Isaac's Story.
Isaac Dixon was born in 1879 in Saltney, Chester, the son of Alexander and Kezia Dixon.He married Martha Ann Allen at Budworth Parish Church on 23 September 1905. By 1911 they were living at 20 Runcorn Road, Barnton with 3 children-Alexander, George and Margaret. Isaac was described as a Machinist shaper at a Chemical Works. Further children followed with William, Ivy and Martha Ann. Sadly Margaret died in 1911.
Isaac enlisted at Chester towards the end of 1914, early 1915 and assigned to the 2nd Battalion Leicestershire Regiment Service number 19117. Initially sent to France in November 1915 the Battalion then moved to 28th Indian Brigade in Egypt on 7th November 1915. Early December 1915 they moved to Basra in Mesopotamia, re-joining 7th (Meerut) Division.
Isaac was killed on 13th January 1916 in the Battle of Wadi. His body was not recovered after the War and is remembered on the Basra Memorial.
The Battle of Wadi, occurring on 13 January 1916, was an unsuccessful attempt by British forces fighting in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) during World War I to relieve beleaguered forces under Sir Charles Townshend then under siege by the Ottoman Sixth Army at Kut-al-Amara.
Pushed by regional British Commander-in-Chief Sir John Nixon, General Fenton Aylmer launched an attack against Ottoman defensive positions on the banks of the Wadi River. The Wadi was a steep valley of a stream that ran from the north into the River Tigris, some 6 miles (9.7 km) upstream towards Kut-al-Amara from Sheikh Sa'ad. The attack is generally considered as a failure, as although Aylmer managed to capture the Wadi, it cost him 1,600 men. The British failure led to Townshend's surrender, along with 10,000 of his men, in the largest single surrender of British troops up to that time. However, the British recaptured Kut in February 1917, on their way to the capture of Baghdad sixteen days later on 11 March 1917.
The Pension card notes that Martha was awarded a Pension of 24/6 per week. This however was reduced following the death of William who was drowned in the local canal in 1917 age 6.
In 1921 Martha was still in Runcorn Road this time number 22 together with Alexander (known as Alec), George, Ivy and Martha.
Son George was killed in 1940 in the “Christmas Blitz” at Canada Dock Liverpool. He is commemorated among the Civilian deaths in WW2 at CWGC.
Research by Mike Akerman, Cheshire Villages Great War Society with additional information supplied by Joanne Westhead