S8688
HUMPHRIES, Robert Roland Thomas Rossiter
| Service Number: | 1024 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, 17 April 1886 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Harware Assistant |
| Died: | 8 August 1977, aged 91 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Enfield Memorial Park, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Grand Masonic Lodge WW1 Honour Board (2) |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Nov 1915: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Sergeant, 1024, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Sergeant, 1024, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 1024, 43rd Infantry Battalion, Le Hamel - Blueprint for Victory, GSW back | |
| 21 Oct 1918: | Honoured Military Medal, On the morning of the 3rd. June, 1918, at VILLERS BRETONNEUX, this N.C.O. did magnificent work with a Lewis Gun on the occasion of an attempted enemy raid on our trenches. The enemy endeavoured to enter our trenches under cover of a very heavy artillery barrage and bomb attack and, the Lewis Gun team having been temporarily put out of action as the result of shell concussion, Serjeant HUMPHRIES immediately rushed up, seized the gun, and operated it with great skill until the enemy retired. His bravery and prompt action were instrumental in preventing the enemy from penetrating our lines at that particular point, and he also succeeded in inflicting severe casualties on the raiders. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Robert Roland Thomas Rossiter Humphries was born on the 17th of April 1886. Humphries was 29 when he enlisted, before the war, he was a hardware assistant. He was a single man that lived on 252 Gilles Street, Adelaide, South Australia. He lived with his mother.
He enlisted on the 25th of November 1915 when he was 29 and 6 months. The soldier was marked as a sergeant. They travelled to England for training. Their training was very hard they normally trained 8 hours a day. From England, they took a boat to France on the 25th of November 1916. He was sent to hospital in France because was he sick. He also went to Hospital because during the fighting in France he was wounded several times. In France they combined with other battalions this was called the 3rd division. They did this to have a lot more people and overload these enemies.
During the time in this battalion, they fought the third battle of Ypres which was one of the major battles that lasted over 8 weeks of just straight fighting. There were over 38,000 deaths just from the Australian forces. Then there were also deaths from the German and British forces. Even though this battle ended in November 1917 the battalion fought in other battles. They also fought in the battle of Messines from the 7th of June 1917 to the 14th of June 1917.
On 4th July 1918 Robert Humphries was wounded in the back at Hamel. After recovering in England he did not return to action before the end of the war.
On the 12th of February 1919, Robert Humphries was awarded the Military Medal. This medal was awarded to him for bravery on the field, for actions performed at Villers Bretonneux on 3rd June 1918. This medal is a very important medal receiving this would have been a very big deal. He also received the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. These two medals everyone got, the victory medal was for the victory and the British war medal was for everyone that served in world war I.
Robert Humphries returned from the war alive, he returned to Australia on the 12th of December 1918. When he returned to Australia, he committed a couple of minor crimes. He died on the 8th of August 1977; he was 91 years old. But they still have not found out the cause of his death. He was buried in the cemetery at Enfield Memorial Park S.A. His name is also on the memorial board at Mason Lodge.
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