Individual Stories – WW1
Little is known of Rex’s wartime experience and his reason for enlisting. It may have been because of lack of work in 1914 or that his brother Joe and his brother-in-law Edward Montague Marvin may have encouraged him. Judging from Rex’s face, the photograph that includes him, dressed in Civilian clothes, with the other Dibdin’s must have been taken soon after 4th August 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany. Rex’s Older Brother Lionel had not enlisted the army for fighting in France at the beginning but there are indications that he may have already spent time in the army in previous year and was in the Beddington, Carshalton Wallington Volunteers and had previously been in the Special Constbulary. Also there is a photograph of him at a much younger age in a military environment which may have been during the Boer war or at a training camp. There are archived 4 letters written by Rex at that time. Below are significant excerpts although the complete letters are in Rexs War museum Room
By April 1916, Rex was in hospital in Sheffield and by June he is living at Scotton Camp recuperating and trying to put on weight. It is interesting to note that although he really would not have wanted to return to the front, the stupidity among officers and later on the difficulties of civilian life were a strong pushed for him to enlist again.
This photograph of him in uniform shows a very traumatised person. The above photograph is of Rex as a young man sometime before the war. This can be used to compare with him at 33 years old probably when he was discharged from the army in 1916.
It is probable that a misdirected sense of duty took its toll, as it did for so many young men at that time. Although in the Service Regiment, Rex himself was obviously wrecked by his two years at war and his injury and never really recovered. He lost his mind, marriage and possibly a bright engineering career. It is recognised that those in the Service Corp were at great risk from being shoot or hit by artillery.
There is not much record of his life between 1916 and Nov 1922 although it seemed that he received a pension and by 1921 had returned to his work as a Gas Examiner and as will be discussed elsewhere, he must have done considerable study and writing. More of the live of Rex on his Webpage Reginald
Aglio Dibdin |
