British man traces ancestor’s grave to Secunderabad after 119 years

Dr. Robin Dickson fulfills lifelong dream by finding great-grandfather's grave in Secunderabad, India, with help from The Hindu journalists.

Sixty-seven-year-old Robin Dickson from Northumberland, England, is overjoyed as he says his longtime dream has come true —he has found the grave of his great-grandfather, Lieutenant Charles Wilson, in Cemetery No. 12 of the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, maintained by the CSI Wesley Cemetery Board in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad Cantonment, nearly 119 years after he was buried.

Lt. Wilson was born James Henry Dickson on May 4, 1858, at Waverton near Chester, England. His relatives will commemorate his 167th birth anniversary on May 4 this year in his remembrance. He served his last days in the 15th Mule Company in the Supply and Transport Corps of Madras Command in Secunderabad. After a brief illness, he died at the age of 48 in the Station Hospital, Trimulgherry, which is now known as the Military Hospital, Trimulgherry.

Interestingly, this is the second time in the last two years that The Hindu journalists have helped the families of the British soldiers who died and are buried here in one of the cemeteries over a century ago.

The first was when the grave of the great-granduncle of a 76-year-old Irish woman was traced in the now completely disused Cemetery No. 5 in Trimulgherry.

It all began last year when Dr. Robin Dickson emailed this writer after reading a 2023 article about a World War I soldier’s grave being found. He shared documents about his great-grandfather and sought help tracing his grave.

Dr. Robin Dickson and his 75-year-old Indian friend, Prem Kamath, a Mumbai-based CXO coach, continued working together to make progress.

Caretaker of CSI Cemetery Nos. 5 and 12, two gravediggers, and D. Sudesh Kumar from the CSI Medak Diocese Communication Group made three failed attempts.