TOTTEN, Robert Joseph
| Service Number: | 6101 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 January 1916, Place of Enlistment. Cairns, Queensland. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mareeba Shire, Mareeba, Queensland, Australia, 17 August 1886 |
| Home Town: | Mareeba, Tablelands, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Biboora State School, Biboora, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 11 April 1917, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bapaume Australian Cemetery Bapaume Australian Cemetery, Bapaume, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cairns Cenotaph, Mareeba War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6101, 15th Infantry Battalion, Place of Enlistment. Cairns, Queensland. | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 6101, 15th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Itonus embarkation_ship_number: A50 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 6101, 15th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Itonus, Brisbane |
Robert Joseph Totten.
Robert Joseph Totten was born 1 September 1893 near Mareeba, Queensland to Thomas Totten and Priscilla Smith. Thomas was born in Ireland. Their first child was James Thomas was born in Australia in 1893 followed by Robert then Priscilla Alice in 1898, Frances Mary and lastly Ernest Henry in 1902. The family remained in the north except for Frances who moved to Sydney after her marriage.
Robert attended Biboohra School. Biboohra if just north of Mareeba along the Mulligan Highway. The school is still open today (2017).
Robert was 19 years and 4 months when he enlisted on 4 January 1916. It was recorded he was 5 feet 7inches, 127 pounds with a fair complexion, blue eyes and dark brown hair. Robert was working as a labourer and gave his father as his next of kin.
During January the new volunteers, including Robert, were entertained and farewelled at a number of social evenings in Mareeba. They were each presented with a shaving set.
Robert and three other soldiers while on leave took part in an Anzac day service in 1916 at Mareeba. They saw the flag unfurled on a new flag staff made of two cyprus pine poles embedded in a concrete base with the words “Anzac Day 1916” inscribed on it.
He left Brisbane with his unit in August 1916 on the troopship “Itonus” and disembarked at Plymouth in October. In early December he was on the S.S. “Arundle” for France. Within a couple of weeks he was admitted to hospital for a month with the mumps.
On April 11 Robert Joseph Totten suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, back and right arm and died that day at the 3rd Australian Clearing Station, France and was buried in the Bapaume Australian Cemetery, Bapaume, Pas de Calais, France; Plot 1 Row B Grave 21.
This small cemetery was created by the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station in March 1917 with 87 identified casualties. Within this cemetery are also a number of German graves. Courtesy of The Cairns District Family History Society.
Submitted 11 April 2021 by Lynette Turner
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