JENKINS, Robert
| Service Number: | 3813 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Glasgow, Scotland., 14 August 1895 |
| Home Town: | Alexandria, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tramway Workshops Shop Boy |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 1 July 1916, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Brewery Orchard Cemetery, Bois-Grenier |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3813, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3813, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Sydney |
Help us honour Robert Jenkins's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Robert JENKINS (Service Number 3813) was born on 14th August 1895 in Glasgow, Scotland.
He began his career in the Tramways as a shop boy at Randwick Workshops on 4th May 1914. He remained in this position until 30th August 1915, when he was granted leave to join the AIF. He was 20 when he enlisted. He embarked at Sydney on HMAT A29 ‘Suevic’ on 22nd December 1915.
He was taken on strength of the 13th Battalion in Tel-el-Kebir (Egypt) on 4th March 1916. He proceeded to join the British Expeditionary Forces, embarking from Alexandria on 1st June 1916, and disembarking at Marseilles (France) on 8th June.
He was killed in action in France on 1st July 1916. One eyewitness account of his death states, ‘Jenkins was killed outright by a shell, hit on right side, badly hit. He was killed at Ypres’. He was buried in Brewery Orchard Cemetery, Bois-Grenier, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France
Although his father was initially listed as his next of kin, by the time Jenkins’ personal items were distributed, his father had passed away. In a heartbreaking letter from Robert’s sister to his mother after Robert and his father had died, she says:
‘Our father died on 4th December… [he] has never been the same since we told him about poor Bertie, but the nurse said… he was always saying he wished he was beside Bertie. He has got his wish now, poor Father, we are all left alone now’.
So, his mother received his possessions, including a wallet, photos, and devotional books. His mother also received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal in honour of her son’s service.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board