Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Matthew Charles Dixon VC CB (5 February 1821 – 8 January 1905) was a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces, and a Knight of the Legion of Honour. He was the eldest son of Major-General Matthew Charles Dixon RE (1791–1860) and his second wife Emma Dalton (1794–1853) and was born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 5 February 1821.

Military career

He entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1839, was promoted to lieutenant in 1841, and to captain in 1848. He was 34 years old, and a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Royal Regiment of Artillery,

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 17 April 1855 at Sebastopol, the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, at about 2pm the battery commanded by Captain Dixon was blown up by a shell from the enemy which burst in the magazine, destroying the parapets, killing or wounding 10 men, disabling five guns and covering a sixth with earth. The captain reopened fire with the remaining gun and continued firing it until sunset, despite the heavy concentration of fire from the enemy's batteries and the ruined state of his own. As well as the VC, he received the 5th class of the Medjidie and the Turkish Medal and was made a Knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He was promoted to major and lieutenant-colonel in 1855, colonel in 1862 and retired from the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1869 with the honorary rank of major-general. He later achieved the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Later life

On 13 May 1862 he married Henrietta Letitia Eliza Bosanquet (1834–1926), daughter of Admiral C.J. Bosanquet of Wildwood. They had no family, and his medal was in the possession of a descendant of his sister, Frances Maria Clarke née Dixon. It was sold to the Lord Ashcroft collection in 2014. On leaving the army he took up residence at "Woodgate", Pembury (near

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

) and lived there until his death on 7 January 1905 aged 84. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery on 12 January. His wife survived him by 21 years.

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''( Kensal Green Cemetery)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Matthew Charles 1821 births 1905 deaths Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Royal Artillery officers British Army major generals Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights of the Legion of Honour Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich People from Manche British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross