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Beginners => Family History Beginners Board => Topic started by: a Dickson gran'chile on Thursday 23 September 10 13:17 BST (UK)
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Hello.
I drifted here via googling Toc H.
My grandfather was Brian Thorburn Dickson who lived at Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead.
The family came from Marlow.
I have found a leather bound 'book' that my grandfather compiled in 1935 for his mother after the deaths of his father and brother.
It starts:
"It is fitting that those who join the family of Toc H in Marlow, both now and in years to come, should know something of the Midshipman and the Beloved Physician in whose memory my Mother has given THE DICKSON LAMP. These letters tell their own story and paint a true picture, both of the man and the boy."
I am interested in finding out more about Toc H.
Thank you.
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Hi - and a warm welcome to Rootschat.
Could this be what the reference relates to?
http://www.toch-uk.org.uk/
Anna :)
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well found,,,,,,in its history there is a reference to the lighting of a lamp,,,so i think you are on to something with this..
In 1922 Toc H was granted a Royal Charter and in 1925 Toc H Australia held the first World Chain of Light – a 24 hour vigil where lamps are lit around the world. This still goes on today on December 11th/12th.
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his father was John Dunbar dickson b 1853 Doctor Of Medicine & Surgeon born Ireland....so he is the "beloved physician" :)
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Yes, yes! he was, they were.... :)
My dad (the beloved physician's grandson) always wanted to be a doctor - but ww2 came a long and he fought the good fight and was seriously wounded twice - by the end of the war he thought he was too old to start training.
I have a lot of writing, and photographs that would be of interest to more than just our family.... so I'm trying to find out where I should be sending copies...
From the little I have read about Toc H, I can see why modesty and a lack of pride has meant that my siblings and I know so little of the good things done in the past.
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Hi - and a warm welcome to Rootschat.
Could this be what the reference relates to?
http://www.toch-uk.org.uk/
Anna :)
Thank you Anna :)
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and the midshipman was one of john dunbar dicksons sons,,
He married in 1883 Emnily Margaret, daughter of Mr. David
Catson of Glasgow, by whom he had four sons; he lost the
youngest, a midshipman, in the Hawke, when that vessel, was
torpedoed early in the war; two of his older sons served with
distinction in the field.
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and the midshipman was one of john dunbar dicksons sons,,
He married in 1883 Emnily Margaret, daughter of Mr. David
Catson of Glasgow, by whom he had four sons; he lost the
youngest, a midshipman, in the Hawke, when that vessel, was
torpedoed early in the war; two of his older sons served with
distinction in the field.
:D yes indeed.
I have a photograph of Emily at her home in Marlow. I also still use
her dressing table.
I also have a wonderful pastel portrait of the midshipman in uniform - he fell off the wall and smashed his frame to smithereens
when my first husband went awol! He's a very special gauge of men to me - He seems to like husband no 2.
How do you find out all this info Mr Gortonboy?
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just by googling john dunbar dickson ;) the reference above was from an obituary i found ,,, ;D
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You canny man you :)
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Hi I found this reference to him on the London Gazette
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/exact=john+dunbar+dickson/start=1
Cathy
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thank you Cathy.
what does it mean?
that he struck out on his own?
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thank you Cathy.
what does it mean?
that he struck out on his own?
I am not sure but by further googling he appears in the British Medical Journal August 16th 1890 where he was elected as president for the Reading and Upper Thames Branch and it goes on to say he had recently visited a Leper Hospital in Norway.
http://www.bmj.com/content/2/1546/local/admin.pdf
Cathy
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my pa's preoccupation with all things doctorly makes so much sense now. it was inbred. he simply couldn't help it!
sadly, it has made me totally afeared of medics and their needles!
no chip off the old block am i :-\
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Although much diminished, Toc H still exists today though its heyday was in the middle part of the 20th century. A community movement and charity it was made up of hundreds of branches around the UK and the Dominion. On earning branch status a Toc H unit would be issued a lamp. These lamps had to be bought so were often bought in memory of a loved one. In the early days (Toc H started in the UK in 1919) the lamps were often bought in memory of sons lost in WWI. Later they would be bought in memorial of other events too and slowly the practice died out.
As you have probably seem the memorial was on a plate attached to the storage box rather than the lamp. The lamps were made by Whipple the church furnishers and are fairly indistinguishable from each other. Other plates might also note who made the donation and when the lamp was lit for the first time (usually at a special lamplighting festival held each December at the Guild Hall or Royal Albert Hall)
If anyone requires any further information please contact me. By the way, lamps were issued to branches as a badge of status and strictly speaking belong to Toc H!
All the best
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Sorry, just re-read your post and realise you have a book, not the original lamp. I'll try and find out if the Dickson lamp is in the Toc H archives
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Sorry, just re-read your post and realise you have a book, not the original lamp. I'll try and find out if the Dickson lamp is in the Toc H archives
thank you Moonbrand
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Last night I read the letters that my great uncle David sent home, the letters of condolence and tributes. :'(
What a brave young boy. I had not appreciated how very young he was until I found these photos this morning.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5019885769_e5b41d6787_z.jpg)
....with his mother, Emily.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/5019885791_120d22538d_z.jpg)
....and with his father, the 'beloved physician' John.
previously I had only known him from his portrait
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5019925743_91642425ef.jpg)
In his last letter, his main concern was that his parents should not worry, and that they should remember to 'pay Timberlake 18d'.
Timberlake had made some minor repairs to his bike. That this service should be paid for was his last wish. He was 17.
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Hi all
When I was young (a good while ago) a phrase that was in common use was 'as dim as a Toc H lamp'
Does anyone know why Toc H lamps were regarded as being dim?
Linda
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TocH was a charity, similar to the Salvation Army. It set up various troop facilities in WW1. If these were near the front line, then the outside lamp was very dim for safety reasons. Hence the saying.
There used to be - maybe still is - a 'Toc H' establishment somewhere near 'All Hallows by the Tower' (London England) that had a very dim lamp above the door: I took this to be a symbol of the organisation.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/27/messages/64.html
i think part of the Toc H ethos is that acts of kindness/charity should be done quietly without fuss or desire for approbation....shining a bright light might be inappropriate.
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If these were near the front line, then the outside lamp was very dim for safety reasons.
That makes a lot of sense - thanks
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Sorry but the Toc H lamps weren't introduced until the 1920s so there is no connection with the frontline. I've always believed the expression arose simply because the lamps were dim being based on a simple oil lamp design used by early Christians in the catacombs under Rome.
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all very interesting as I too am a Dickson. Great uncle Brian was the brother of my grandfather Ian who was a Doctor and Lord Mayor of Norwich. John Dunbar Dickson married Emily Carson whose brother Tom was a real character and was a wild west Cowboy. John's father was Henry Heron Dickson . I think his parents died in a coach crash when he was a child.
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hello Silvertourist,
I don't think I can private message you until you have made a few more posts.
I expect I may have a few family photos that might interest you. I am trying to get them into some kind of order and plan to put them on the web for family to see.
Brian was a prolific photographer, and I seem to have inherited all his albums - so it may take some time!
Merry Christmas :)
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yes I need to post a few more. I have a few photos as does the rest of the family. I will pm you when I have sent enough posts.
Alistair
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Toc H was still going here in West Oz in the 70s.My grandmother had a button on her bed to push when she needed someone,Once pressed it would activate a flashing rotating light in the window,all the people in the street knew to watch out for it.
It made her feel a lot safer.
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yes I need to post a few more. I have a few photos as does the rest of the family. I will pm you when I have sent enough posts.
Alistair
ahh - PM thing is now working for you.
Sarah
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Toc H was still going here in West Oz in the 70s.My grandmother had a button on her bed to push when she needed someone,Once pressed it would activate a flashing rotating light in the window,all the people in the street knew to watch out for it.
It made her feel a lot safer.
that's good to know ricoba.
i'm sure the world could do with a lot more Toc H spirit at the moment.
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In Birmingham, UK, in the mid 1960s, if memory serves correctly,
I remember a Toc H van touring the city centre late at night,
serving free soup to those unfortunates who were sleeping
outdoors.
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yes I need to post a few more. I have a few photos as does the rest of the family. I will pm you when I have sent enough posts.
Alistair
ahh - PM thing is now working for you.
Sarah
just wondering if silvertourist got my PM :-\
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I think he needs to have made three postings ...
One of the RC members visiting the Toc H house in France ? Belgium ?? and put lots of pictures and info about it on the site.
Cant find it ... :( ... but I'll contact her and tell her about this thread
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thank you Lydart.
...and may i wish you the best of times in February - i clicked on your blog and admire your adventurous spirit.
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There are some photographs of my visit to Toc H a year or so ago. I recommend a visit to anyone who is planning a trip to Flanders.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,422380.15.html
Jen
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thank you so much - i have just had a look at the first few pics and they are wonderful - i have all my grand fathers photos of ww1 in trenches/Somme etc and those of his visits to the memorials once peace had settled.
i need to put aside some time to get them scanned and uploaded - when i do i will PM you a link
for now, all i have managed to do is here:
http://tochdicksonlamp.proboards.com/
Sarah