ROBINSON, William Robert
| Service Number: | 1762 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 June 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Surrey Hills, New South Wales, Australia, 22 February 1886 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 August 1916, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Sydney United Grand Lodge Honour Roll, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1762, 20th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool. | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 1762, 20th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kanowna embarkation_ship_number: A61 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 1762, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kanowna, Sydney | |
| 14 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 20th Infantry Battalion | |
| 5 Aug 1916: | Involvement Corporal, 1762, 20th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1762 awm_unit: 20 Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1916-08-05 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
William Robert ROBINSO, (Service Number 1762) was born on 22nd February 1886 at Surry Hills. He began working for the NSW Railways as a porter in the Traffic Branch in the Murrurundi District on 9th July 1909. In June 1912 he had progressed to 1st class porter and in April 1913 to leading porter. He made a move to Sydney in January 1914, but retained his designation. He was working at Darling Harbour.
He was granted leave from his position to join the Expeditionary Forces on 3rd June 1915, though he had enlisted at Liverpool two days earlier. As he was single, he nominated his mother, Elizabeth, living in Marrickville, as his next of kin. He was allotted to the 2nd Reinforcements to the 20th Battalion. Robinson embarked HMAT ‘Kanowna’ at Sydney on 19th June 1915 and went to Egypt. He proceeded to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli on 16th August and returned to Alexandria at the end of that campaign on 3rd January 1916. On 18th March he re-embarked at Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France. He passed through Marseilles on 25th March 1916.
He was promoted to Temporary Corporal on 14th May 1916.
He was killed in action on 5th August 1916.
He has no known grave and is remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.