ROEBUCK, Francis Henry
| Service Number: | 1246 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 February 1915, An original member of D Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 15 February 1876 |
| Home Town: | Geelong, Greater Geelong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Geelong College, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Bank clerk |
| Died: | Killed in action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 22 August 1915, aged 39 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Geelong College WW1 Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1246, 18th Infantry Battalion, An original member of D Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 1246, 18th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 1246, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney |
Help us honour Francis Henry Roebuck's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Francis Henry Roebuck was born in 1876, the eldest son of Henry Gilson Roebuck and Catherine Jane Roebuck of Geelong, Victoria. He was educated at Geelong College. Known as ‘Frank’, he worked at the London Bank, and was in the Sydney office of that bank when he enlisted in the 18th Battalion during February 1915, at 39 years of age.
Frank’s much younger brother, 977 Sergeant Albert Kenneth Roebuck 24th Battalion AIF was was wounded at Gallipoli and later killed in action at Pozieres on 5 August 1916, aged 23.
Francis Henry Roebuck’s 18th Battalion reached Gallipoli in mid-August. He was in action with his unit at Hill 60 on 22 August, and was reported missing that day. A comrade of the 18th Battalion reported to the Red Cross Information Bureau the circumstances of his death.
“Witness was beside him when attacking the Turkish trenches before Chocolate Hill on August 22 when he was wounded in the arm. They told him to lie down, they were then just alongside the trenches into which they subsequently got and remained there about half an hour. They then had to retire and never saw him again. Witness thinks Roebuck was taken prisoner as the Turks went into those trenches as they retired about 200 yards. He was rather tall with sallow complexion, clean shaven and was very popular. He was only man of that name in the Company. Witness did not know he was posted as missing till a few days ago when he read it in the paper.”
Later it emerged that a wristlet watch, presented to Frank by the London Bank when he left their employ, was found by Sgt William Halsey, of C Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Hants, at Gallipoli and forwarded to his parents, the inscription being a means of identification. Halsey wrote first to the London Bank:
‘I am in possession of a small relic, connected with your Bank, a silver watch, with this on the back “F.H. Roebuck from the staff of the London Bank, Sydney, March 1915”. My regiment relieved the Australians on Hill 60, and one day while digging trenches I crawled out with the intention of burying some bodies and close to one I found this watch. All clothing had been burnt by bush fire, so that friend and foe were all alike. And quickly I had to get back for the Turks had seen me, and sorry to say could not accomplish my work. But let me say, this is my wish, to get this little present back where this brave man came from, and to let you know he fell within a few feet of a Turkish trench, which had been filled in by his comrades with the enemy’s dead….”
‘Frank’ Roebuck has no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli.
(Information from Geelong College Heritage Guide)
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