Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Father John Keillor and Mother Emily Francis Keillor (nee ________)
lived on a farm outside (upper) Caboolture.

One of five sons.

Next of kin in service:
Brother:  6558 Thomas Henry Keillor

Described on enlisting as 19 years 11 months old; single; 5' 4 1/2" tall; 132 lbs;
dark complexion; brown eyes; brown hair; Church of England.

29/9/1916    Enlisted in Brisbane
                   completed medical - fit for service

26/11/1916  Commanding Officer appointed Robert to
                   6th reinforcements, 41st Battalion, Rifle Range - Enoggera

23/12/1916  Embarked on board HMAT Demosthenes A64, departed from Sydney
                   as a Private in the 41st Infantry, 6th reinforcements

24/1/1917    sick to hospital at sea - Measles  (discharged 30/1/1917)

7/2/1917      sick to hospital at sea - Measles (discharged 13/2/1917)

6/3/1917      marched in from Australia to England

21/4/1917    admitted to hospital (mumps) - discharged 9/5/1917

2/7/1917      proceeded overseas to France, ex Folkestone, England

18/7/1917    taken on strength into 41st Battalion, in the Field

31/7/1917    Killed in action in the field
buried in:     nearby of Messines, Belgium

NO grave or body was ever found.

Robert's name is commemorated at the MENIN GATE Memorial, Ieper, Province West- Vlaanderen,
Flanders, Belgium.

Medals:
British War medal (54903); Victory medal (54063); Memorial Plaque and
Memorial Scroll (328546).

On behalf of Robert's great-niece Leigh E Chester-Master (nee Keillor).

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.  28/1/2015.  Lest we forget.

KEILLOR  Robert Errick  #2832  41st Battalion
 
Bob Keillor was born at Caboolture to parents John and Emily Keillor. He presented himself for enlistment in Brisbane on 29th September 1916. Bob gave his age as 19 years and as such would have required his parent’s permission to enlist. His file does not contain the usual form and it may be that Bob’s father accompanied him to the recruiting depot.
 
Bob was allocated as part of the 6th reinforcements of the 41st Battalion. The embarkation roll for the reinforcements lists Robert Keillor, single, selector of Caboolture. The “Demosthenes” departed Sydney on 23rd December 1916 and arrived in Plymouth on 3rd March 1917. Bob and the other reinforcements were marched out to the 11th Training Battalion at Sutton Veney. A brief period of hospital with mumps was followed by final training.
 
On 3rd July 1917, Bob was in a transit camp in France and by 18th July had finally joined up with his battalion. The 41st Battalion at that time was holding the line just to the south of Messines at Warneton. The battle for the Messines Ridge had begun two months previously and the Australian 3rd Division had been tasked with pressing home the advantage gained.
 
A Red Cross Wounded and Missing report relates that on 31st July, Bob Keillor and Corporal Rickwood had been out on a scouting mission in no man’s land and were returning to the frontline trench. Bob Keillor was carrying a “bag of bombs” (Mill’s hand grenades) and when he reached the parapet of the trench, he threw the bag down into the trench. At least one of the grenades exploded and Bob was killed. He had been with his battalion for just 12 days.
There is an entry in Bob’s file stating he was buried near Messines. No grave was located by the Graves Registration Unit when the battlefield was searched at the end of the war. Robert Keillor is commemorated on the tablets of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres; along with 30,000 other British and Dominion soldiers who gave their lives in Flanders and have no known grave.