ROBINSON, Percival Neller
| Other Name: | McFarlane, Thomas Percival |
|---|---|
| Service Number: | 2197 |
| Enlisted: | 22 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 26th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Auckland, New Zealand, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Hazeldean, Somerset, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 14 November 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kilcoy Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2197, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2197, 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Armadale embarkation_ship_number: A26 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2197, 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Armadale, Brisbane |
Narrative
Thomas Percival McFARLANE # 2197 26th Battalion
Tom McFarlane’s real name was Percival Nellor ROBINSON. He was born in Auckland NZ to parents James and Amelia Robinson. Mr James Walker of Hazeldean, via Kilcoy advised the military authorities after Tom’s death that Tom McFarlane had walked into his property with nothing. Mr Walker took pity on him and he stayed at Hazeldean for a number of years.
When Tom enlisted in Brisbane on 22nd July 1915 at the age of 34, he named James Walker as his next of kin even though his parents were both still living at Scott Street, Deagon. Tom was drafted as a reinforcement for the 26th Battalion and embarked for overseas on the “Armadale” in Brisbane on 20th September 1915. Tom remained in training camps at Tel-el-Kebir on the Suez Canal until the 26th Battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915. He was formally taken on strength by the battalion on 11th January 1916.
On 21st March 1916, the 26th Battalion, now fully reinforced and equipped, landed in Marseilles. The battalion, as part of the 7th Brigade of the 2nd Division AIF moved into the trenches around Armentieres near the French/ Belgian border to familiarise themselves with the business of trench warfare on the Western Front. For the Gallipoli veterans in the 26th, the Armentieres sector seemed like a holiday camp. Very little fighting was being done by either side due to the unsuitability of the marshy ground. Fresh water was piped into the front line trenches and a hot meal was brought up each evening from the battalion cookers. But best of all, only a mile or two behind the front line, village life went on as normal. There were plenty of cafes offering eggs and chips, as well plenty of vin rouge and beer. This idyllic lifestyle cam to an end when the entire division was called south.
On 1st July, Field Marshall Haig launched his ill-fated attack in the valley of the Somme. In spite of 60,000 British casualties on the first day Haig pushed on. By the middle of July the advance had hardly progressed at all. In late July and early August, the 1st and 2nd Divisions were thrown into the slaughter at Pozieres. Tom McFarlane was mistakenly listed as Wounded on 5th August. The Australians continued to throw good battalions against the German defenders for the next month before finally being withdrawn to Belgium for a rest.
In November 1916, the 7th brigade moved back to the Somme to have another attempt at breaking through the German defences, this time at Flers. In an attack against the Maze Trench System by the 26th Battalion, Tom McFarlane was listed as missing. James Walker was advised of the fact. A court of Inquiry conducted by the battalion on 29th June 1917, fully twelve months after the attack at Flers, concluded that since there was no trace of Tom in hospitals or as a prisoner, he should be considered to have been killed in action on 14th November 1916.
At the conclusion of the war, the Imperial War Graves Commission was established to consolidate burials across the battlefields. Teams of searchers scoured notable battlefields for the remains of those who had perished. No identifiable remains of Tom McFarlane were ever located until in 1928, a medallion was found on the body of an otherwise unidentified Australian soldier, The Medallion was inscribed: 1914:BUNBURY 2ND:QUARTETTE:T.MCFARLANE.
Initially it was thought that this medallion identified Tom McFarlane but in the end the IWGC determined, after an exhaustive inquiry, that the medallion was located some 8 kilometres from the place where the 26th Battalion were on 14th November 1916 and that therefore the body located could not be that of Tom McFarlane.
In 1914, the Bunbury (WA) Sea Scouts were established. The group was known as 2nd Bunbury or Bunbury 2nd as it was the second sea scout troop established in Western Australia. A search of the AIF database reveals a Tom McFarlane of Western Australia who was member of the 16th Battalion which had seen action as part of the 4th Brigade at Pozieres and at Flers. Could this Tom McFarlane have some connection with the Bunbury Sea Scouts?
Tom McFarlane of WA, survived the war and returned to Australia, and so obviously it was not his body located by the search teams in 1928. The question remains, who was the Australian soldier in possession of the medallion when he died on the Somme.
In 1938 (and just in time for the next European conflict), The Australian Government belatedly completed the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux. The tablets on the walls of the memorial bear the names of over 10,000 Australians who lost their lives in France 1916-1918 and have no known grave. Tom McFarlane is listed there with the name under which he served.
Submitted 6 March 2022 by Ian Lang
Biography contributed by Ian Lang
ROBINSON Percival Nellor ( served as Thomas Percival McFARLANE # 2197 26th Battalion)
Tom McFarlane’s real name was Percival Nellor ROBINSON. He was born in Auckland NZ to parents James and Amelia Robinson. Mr James Walker of Hazeldean, via Kilcoy advised the military authorities after Tom’s death that Tom McFarlane had walked into his property with nothing. Mr Walker took pity on him and he stayed at Hazeldean for a number of years.
When Tom enlisted in Brisbane on 22nd July 1915 at the age of 34, he named James Walker as his next of kin even though his parents were both still living at Scott Street, Deagon. Tom was drafted as a reinforcement for the 26th Battalion and embarked for overseas on the “Armadale” in Brisbane on 20thSeptember 1915. Tom remained in training camps at Tel-el-Kebir on the Suez Canal until the 26th Battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915. He was formally taken on strength by the battalion on 11thJanuary 1916.
On 21st March 1916, the 26th Battalion, now fully reinforced and equipped, landed in Marseilles. The battalion, as part of the 7th Brigade of the 2nd Division AIF moved into the trenches around Armentieres near the French/ Belgian border to familiarise themselves with the business of trench warfare on the Western Front. For the Gallipoli veterans in the 26th, the Armentieres sector seemed like a holiday camp. Very little fighting was being done by either side due to the unsuitability of the marshy ground. Fresh water was piped into the front-line trenches and a hot meal was brought up each evening from the battalion cookers. But best of all, only a mile or two behind the front line, village life went on as normal. There were plenty of cafes offering eggs and chips, as well plenty of vin rouge and beer. This idyllic lifestyle came to an end when the entire division was called south.
On 1st July, Field Marshall Haig launched his ill-fated attack in the valley of the Somme. In spite of 60,000 British casualties on the first day Haig pushed on. By the middle of July, the advance had hardly progressed at all. In late July and early August, the 1st and 2nd Divisions were thrown into the slaughter at Pozieres. Tom McFarlane was mistakenly listed as Wounded on 5th August. The Australians continued to throw good battalions against the German defenders for the next month before finally being withdrawn to Belgium for a rest.
In November 1916, the 7th brigade moved back to the Somme to have another attempt at breaking through the German defences, this time at Flers. In an attack against the Maze Trench System by the 26th Battalion, Tom McFarlane was listed as missing. James Walker was advised of the fact. A court of Inquiry conducted by the battalion on 29th June 1917, fully twelve months after the attack at Flers, concluded that since there was no trace of Tom in hospitals or as a prisoner, he should be considered to have been killed in action on 14th November 1916.
At the conclusion of the war, the Imperial War Graves Commission was established to consolidate burials across the battlefields. Teams of searchers scoured notable battlefields for the remains of those who had perished. No identifiable remains of Tom McFarlane were ever located until in 1928, a medallion was found on the body of an otherwise unidentified Australian soldier, The Medallion was inscribed: 1914:BUNBURY 2ND:QUARTETTE:T.MCFARLANE.
Initially it was thought that this medallion identified Tom McFarlane, but, in the end the IWGC determined, after an exhaustive inquiry, that the medallion was located some 8 kilometres from the place where the 26thBattalion were on 14th November 1916 and that therefore the body located could not be that of Tom McFarlane.
In 1914, the Bunbury (WA) Sea Scouts were established. The group was known as 2nd Bunbury or Bunbury 2nd as it was the second sea scout troop established in Western Australia. A search of the AIF database reveals a Tom McFarlane of Western Australia who was member of the 16th Battalion which had seen action as part of the 4th Brigade at Pozieres and at Flers. Could this Tom McFarlane have some connection with the Bunbury Sea Scouts?
Tom McFarlane of WA, survived the war and returned to Australia, and so obviously it was not his body located by the search teams in 1928. The question remains, who was the Australian soldier in possession of the medallion when he died on the Somme.
In 1938 (and just in time for the next European conflict), The Australian Government belatedly completed the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux. The tablets on the walls of the memorial bear the names of over 10,000 Australians who lost their lives in France 1916-1918 and have no known grave. Tom McFarlane is listed there with the name under which he served.
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