LAKIN, Robert William
| Service Number: | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 October 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 14th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Tumby Bay SA, 23 February 1897 |
| Home Town: | Tumby Bay, Tumby Bay, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Tumby Bay SA |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 22 July 1917, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Brandhoek Military Cemetery Brandhoek Military Cemetery, Brandhoek, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Tumby Bay RSL Portrait Memorials, Tumby Bay War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1986, 9th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Feb 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Trooper, 1986, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Warilda embarkation_ship_number: A69 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 14th Field Artillery Brigade , 54th Battery 14th FAB taken on strength from 9th LHR | |
| 22 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Driver, 1986, 14th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1986 awm_unit: 54th Australian Field Artillery Battery awm_rank: Driver awm_died_date: 1917-07-22 |
Help us honour Robert William Lakin's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Stewart
Bob was born on 23 February 1897 at Tumby Bay to Robert Robson Lakin and Isabella Lakin (nee Dorward). He was the 4th eldest 12 children in the family, 6 boys and 6 girls. His was one of the pioneering farming families in the district, moving onto a farm just south of Tumby, Section 200 in the Hundred of Hutchison in 1894. As an aside a quote from the West Coast Recorder newspaper in 1904 gives some idea of the area at the time: “when one enters the scrub lands beyond Whites River it is very pleasing to see the improvements being made by farmers”. “Mr Lakin is an object lesson to anyone interested (in farming) in our district --- as there is no land poorer than that at present farmed by Mr Lakin”. A backhanded compliment!
The family later moved onto a farm of 1965 acres (approx 800 Ha), “Elitha”, near Butler in the Hundred of Dixon in 1906. This block was later owned by the Davey family and is currently owned by Centrex Metals.
Bob went to school at Tumby Bay, commencing in 1904 and leaving at completion of Grade 5. On completion of schooling he worked on the family farm and other farms in the area until his enlistment in the Army at the age of 18. He had actually applied to enlist on 25 Sep 1915! At the time of enlistment he recorded his occupation as farmer.
On enlistment Bob had a fairly hectic time when he was first posted to 2nd Depot Battalion on 18 October 1915 with the rank of Private, then 2 weeks later transferred to Base Light Horse at Mitcham with the rank of trooper and 2 weeks after that he was allocated to 14th Reinforcements/9th Light Horse Regiment to complete his training. On 28 March 1916 he was transferred to 3rd Light Horse Regiment and on April fool’s day 1916 he was posted to 54th Field Artillery Battery, firstly with the rank of gunner and later with the rank of driver.
The 54th Field Artillery Battery was formed in Egypt in Mar 1916 as part of 14th Artillery Brigade; many of the recruits destined for other units and troops already serving in the area were also transferred to this battery. After the forming of the battery and the sister batteries, 53 and 55 Field Artillery Batteries – also part of 14th Artillery Brigade, the unit was shipped to France and the Western Front. Thus on 19 June 1916 Bob embarked at Alexandria aboard HMT “Georgean” bound for Marseilles (France) disembarking on 27 June 1916 with his new unit.
The unit served on the Western Front for the next 12 months supporting a number of battles and engaged in counter bombardment actions. On 18 Jul 1917, a heavy artillery barrage was launched on the German lines. This lasted for ten days. Three thousand artillery guns fired over four million shells. This was the precursor to the battle of Passchendaele, fought throughout Jul 1917; it is sometimes called the Third Battle of Ypres. For the soldiers who fought at Passchendaele, it was also known as the 'Battle of Mud'. Few battles encapsulate WW1 better than the Battle of Passchendaele.
During this battle, as a result of a counter bombardment by the German artillery, Bob was killed in action (KIA) on 21 July 1917. He was buried in the field in the vicinity of West-Vlaanderen (near Ypres) in Belgium; later being interred at Brandhoek Military Cemetery, 2 miles (approx 3.5 km) east of Poperinghe (France).
His name is recorded on the Tumby Bay Memorial.
Three of Bob’s brothers also served during WW1.
Click images to start slideshow.