JULIAN, Robert David
| Service Number: | 3371 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Minyip, Victoria, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Geelong, Greater Geelong, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Swanston Street State School, Geelong, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Ironmonger |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 2 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3371 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3371, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3371, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| 18 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 25 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 2 Jul 1916: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 14 Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-07-02 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
2nd Lieutenant Julian was one of the leaders of a raiding party of about 90 men of A Company 14th Battalion which forced its way into the German trenches at Armentieres on the night of 2 July 1916.
The wire in front of the trench to be raided was found to be uncut, and Julian was reported to have been shot near the wire and become entangled in it. Julian’s batman and close friend, Jim Pender, was a former VFL footballer with Carlton, and in hearing that the others (also wounded) fighting with him had been unable to bring him back to the Australian lines, Pender went out to find him and bring him back. Pender did not return to the Australian lines, and was never seen again, and according to his Red Cross file, Julian’s body could be seen near the wire the next morning. Both men are remembered on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial.
Julian was noted as a popular and promising young officer, and the fact he was in charge of the left wing of the raid signifies the esteem in which he was held. In all seven men from the Battalion died as a result of the raid, but many of the survivors were wounded to some extent.