed."
On recovering from his wounds he was appointed
Brigade Major to the 92nd Brigade, and was awarded the Military Cross for
devotion to duty between October 29th and October 31st. 1914, and " for
gallantry displayed on many occasions."
On relinquishing his Staff appointment he was ordered to join the
3rd Battalion in Salonika, being appointed
Brigade Machine Gun Officer to the 10th Division. Though suffering from malaria
he refused to go home, and then joined the Salonika Flying Corps and obtained
his Observer's Certificate. His health then broke down and he was invalided to England.
In February. 1917, he again joined the 2nd Battalion, but contracting septic
poisoning he was brought home. On recovering he was appointed to command the
2/4th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, and during the latter phases
of the Battle of Cambrai was in command of the storming detachment attached to
the Guards. For his work on this occasion he was congratulated by the
Divisional and Brigade Commanders. He fell whilst leading his Battalion on
March 21st at the commencement of the great German offensive 1918, at
Marteville, north-west of' St. Quentin, being shot through the head in the act
of ordering his men to charge. Dimmer mounted a white charger
during the fighting – somewhat conspicuous on the battlefield – and was killed
shortly afterwards. Buried by the Germans, his grave was recovered from an
isolated spot on the battlefield after the war.
Although swept with a torrent of machinegun
fire his Battalion, thanks to Dimmer's splendid example, stood their ground
magnificently, and only gave way when ordered to retire and cover the
retirement of the Brigade, which task they heroically fulfilled for four days.
An officer of his Battalion writes: -" The Colonel was like a father to us,
we all had implicit faith in him, and loved him dearly."
Captain Dimmer's chief characteristics were
energy, a natural ability for military work, and ambition. These qualities combined
assisted him in his rapid promotion, which was thoroughly deserved. His
gallantry was unsurpassed.
KINGS
ROYAL RIFLE CORPS CHRONICLE (1918) PAGES 323-324
Maissemy
is a village about 5 kilometres
north-west of St.Quentin and about two kilometres north of the small town of Vermand. Vadencourt British
Cemetery lies to the north of Maissemy and is on the west side of the road from Vermand
to Bellenglise.
Maissemy
passed into British hands in 1917. It was captured by the enemy on the 21st
March, 1918, in spite of a strong resistance by the 24th Division and the 2/14th
Royal Berks; and retaken by the lst Division on the following 15th September:
At the beginning of October; the IX Corps Main
Dressing Station was at Vadencaurt. Vadencourt British Cemetery (called
at first Vadencourt New British Cemetery) was begun in August, 1917, by
fighting units, and used until March; 1918; and in October and November, 1918, it was used by the 5th,
47th and 6lst Casualty Clearing Stations (at Biheeourt, on the road to Vermand)
as well as by Field Ambulances: These original graves are in Plots I-1II; and
after the Armistice those plots were enlarged, and Plots IV and V made, by the
concentration of graves from the surrounding battlefields and from a few small
burial grounds. These scattered graves were mainly of April, 1917; and March,
April, September and October, 1918; and many of them represented casualties of
the 59th (North Midland) Division. At the same time four French, I American and 28 German Graves, all of
October, 1918; were removed to other cemeteries. There are now over 750, 1914-18
war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over 200 are unidentified:
Five Indian Cavalry soldiers, whose bodies were cremated, are named on special
memorials. The Cemetery covers an area
of 2,953 square metres and is enclosed by a rubble wall. The cemeteries from
which British graves were removed to Vadencourt
British Cemetery
included these two: VADENCOURT CHATEAU
CEMETERY, a little further West, in
which nine soldiers from the United Kingdom
and six from Canada were buried in August. 1917.
VENDELLES CHURCHYARD EXTENSION, made by the 59th
Division in April, 1917, and
containing the graves of 36 soldiers from the United Kingdom.
IN MEMORY OF
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JOHN HENRY STEPHEN DIMMER VC, MC ATTD. 2ND/4TH BN., ROYAL BERKSHIRE REGIMENT WHO DIED AGE 35 ON THURSDAY 21 MARCH 1918.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL DIMMER, HUSBAND OF DORA GARVAGH (FORMERLY DIMMER), OF ASHBY
HALL, LINCOLN.REMEMBERED WITH HONOUR
VADENCOURT BRITISH
CEMETERY, MAISSEMY
After
her husband’s death Mrs. Dimmer married an Irish Peer, Lord Garvagh at St
Matthew’s Church Bayswater London on New Year’s Day 1919. After the War the
local Council at Wimbledon discussed erecting
a suitable memorial to Dimmer’s memory. His mother however was invited to lay
one of the wreaths at the unveiling of the Wimbledon
war memorial.
Jack Dimmer had been offered the freedom of the Borough of Wimbledon
in April 1915 but modestly declined the offer in a letter published in the Suffolk and Essex Free
Press;
Whilst I appreciate the great honour, I beg to
decline the same.
Too much publicity has been given my name already,
and has
caused me a great deal of worry and annoyance. To
accept the
freedom would only bring further publicity and such
is not in
accordance with the traditions of the service.
SUFFOLK AND ESSEX FREE
PRESS 1915
When Dimmer had been referring
to the publicity he had already received he was taking into account occasions
like the visit to Harrow
School with
Brigadier-General Colomb to inspect and take the March Past at the School's
Officers' Training Corps.
Jack
Dimmer is remembered on the above headstone, on the Royal Rifle Corps Memorial,
Winchester Cathedral and in the civic offices of the London Borough of Morden
in an official block called Crown House. In 1997 Merton's only recipient of the Victoria
Cross has been honoured 83 years after he received the medal. Relatives of Col
Jack Dimmer saw a plaque unveiled in his memory by the Mayor of Merton,
Councillor Sheila Knight, at the Civic Centre in Morden. He received the VC for
his actions on November 12,
1914 near Klein Zillebeke in Belgium. Despite being shot and
wounded five times, he stayed at the controls of a machine gun and is credited
with saving many British lives. His nephew, surveyor
Ronald Dimmer, 81, said: "He was not a man who would boast about his
achievements, but what he did was remarkable. He should be remembered." He
received the VC from King George V at Buckingham Palace.
The medal is at the
headquarters of Col Dimmer's old regiment, the Royal Green Jackets. A guard of
honour from the regiment attended the ceremony. Lt Col Michael Smith, 44, said:
"It took me 24 years to become a lieutenant colonel, whereas it only took
Mr Dimmer four."
The plaque was discovered in
the Civic Centre's basement in November 1997.
A council spokesman said:
"It went missing a few years ago when the Civic Centre was rebuilt. We
felt it should be put in a place of honour." The plaque was originally
unveiled in the building in 1985 after the then council leader Harry Cowd found
out about the hero.
In
1919 the council decided to erect a memorial to Col Dimmer but gave the task to
a committee, which never reached a decision. Col Dimmer died in action when
shot in the head by a sniper near St Quentin, France in 1918, aged 35.
CONCLUSION
This paper has plotted the short life of a Mason and
very brave soldier of the First World War. He was an honour to both Masonry and his Regiment. He had been
twice decorated for gallantry, was mentioned in despatches and had gained the
most coveted award the Victoria Cross in one of the most deserved cases which
was even by the standards of the First World War exceptional bravery. Sadly Bro
Lt Col John
Dimmer VC, MC did not survive the war, being killed 8 months prior to the
Armistice on 11th November
1918. He has at times been erroneously referred to as Brigadier
General Dimmer as the photograph at the end of this paper suggests. Had Jack
Dimmer survived he may have attained even higher military rank.
Bro Dimmer VC, MC is remembered by the Grand Lodge of
Ireland in its Roll of Honour for the Great War 1914-1919. At page 61 of that
volume under Lodge 157, West African Regiment, he is called Dinner which was
obviously a transcription error. He is also remembered at page 147 Lodge 390,
1" Batt. West Indian Regiment, where he is correctly called Dimmer JHS,
VC, Lt.-Col., KRR & WA Regt. His membership of the two military Lodges is
not unusual. There were several members of both Lodges e.g. Lieut. Fredrick
Andrews, Col Bonham Faunce, CSM Robert S Gelling, Capt. Frederick Samuel King,
*Capt. Thos H Mills, DSO, Capt. Henry M Powell, *Capt. JC Richardson, DCM, QMS
Thomas Richardson, QMS David Scott and Frank Sleight. Those above marked with
an asterisk * also like John Dimmer paid the supreme sacrifice.
BRIG. GENERAL DIMMER VC MC
REFERENCES: -
Cochrane K, R.W/Bro Irish Masonic Records 2nd Edition
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Hallows, Ian S, (1994)
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and Essex Free Press 1915
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