James Nixon

James Nixon enlisted 14th August 1914 with the Highland Light Infantry in Glasgow, Scotland.  

James served in Gallipoli. He went through Egypt to Palestine and fought at the second battle of Gaza. He suffered gunshot wounds to his elbow. He also caught malaria. He was gassed in the trenches which affected his lungs for the remainder of his life. Despite many requests to the War Pension Department they did not consider his ill health to be the result of the war.

James was discharged at Edinburgh on 9th January 1919. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for Gallantry and Devotion on the Field.

After the war James was told to leave the dampness of Scotland. He came to Cleary as a farmer then moved to Beacon where he and his wife Isabelle ran a small chook farm on the outskirts of town.

James suffered poor health. They lived out their last years in a house in Lindsay Street, Beacon.

James and Isabelle are buried at the Bencubbin Cemetery.