He bought Dalby House Farm near Spilsby in Feb 1939. The substantial property included the main house, a foreman's house, six cottages and 448 acres of pasture and arable land. He moved from Coleby to take up residence. By 1940 he was noted to making silage along with other Lincolnshire dairy farmers, not a new process, but one which saved the need for imported animal feeds and so important for the war effort. In Sep 1943 he advertised for a housekeeper, mentioning that there were two in the family. On 11 Feb 1944 he was caught using his car to attend the Revesby Hunt ball, private use of this nature being illegal at this time. It cost him £10. The car was licenced for Official Duties with Auxiliary Units, but this could not be mentioned. Frank was the Master of Fox Hounds for the South Wold (East) Hunt from 1945 until 1947.
His neighbour at Dalby Hall was Mrs Mabel Eleanor Garfit, widow of Major B C Garfit. They had four daughters and Frank would marry the youngest, Christabel Maud Garfit on 27 Aug 1946 at the Hall, which had it's own small church in grounds. She had been a Red Cross VAD nurse during the war. Dalby Hall had become headquarters for Lincolnshire Auxiliary Units in 1943. After the death of Mrs Garfit in 1947, the couple moved to live at Dalby Hall themselves.
He set up a private company, Dalby Farms Limited, to take on the business of the farm, with himself and his wife as the directors.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincolnshire Group 3 | Group Commander | Unknown | 03 Dec 1944 |
Farmer
He signed on with the Territorial Force for the 4th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, serving in France from 1 Mar 1915 as private 2677. He was commissioned into the Tank Corps on 23 Mar 1919.
From May 1940 he was commander of the Alford Company of the normal Home Guard.
He was subsequently recruited to Auxiliary Units, becoming Group Commander for Group 3, then Area Commander as the Regular Army element of Auxiliary Units was reduced.
From the Lincolnshire Standard 1968 on the publishing of David Lampe's “The Last Ditch”;
“It was all a very long time ago” says Spilsby farmer Mr Frank Dawson, underground commander for South Lincolnshire during the war. Eventually his home, Dalby Hall, was the regional headquarters but when he was recruited, HQ was in the now demolished Blankney Hall. A 1914-18 army officer, Mr Dawson commanded the Alford company of the Home Guard until he agreed to “go underground”.
In days when Britain faced the threat of invasion, he took part in top security meetings, built up Patrols in South Lincolnshire, supervised the establishing of secret hideouts and helped to train the men in guerrilla tactics.
“It was the kind of warfare that appealed to me” he admitted. “I was never much for army routine”. But when the time came to disband, I just forgot about the whole thing. I never thought anything would ever be known about our activities.
Hancock data held at B.R.A,
Extracts from Lincolnshire Standard 1968 on the publishing of David Lampe's “The Last Ditch”.
TNA ref WO199/3389 & WO363
1939 Register
Lincolnshire Echo 9 May 1944
Lincolnshire Standard 25 Feb 1939, 31 Aug 1946
Louth Standard 13 May 1944, 26 Apr 1947
Ancestry UK