Cricket ball : Private D J Dyson, 2/3 Anti-Tank Regiment

Red leather cricket ball with stitching worn with use.

Douglas James Dyson was born on 19 April 1917 at Chatswood in Sydney. He never knew his father who, he believed, was killed during the First World War. His mother gave Douglas, aged 5, and his brother Ken, aged 6, up for adoption to St Alban's Boys Home at Morpeth. Later the boys were transferred to the Buckland Memorial Church of England Boys Home on Pennant Hills Rd at Carlingford.

At 13 Dyson began to earn his own keep, his first job being apprenticed to a butcher at Hazelbrook. Later he spent some time in Wollongong working on a Neaves and Gibson milk-cart at Dapto before moving to Tunglebung Creek near Casino, working on the property of Mr and Mrs Gearing in 1939. Dyson had been befriended by the couple when they had lived near the Morpeth orphanage. Hearing that some of his mates were joining up he hitched a ride on a pig truck to Lismore and signed up before heading to Newcastle to complete his enlistment as private NX46310 on 5 July 1940.

Posted to 9 Battery 2/3 Anti Tank Regiment, Dyson moved to Warwick Farm, Sydney for training before the regiment moved camp to Ingleburn on 12 September. 2/3 Anti Tank Regiment embarked for the Middle East on 14 November 1940 on HMAT 'Orion'. Just before to leaving, the regiment was transferred from the 8th to the 6th Division. After arriving at Haifa, Palestine on 17 December the regiment disembarked and moved to their camp near the small village of Julis the following day. Dyson's first experience of the war was seeing smoke rise near Haifa from an enemy bombing raid.

It was during his three months in Julis Camp that Dyson played cricket with other soldiers in the camp. The regiment rarely lost against other units. This was not surprising given that their team included Lieutenant Albert Cheetham who went on to be the opening bowler for the Australian Services Cricket Team in England in 1945. The Australian team played in the five 'Victory Tests' and included greats such as Keith Miller and Lindsay Hassett. The Julis Camp cricket ball was given to Dyson by Sergeant Arthur Geary, also of 9 Battery, 2/3 Anti-Tank Regiment following the war when Geary became seriously ill.

In late March 1941, 9 Battery followed 10 and 11 Batteries to the Western Desert, now part of 9 Division, and the prolonged siege of Tobruk. While in camp an Italian fighter plane dropped small anti personnel bombs that dotted the landscape. (In all probability these were the AR-4 'Thermos' anti personnel bombs that were dropped during this period by Italian fighter planes.) On 16 September 1941 Dyson threw rocks in an attempt to detonate the mines from a distance, only to succeed and receive wounds to the abdomen arm and chest from the flying shrapnel. He was evacuated to 2/4 Australian General Hospital for treatment and returned to his unit on 28 October 1941.

Dyson returned to Australia on 28 February 1943 and after various postings in NSW was discharged from the AIF on 18 November 1944. Following his discharge, Doug returned to Casino and found bush work, fencing and sleeper cutting. Doug and Ken moved to Sydney briefly before moving to Wollongong for work with BHP. In 1948 he found a job with the railways. At around this time he married Nancy Humphreys. He remained with the railway till his retirement.