Robert Francis LINTON

LINTON, Robert Francis

Service Number: 5135
Enlisted: 9 February 1916
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 52nd Infantry Battalion
Born: Springfield, Tasmania, Australia, 1894
Home Town: Springfield, Dorset, Tasmania
Schooling: Springfield State School,Tasmania, Australia,
Occupation: Farm Hand
Died: Killed in Action, France, 24 April 1918
Cemetery: Crucifix Corner Cemetery
I C 20,
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Scottsdale Municipality Pictorial HR
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World War 1 Service

9 Feb 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5135, 52nd Infantry Battalion
29 Mar 1916: Involvement Private, 5135, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
29 Mar 1916: Embarked Private, 5135, 12th Infantry Battalion, RMS Orontes, Melbourne
24 Apr 1918: Involvement Private, 5135, 52nd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5135 awm_unit: 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-24

Help us honour Robert Francis Linton's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Faithe Jones

Son of George and Elizabeth LINTON, Meldreth, South Springfield, Tasmania

The Rev. O. W. Wilson had the sad task of conveying to Mr. and Mrs. G. Linton, of South Springfield, the news that their son, Robert Francis Linton, had been killed in action in France on April 24. The deceased soldier enlisted in the year 1916 in the 12th Battalion, and had seen over two years' service. He was only 23 years of age. One brother (George) returned invalided a few weeks ago, and a younger brother is on his way to the front.

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Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From Dorset Tasmania History Society

On this day in 1914 the Launceston Examiner reported that 19-year-old Robert Linton had been bitten on the leg by a snake while carting hay in Springfield. Jim Ranson, aged 27, immediately cut out a piece of the leg and drove him to Scottsdale where he received medical care. He soon recovered. Three years earlier Robert had been severely injured when his bicycle collided with a vehicle on the Springfield road. In 1916 he enlisted in WWI where he served overseas for two years before being killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux. He left behind his parents, George and Elizabeth (nee Lowther), and nine brothers and sisters in South Springfield. His elder brother George had three months earlier returned home from the war, an invalid. His younger brother Philip was on his way to the front, having enlisted in December 1917. Such was the lives of the people who have come before us, just over 100 years ago. Try to imagine the impact that events like these would have had on small communities like Springfield and South Springfield, including the loss of a 24-year-old.

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