William Dykes

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Biography

William was born in 1919. He passed away in 1978.

Sources

• Personal knowledge

William (Bill) Dykes joined the Army - Royal Artillery - on his 18th Birthday, 14th September 1937. While in the army, his nickname was "Tommy" Dykes. When war was declared on the 3rd September 1939, he was posted with the British Expeditionary Force to France. When Germany attacked France (via Belgium and the Netherlands) on 10th May 1940 his unit was cut-off from the main British Forces and he was unable to reach Dunkirk where the bulk of the British forces were surrounded on 21st May 1040. When the Dunkirk evacuation ended on 4th June 1940, "Bill" was still in France. I believe he escaped from France via a port in Normandy between mid-June and the 1st week of July 1940, landing at Falmouth. I am endeavouring to obtain war records of his service, but the assumption is that he met our mother on his return to Liverpool on-leave in late-July or August 1940. Mum talked of being on the ferry returning from New Brighton when an air-raid started, and as the 1st air-raid on Liverpool was on 28th August 1940, that could have been the day they were in New Brighton. Dad was stationed in Hyde Park, London for the Battle of Britain on an AA battery there (August-December 1940). He was then sent to Malta, so the assumption is that he went there by sea in early 1941, and I estimate that he arrived there sometime in April-May 1941. He stayed in Malta probably until early 1943, when he was stationed in North Africa for the remainder of the war (near Alexandria). As he was a regular 9-year soldier, in 1945 he was sent to Palestine and the newly created Israel as part of the peace-keeping force, and remained there until his service was over in September 1946. He was offered a degree education by the army, but chose to return home asap. So if his birthday was on 14th September, that was probably his last day in the army. Dad returned to Liverpool intent on marrying Marjorie Carr, and they married at Walton Church within the next 2-weeks (before 30th September).