DUNBAR, Robert George
| Service Number: | 5259 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 November 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 1st Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Cullen, Moray, Scotland, 1879 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Employee |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 7 May 1948, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld Anzac Portion 7 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Nov 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5259, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Mar 1918: | Involvement Private, 5259, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Ormonde embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 2 Mar 1918: | Embarked Private, 5259, 31st Infantry Battalion, SS Ormonde, Sydney | |
| 2 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Gunner, 5259, 1st Field Artillery Brigade, 1st MD |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Australian Remembrance Army
Gunner Robert George Dunbar (Service No. 5259), an Australian World War One veteran, is among almost 800 previously unmarked WWI veterans’ graves in Lutwyche Cemetery we have now marked with a plaque recognising their service for Australia.
On 15 April 2023, his plaque was unveiled in Lutwyche Cemetery, along with a further 246 plaques on the previously unmarked graves of Australian World War One veterans:
See Australian Remembrance Army Facebook page
Robert George Dunbar was born in 1879 in Cullen, Moray, Scotland. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Brisbane on 26 November 1917, aged 37, stating his occupation as railway employee and naming his cousin, Robert Dunbar, as his next of kin.
On 2 March 1918, he embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Ormonde with the 1st Field Artillery Battalion and disembarked in Egypt in April. During April and May, he was admitted to hospital suffering from influenza and diarrhoea. In July, he was transferred to Southampton, England, and in early October 1918, Gunner Dunbar proceeded overseas to France. In March 1919, he was again admitted to hospital with influenza, and in May he embarked for England for his return to Australia.
He returned to Australia on the troopship Prinz Ludwig, which arrived on 8 September 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on 2 October 1919.
Following his return, he was recorded as living in various locations in Brisbane, working as a labourer. In subsequent years, he resided at Grafton House, Oxford Street, Eagle Farm, Brisbane.
Gunner Robert George Dunbar died on 7 May 1948, aged 69, and was buried the following day in Anzac Portion 7, Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. He was a single man who never married and had no known children.
After decades without recognition at his place of burial, his grave now bears a plaque commemorating his service to Australia — ensuring his name endures among those remembered for their duty and sacrifice. His identity and dignity have now been restored.
We have remembered him.
Lest We Forget.
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