William Clement ROBERTS

ROBERTS, William Clement

Service Number: 1365
Enlisted: 2 August 1915, Bendigo, Victoria
Last Rank: Gunner
Last Unit: 12th Field Artillery Brigade
Born: Bendigo, Victoria, September 1885
Home Town: White Hills, Bendigo, Victoria
Schooling: White Hills State School
Occupation: Horse trainer
Memorials: Bendigo White Hills Arch of Triumph, Bendigo White Hills Baptist Church Honour Roll
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World War 1 Service

2 Aug 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1365, Bendigo, Victoria
21 Oct 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1365, 8th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: SS Hawkes Bay embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
21 Oct 1915: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1365, 8th Light Horse Regiment, SS Hawkes Bay, Melbourne
22 Jul 1918: Embarked AIF WW1, Gunner, 1365, 12th Field Artillery Brigade

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Biography contributed by Jack Coyne

Gunner William Clement Roberts                   SN 1365

William Roberts enlisted on August 2, 1915 at the Bendigo Town Hall.  He was one month off turning 30 years of age and his younger brother Oliver had enlisted a month earlier in July and was already in training at the Bendigo camp.

William and Oliver were two of six children in the Robert’s family. Their father Edward Roberts was deceased and their mother Elizabeth Leah Roberts was listed as their Nearest of Kin. Both boys indicated on their Attestation document that two- fifths of their pay whilst they were in the army would go their mother.

William stated he was a horse trainer and the family were living at Hall street White Hills close to the Bendigo creek. With both boys now in the army, Mrs Roberts would move into Bendigo proper on Creek street. 

William’s knowledge of horses meant he was appointed to the 8th Light Horse (LH). He would join become part of the 11th Reinforcements for the 8th LH desperately required to rebuild the depleted battalion. The initial recruits into the 8th LH had already left their horses behind in Egypt and were struggling to survive on the shores and cliffs of the Dardanelles Peninsula. Horses were considered unsuitable for operations at Gallipoli, and the troops were subsequently deployed without their horses.  

It is not known whether William bought with him his own horse however, it is likely fairly basic training would take place at either Seymour or Broadmeadows camps.

On October 21, 1915 the Unit embarked from the Port of Melbourne, on board HMAT SS Hawkes Bay. The long voyage to Egypt usually involved calling at the ports of Albany, Colombo, Suez, Port Said and finally Alexandria. Very hot weather was experienced, resulting in a good deal of sickness on board.

When William arrives in Egypt, the initial light horse regiments have returned from Gallipoli heavily depleted. Given the timing of Williams arrival in Egypt late November and the withdrawal in late December of all the AIF forces off the Peninsula, it is unlikely William served at Gallipoli. This could be incorrect. 

On his arrival in Egypt, William would be transferred into the 3rd Light Horse Reserve regiment on March 6, 1916 which was deployed to protect the Nile valley from bands of pro-Turkish Senussi Arabs. 

For the AIF, the bigger theatre of war was now turning to Europe and the infantry units were readying for deployment to France and Belgium.

On April 1, 1916 William along with many of the men from the Light Horse regiments were transferred into either Infantry or Artillery divisions. Leaner Light horse regiments would stay in Egypt and the middle east but the pressure was on to send as many men as possible to the European front.

In preparing for Europe, William would join the 4th Artillery Division based at Heliopolis, outside of Cairo. The very next day he is ‘Taken on Strength’ (TOS) into the 12th Division Ammunition Column and is mustered as a ‘Gunner’.

The logistics of supply of ammunition was critical to any army.  The weight and volume of artillery ammunition meant that keeping ammunition up to the guns at the rates required was an all-encompassing supply chain issue from manufacture through storage, distribution and provision to disposal of unexploded ordnance and recovery of re-useable components. 

Each Division of the AIF had an Ammunition Column to keep ammunition up to the guns by moving it from "Third line" storage up to the Front ("First Line"). It was a mammoth task involving motor and horse drawn transport, heavy and light rail and tramways.  Ammunition dumps and transport near the Front Line were high priority targets of the enemy's guns , and later, aircraft. 

Horse drawn transport laden with ammunition is a doubly risky business. Horses are vulnerable to all forms of small arms and artillery and the cargo is such that a hit is generally catastrophic. It is not for nothing that many drivers received bravery awards'.    (Source - https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/126 )

The Artillery units were located in their desert camp at Serapeum. The camp at Serapeum, was the site of the ancient and great temple dedicated to the Greek – Egyptian god of Serepis in ancient Alexandria founded around 300 BC. Very little of this ancient monument remained standing, however the troops would pitch their tents within sight of the ancient pyramids. (see Photo)  In May (27) he would be admitted to the No.1 General Hospital in Tel er kebir with an injured ankle. This would cause him problems over the rest of army career.

On July 1, William would be attached to the Australian Troop Company  AATC based at Tel er Kebir in Egypt. The 1st Australian Troop Company was part of the Engineering Corp.

With the AIF Infantry battalions now already set sail for France, William and the Artillery units were sent to England for training on the latest British weapons. William and his unit would board the HT Lake Manitcha at Alexandria and sail for the south coast of England.

In England they would be Marched In (MI) to the AIF camp at Parkhouse. Park House, situated close to Tidworth, became a depot for the AIF, housing training battalions as well as engineers and signalers, its Army Service Corps and Army Medical Corps.

Over the next twelve months William would serve in just about every AIF depot and camp across southern England including Bulford, Lark Hill, Heytesbury and then Weymouth in December.

In late March or April 1917, he would have most likely received word from home that his youngest brother Oliver had  “died from wounds’ received from accidentally and tragically from ‘friendly fire’ ( a small bomb) in the front line for the 57th Battalion near Albert in Northern France on March 3rd.

Suffering severly from Rheumatism and his general health failing, he would be marked RTA – Return to Australia with his file saying ‘Needing change from England’.  He would embark from England HT Gaika on May 12, 1918 and disembark in Melbourne 7weeks later on July 5th 1918.  

Gunner William Roberts is remembered by the people of White Hills. The names of the local lads who sacrificed their lives and those that were fortunate to return from the Great War are shown on the embossed copper plaques on the White Hills Arch of Triumph, at the entrance to the Botanic Gardens.

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