ROBERTS, Joseph Eric
| Service Number: | 19774 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 8th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Beaufort, Victoria, Australia, October 1894 |
| Home Town: | Beaufort, Pyrenees, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Saddler |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 21 May 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegsteert, Wallonie, Belgium Plot II, Row A, Grave No. 8. BELOVED & ELDEST SON OF J. & S.T. ROBERTS OF BEAUFORT R.I.P. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Beaufort War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 29 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 19774, 8th Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 19774, 8th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 20 May 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 19774, 8th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Medic, Sydney | |
| 21 May 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 19774, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 19774 awm_unit: Y3A Australian Medium Trench Mortar Battery awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1917-05-21 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Gunner Joseph Eric Roberts was the son of Joseph and Sarah Theresa Roberts, of Beaufort, Victoria. His father had passed away in Western Australia when he was about 13 years age.
Joseph’s younger brother, 31376 Gnr. Thomas Henry Roberts 13th Australian Field Artillery Brigade later died of wounds on 1 November 1918, at 22 years of age and decorated with the M.M. And Bar.
Joseph joined the Y3A Australian Medium Trench Mortar Battery soon after arriving in England during September 1916.
According to eye witness in his Red Cross wounded and missing file, Joseph Roberts was killed by a shell near Ploegsteert Wood in Belgium. With three companions he was going to the gun pits to get a spare part to replace a defect in a gun, when a shell burst, killing all four. Gunner Roberts was hit in the chest and abdomen by fragments of' the shell. The four soldiers are buried side by side in the Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegsteert.