86123 2nd Corporal Enoch Dalton, D.C.M.*, R.E.

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86123 2^nd Corporal
ENOCH DALTON, D.C.M. and bar
Royal Engineers
(formerly 2882 Lance Corporal, 3^rd Battalion Coldstream Guards)

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edward De Santis, MSCE, BSAE P.E., MinstRE
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(July 2026)

Figure 1. 86123 2^nd Corporal Enoch Dalton, D.C.M.*, R.E.
(Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum)

1. INTRODUCTION

Enoch Dalton was born in Normanton, Yorkshire in 1882. He was the son of William Henry Dalton (1843-1909), a lamp light fitter, and Maria Dalton, née Brockhouse (1844-1916). As a youngster he grew up in his parent’s home at 85 Queen Street in Normanton until he decided to join the Army in 1899.[1]

2. ENLISTMENT AND TRAINING

Enlistment

Enoch Dalton enlisted in the Coldstream Guards in 1899.[2] His was a Short Service attestation for three years with the Colours and nine years in the Army Reserve, but that would change when the Great War of 1914-1918 began.

Training

Private Dalton, regimental number 2882, received his military training during the first year of his service with the Coldstream Guards. He was trained as an infantryman and also in the ceremonial duties of the Brigade of Guards. After his period of training he was posted to the 3^rd Battalion of the regiment.

3. POSTINGS AND CAMPAIGN SERVICE

Home Service (1899-1902)

Enoch Dalton was serving with the 3^rd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards at Chelsea Barracks in London in 1901 when he married Ann Stait (1879-1960). At the time he had already been promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.[3] In 1902, having completed the first three years of limited engagement with the Army, Dalton was transferred to the Army Reserve. By 1911 he and his wife and three children were living in Charlotte Row, Bottomboat, Stanley, Yorkshire and Dalton was working as a coal miner[4], probably at the Newmarket Silkstone Colliery. Bottomboat consisted of a row of houses built for the miners by the Colliery owners.

France and Flanders (1914-1916)

In August 1914 when war was declared with Germany, Private Dalton was called up for active service with the 3^rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards. The battalion was at Chelsea Barracks at the time, but it soon was transferred to the 4^th Guards Brigade in the 2^nd Division of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) and departed for France, landing at Le Havre on 13 August.[5]

From 23 August to 5 September 1914 Dalton’s battalion took part in the First Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat, including the action at Landrecies and the rearguard actions at Le Grand Fayt and Villers-Cotterets. At the time the 2^nd Division was in the British I Corps under the command of Sir Douglas Haig.

On 30 June 1915 Dalton was awarded the first of his two Distinguished Conduct Medals. The London Gazette entry for this award reads as follows:[6]

2882 Lance-Corporal E. Dalton, 3^rd Bn., C. Gds. (since transferred to 170^th Company, Royal Engineers).

For conspicuous gallantry and good work under very dangerous conditions in charging and tamping mines within five feet of the enemy’s mine. On the 21^st April 1915 at Cuinchy, he crawled forward and surprised three Germans behind a sand bag barricade, driving them out and thus enabling a charge to be fired and the gallery destroyed.

The citation above gives rise to some interesting questions about Dalton’s early service. The wording gives the impression that although he was an infantryman in a Guards battalion he was actually performing duties as a Sapper. The use of the word “gallery” seems to imply that he was performing duties as a tunneller, since the word is normally associated with the underground work that was performed by men in tunnelling companies. Dalton was a coal miner in civil life and therefore he was well suited to this type of work. Since he was subsequently transferred to a Royal Engineers tunnelling company, this also gives credence to the idea that he was being employed to do this type of work as an infantry private; that is, his skills as a miner were recognized as useful for the mission of his battalion.

The 170^th Tunnelling Company to which Dalton was transferred was formed in February 1915. Men with Dalton’s skills in mining were sought after for this company, so it is safe to assume that he was transferred from the Coldstream Guards soon after the company arrived in France. In fact, in June 1915 the 170^th Tunnelling Company was at Cuinchy deployed under the command of the 2^nd Division[7] on operations near Cuinchy and against the German position known as Brick stacks near La Bassée Canal in the vicinity of Cuinchy.

As a tunneller, it did not take long for Dalton to show his courage once again. The London Gazette of 5 August 1915 published this citation for his second award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal:

86123 Acting 2^nd Corporal E. Dalton, 170^th Co., R.E. (formerly No. 2882 3^rd Btn., Coldstream Guards)

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at Cuinchy, on the night of 21^st June, 1915, in going down a mine, and assisting in the rescue of four men under circumstances of great risk. On the morning of the 22^nd June the enemy exploded a mine, entombing about nine of our men, and this Non-Commissioned Officer went down the mine time after time, with the greatest courage, and assisted in bringing out all the men. He was badly affected by the poison fumes.[8]

On 24 August 1915 he was rewarded for his courage again when he was awarded the Medal of St. George, 4^th Class by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia for gallantry and distinguished service in the field.[9]

At some point in early 1916 2^nd Corporal Dalton was transferred to the newly forming 258^th Tunnelling Company. This company was formed at Rouen in April 1916 under Third Army control. After formation the company moved into the Hill 70 sector near Loos-en-Gohelle. The company was not to see action until May 1917 when it was at Bullecourt under command of I ANZAC Corps; however, Dalton would not be with the company at that time. He was killed in action on 13 August 1916 under unknown circumstances. He may have been killed by enemy artillery fire, an enemy sniper or a cave-in in a tunnel. He was buried in the St. Patrick Cemetery at Loos in the Pas-de-Calais, Section I, Row A, Grave 2.

Surely Enoch Dalton was mourned by the officers and men of his company and by all who knew him. He was an exceptionally brave man whose life was an example to all men of the Coldstream Guards and the Royal Engineers who served with him. His headstone bears the following sentiment:

GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THIS
THAN TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS PAL

4. MEDALS, AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

For his service in the Great War 2^nd Corporal Enoch Dalton was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and bar, 1914 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Russian Medal of St George, 4th Class. His framed medals are shown below and are believed to be in the possession of his family. The medals shown below are not in the proper sequence or with the correct ribbons. The D.C.M. and bar is correct on the left. The next medal shown is the Victory Medal with the ribbon for the 1914 Star. The Victory Medal should be the fourth medal from the left. The medal in the center is the Russian award, but as a foreign award it should be shown on the far right. The 1914 Star is next in the wrong location and with the ribbon of the Victory Medal. The last medal on the right is the British War Medal, which should be displayed as the third medal in the group from the left.

Figure 2. The Medals of 2^nd Corporal Enoch Dalton, D.C.M.*, R.E.
(Image from the Dalton family)

Figure 3. Great War Medal Index Card.
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

REFERENCES

Books

1. De Ruvigny, Marquis. Biographical Record of All Members of His Majesty’s Naval and Military Forces Who have Fallen in the War. Volume I. The Standard Art Book Company, Ltd., December 1916, pp. 23 and 35.

2. BARTON, P., DOYLE, P. and VANDEWALLE, J. Beneath Flanders Fields: The Tunnellers’ War, 1914-1918. Spellmount, Staplehurst, Kent, 2004, pp. 33-92.

Census

1. 1891 Census of England (RG 12/3744).

2. 1901 Census of England (RG 13/90).

3. 1911 Census of England and Wales.

Family Tree

1. Ancestry.com Family Tree (by Linda Passmore).

2. Family Tree Notes: Ancestry Tree Person Facts

Internet Web Sites

1. Fold3

https://www.fold3.com/record/729255634/dalton-enoch-uk-soldiers-awards-from-the-london-gazette-1898-1944

2. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

www.cwgc.org