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Herbert Al. Dawson, who won
distinction in the World war, is now numbered among the rising young
barristers of Edmonton and is following in the professional footsteps of
his father, who for many years figures prominently in legal circles of
the city. H. M. Dawson was born in Petrolia, Ontario, October 27, 1890,
and in the maternal line lie is of Scotch ancestry, the Canadian
progenitor of the family being John Macmillan. The paternal grandfather,
Daniel Dawson, was born in the north of Ireland, whence he migrated to
Canada, and in Sarnia, Ontario, he married Laura Forsyth. Her father was
a native of Virginia and during the Revolutionary war was obliged to
leave the colonies, owing to his support of the British cause,
establishing his home in Canada, where the family has since resided.
Herbert James Dawson, the father of the subject of this review, was born
in Sombra, Ontario, July 3, 1860, and he was married at Petrolia, in
that province, on November 5, 1889, to Jessie Primrose Macmillan, a
native of Glasgow, Scotland. In 1903 they came to Edmonton and have
since been residents of this city, where for a considerable period the
father successfully engaged in the practice of law. Later he became
identified with professional activities and served as registrar of the
North Alberta Land Title Office, until his death on December 14, 1922.
After completing the
curriculum of the grammar schools of Petrolia and the Edmonton high
school Herbert M. Dawson attended Upper Canada College at Toronto,
Ontario, and later entered the University of Toronto Three years
afterward he left that institution to become a law student in the office
of the firm of Hyndrnan & Hyndman and was admitted to tho bar on the
20th of January, 1920. He is now practicing in Edmonton and is rapidly
building up good clientele. He is an earnest, discriminating student who
has thoroughly mastered the principles of jurisprudence, and he
correctly applies his knowledge to the points in litigation.
Mr. Dawson's military
record is one of which lie has every reason to feel proud. On August 6,
1914, he enlisted at Edmonton for service in the World war, becoming a
lieutenant of the Ninteenth Alberta Dragoons, with which he went to
Valcartier, Quebec. On the 22d of September, 1914, he sailed with his
unit for England and after landing at Plymouth proceeded to Salisbury
Plain, where they remained until February, 1915, when they embarked for
France. They landed at St. Nazaire and were at once ordered to the area
around Hazebrouck. They then entered the trenches, in which they spent
about two months, being under fire much of the time. The unit was next
sent to Ypres, arriving in time to participate in the second battle at
that point, which started on April 22d and continued until the 2d of
May. They then went to Festubert and for two weeks were in the trenches,
being constantly exposed to the enemy's fire. From that point they were
transferred to La Bassee Canal and thence to Givencliy, where they
remained for two months, and in August, 1915, were sent to Ploegstrete
and hill 63, where they were stationed during 1915-16. In April, 1916,
the unit again moved up the Ypres area and took part in the third battle
of Ypres in June of that year. They then went to the Somme and were
continuously under fire from September 1 to October 1. in the latter
month they returned to the Vimy area and wintered there, participating
in the battle of Vimy Ridge, from April 9-14, 1916. In August, 1917,
they were at Hill 70, in the second battle of Lens, and in October
proceeded to Passchendaele, where for a month they were constantly under
fire, the engagement having started in August. They returned to Vimy
Ridge for the winter of 1917-18, and the unit joined with the Canadian
Corps in the operations against the Germans during their advance in
March and April, 1918. In the following August they were sent to Amiens,
where another battle was started on August 9, continuing for two weeks,
and they then proceeded to Arias, in the advance movement toward Cambrai.
They were present during the attack and capture of Valenciennes, which
occupied about a month, and also participated in the capture of Mons on
November 11, 1918. As a part of the Army of Occupation the unit went to
the Rhine and was there stationed for two and a half months, leaving
Germany on the 14th of February, 1919, and going to Namur, France, where
all of the equipment and horses were turned in. At Havre they embarked
for England and on April 14, 1919, sailed for home from Liverpool,
landing at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr. Dawson was demobilized at Toronto,
Ontario, May 1, 1919, at which time he was holding the rank of major.
For four years and nine months he was in the service of his country,
fighting courageously and gallantly to defend her interests. For notable
bravery in the operations at the Somme on September 6, 1916, he was
awarded the Military Cross and also received mention in military
dispatches. He was in seventeen major engagements in France and is
therefore entitled to seventeen bars on his military medal. To have
passed unscathed through such a terrible ordeal is an experience which
borders on the miraculous and Mr. Dawson's remarkable military record
tends strongly to confirm one's belief in the doctrine of
predestination.
At Portsmouth, England,
on the 14th day of March, 1919, Mr. Dawson was united in marriage to
Mrs. May Beatrice Fector-Robinson, whose father was a veteran of the
South African war, in which he served as a colonel in the Ninth Lancers
of the British army.
Mr. Dawson is a member of
the Edmonton Club and his political sup port is given to the
Conservative party, while his religious views are in accord with the
doctrines of the Anglican church. He is a young man who has not yet
reached the zenith of his powers, but his ability and ambition will
undoubtedly carry him far in his profession, and his many admirable
qualities have gained him a high place in the esteem of all with whom he
has been associated. |
