Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Robert Christie was born on the 24th May, 1886, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the eldest child of Robert and Margaret Christie.

Robert had 3 brothers (George, Andrew and John) and 3 sisters (Isabelle Mill, Jeannie and Margret). In 1896, the Christies moved to Camden Town in London, where Jeannie and Margret were born, and where Robert attended school, at Great College Street School. He was enrolled there in 1896 and finished in 1889. As a child he worked as a printer’s errand boy and throughout his life was a Presbyterian.

Not much can be found about his life between him finishing school and the start of the war, however somewhere in that period he moved to Myrtle Bank Farm in Glen Osmond, South Australia. He was a gardener. On the 8th of July, 1916, Robert signed up to fight in World War I. However, this was not his first experience at war. On his form Robert wrote that he had served 2 months on the Australian Imperial Force prior to his enlistment in WWI.

Robert said he was 28 ¼ years old, 5 feet and 6 inches tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes when he left Adelaide on the 28th of August, 1916, to fight with the 43rd battalion in France, in “the war to end all wars”.

On the 11th of November in 1916, Robert was transferred to the 37th battalion, however, nine days later, was transferred back to the 43rd battalion. On January 14 in 1917, he was sent to hospital sick, but 4 days later re-joined the battle. On the 30th March the same year, Robert was wounded in action, and, 9 days later, arrived in England on “the Cambria”. On the same day Robert was admitted to emergency in the hospital with a gunshot wound on his right leg, and was only convalescing about 5 months later (on 18/9/1917). On the 4th of September, 1917, he spoke to an officer and used disrespectful language. His punishment involved 3 days with pay forfeited.

At the start of the war, Robert Christie’s next of kin was originally recorded as Rodda Wallace, however, a form was filled out during the war, on the 26th of November, 1917, to change the next of kin from Rodda to Mrs M (Margaret) Christie from Belfast in Ireland. Therefore, it can be assumed that Margaret Christie was his new wife.

On the 11th of January, 1918, Robert was sent back to Australia on a steam ship, the “H.S Port Darwin”. He travelled on the ship for about 2 months, until the 19th of March that year, where he was discharged in Adelaide as medically unfit due to the unhealed gunshot wound on his right leg.

It is likely that Robert’s wife, Margaret Christie, was still in Ireland when he returned to Adelaide. In 1919, Robert Christie applied for a free passage for the wives, fiancées and children of Australian soldiers, likely so that Margaret could come out to live with him at Myrtle Bank Farm in Glen Osmond. He and Margaret had a daughter called Lilian Christie. Robert became a member of the RSL and likely went to St Saviours Church in Glen Osmond. Robert died on the 30th of January, 1956, at the age of 69. The cause of his death is unknown. He now rests in peace at St Saviours Anglican cemetery at Glen Osmond. His grave is plot V20.