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"Weasel" Dixon, Army Apprentice School 1954-7


Guest Old Canny Street Kid

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Guest Old Canny Street Kid

I admit that I am stretching the "Sheffield People" a bit, for the old pal I have been trying to find for many years actually came from Doncaster, but the South Yorkshire link made us friends when we found ourselves in the same barrack room in the Army Apprentices School at Harrogate in September 1954. Anyway, it might just be possible that through the Sheffield History site he might learn of my search --always assuming he is still around. Somebody somewhere may have knowledge of him.

It is more than 50 years since I last saw him, and I very much regret that at this distance in time I cannot remember his Christian name, only that we all knew him as "Weasel" --a nickname he did not seem to mind.

In fact, within barely a year of meeting up with him, I was transferred to another camp, and I only saw "Weasel" once more after that. This was in 1957 when I went back to Harrogate to attend his Passing Out Parade.

All I know is that he went into the Royal Signals, but what as I do not know. I have, over the years, had articles in the Signals mangazine, and I have had regular contact with the Harrogate Apprentices Association, but, while many remember him, nobody seems to know what happened to him.

At Harrogate he was a big friend of another Doncaster lad called Norman Hairsign (they signed up together), but my attempts to locate Norman and learn more about what happened to "Weasel" in senior service have so far been in vain.

All I can remember about Dixon's Doncaster background is that in the mid-1950s his father was a borstal officer in the Doncaster/Thorne region.

This is a picture of "Weasel" Dixon.

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Guest Old Canny Street Kid

I admit that I am stretching the "Sheffield People" a bit, for the old pal I have been trying to find for many years actually came from Doncaster, but the South Yorkshire link made us friends when we found ourselves in the same barrack room in the Army Apprentices School at Harrogate in September 1954. Anyway, it might just be possible that through the Sheffield History site he might learn of my search --always assuming he is still around. Somebody somewhere may have knowledge of him.

It is more than 50 years since I last saw him, and I very much regret that at this distance in time I cannot remember his Christian name, only that we all knew him as "Weasel" --a nickname he did not seem to mind.

In fact, within barely a year of meeting up with him, I was transferred to another camp, and I only saw "Weasel" once more after that. This was in 1957 when I went back to Harrogate to attend his Passing Out Parade.

All I know is that he went into the Royal Signals, but what as I do not know. I have, over the years, had articles in the Signals mangazine, and I have had regular contact with the Harrogate Apprentices Association, but, while many remember him, nobody seems to know what happened to him.

At Harrogate he was a big friend of another Doncaster lad called Norman Hairsign (they signed up together), but my attempts to locate Norman and learn more about what happened to "Weasel" in senior service have so far been in vain.

All I can remember about Dixon's Doncaster background is that in the mid-1950s his father was a borstal officer in the Doncaster/Thorne region.

This is a picture of "Weasel" Dixon.

Delighted to report that contact has been established with Larry (Weasel) Dixon...in North Yorkshire.

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Delighted to report that contact has been established with Larry (Weasel) Dixon...in North Yorkshire.

Brilliant! Was that courtesy of your posting here or another source?

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Guest Old Canny Street Kid

Brilliant! Was that courtesy of your posting here or another source?

It was as a consequence of posting a note on the Harrogate Apprentice site, and it was on there for a long time before someone spotted it and told Larry Dixon. I have tried many different sites and tried all sorts of way in my search for Larry, and I am grateful to everyone who helped. I might also mention that I recently found a book for which I have been searching for many many years (I couldn't even remember the title, for I read it as a boy in the late 1940s), and it happened simply because I kept asking everywhere. I had given up hope, and yet it was someone I knew who not only told me the title of the book, but told me where I could obtain a copy!

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It was as a consequence of posting a note on the Harrogate Apprentice site, and it was on there for a long time before someone spotted it and told Larry Dixon. I have tried many different sites and tried all sorts of way in my search for Larry, and I am grateful to everyone who helped. I might also mention that I recently found a book for which I have been searching for many many years (I couldn't even remember the title, for I read it as a boy in the late 1940s), and it happened simply because I kept asking everywhere. I had given up hope, and yet it was someone I knew who not only told me the title of the book, but told me where I could obtain a copy!

Ain't t'internet wonderful! lol

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Guest Old Canny Street Kid

Ain't t'internet wonderful! lol

I should mention that although Sheffield History did not lead me directly to Larry "Weasel" Dixon, I have just heard from another old AAS colleague after more than 50 years --and he spotted the reference on Sheffield History! So it pays to post searches on here, and then be a little patient!

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