ROBB, John Frederick
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 59th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Toorak, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Melbourne C of E Grammar School; Duntroon Military College |
| Occupation: | Manager |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 23 March 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Bapaume Australian Cemetery A 2 |
| Memorials: | Melbourne Grammar School WW1 Fallen Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Sep 1916: | Involvement Lieutenant, 59th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 1916: | Embarked Lieutenant, 59th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Melbourne | |
| 23 Mar 1917: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 59th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 59th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-03-23 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
JOHN FREDERICK ROBB who was killed in action near Bapaume on 23rd March 1917 about a week after the capture of that town was the son of Mr. A. F. Robb.
He was born in 1893 and was at the School from 1906 to 1910, and rowed in the winning crew in the Ladies' Challenge Cup at Henley in 1909. The following year, when training for the first crew, he strained his heart and had to give up. He was manager of a cycle importing and manufacturing company when war broke out.
Not being able to enlist at once, he set himself to qualify, and joined the Malvern Rifles, and four nights a week attended a military school at Hawthorn. He won by examination the position of Lieutenant in the 48th Battalion Citizen Forces.
In February 1916 he enlisted as a private, and getting his Sergeant's stripes went to Duntroon. He passed the examinations and was appointed 2nd Lieutenant on 16th April 1916, and was in camp at Broadmeadows, Castlemaine and Bendigo.
He left for the front in September 1916 as 2nd Lieutenant in 59th Battalion, and went to France on 11th February, and ten days later was in the front line. His Major, writing of him, says : " He was as fine an officer as one could wish to have in the service, and endeared himself to one and all-officers and men. He was undoubtedly one of the most efficient young officers who left Victoria."
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