He attended the local school and farmed in the area until World War I, when he joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

[4] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for public and local government services, in the 1953 New Year Honours.

[5] The investiture was held almost a year later, on 29 December 1953, at the Auckland Town Hall and the honour was conferred by the Elizabeth II as part of her (and the Duke's) royal visit to New Zealand in 1953/54.

[6] In July or early August 1943, Dickie married Florence Mildred Law (née Dixon) in Rotorua.

At that time, Dickie had already announced his retirement from parliament and at the end of the session later in the year, the couple moved to Rotorua.