DRYDEN, Robert George
| Service Number: | 4178 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Picola, Victoria, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Barmah, Moira, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 26 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Puchevillers British Cemetery, France Plot III, Row E, Grave No. 30 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Nathalia Rock and Chain Memorial, Picola Barmah State School No 3260 Roll of Honor, Queensland Railways Toowoomba Employees Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 9th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 1916: | Involvement Private, 4178, 9th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jan 1916: | Embarked Private, 4178, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane | |
| 21 Aug 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4178, 9th Infantry Battalion, Mouquet Farm, SW to right thigh. Evacuated to 44th CCS (situated at Puchevillers) however died of his wounds several days later on 26 August 1916. |
Help us honour Robert George Dryden's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Robert George Dryden, died of wounds at Pozieres in France on 26 August 1916. He was well known in Picola and Barmah districts, where he spent the greater part of his life. He went to Queensland a few years before he enlisted and joined up there. He would have been 26 years of age had he lived another fortnight.
Biography contributed
Reflections of a great-nephew
I was 18 years old when my grandmother died and she'd told me many stories about her favourite younger brother who was killed in France.
In the early 1970s my wife and I were living in London and we drove to Munich to attend the Olympic Games. On our way back to London we went out of way to visit the war cemetery (Puchevillers British Cemetery) in northern France, where my great-uncle is buried. I took the photo of his gravsite which has been added to his profile on the memorial site.
The cemetery is not even near a village. It's in the middle of nowhere on a flat treeless plain. We arrived there late afternoon and wandered around the cemetery by ourselves in complete silence. I can still remember it like it was yesterday - the soft evening light combined with an acute awareness of the horrors that took place there.
It remains one of the most moving experiences of my life.
Bob Patterson
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