PITTMAN, Robert
| Service Number: | 257 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mackay, Queensland, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Murgon, South Burnett, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Natural causes, place of death not yet discovered, date not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Sep 1914: | Involvement Private, 257, 9th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Omrah embarkation_ship_number: A5 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 1914: | Embarked Private, 257, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Omrah, Brisbane |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ian Lang
Robert Pittman
Robert Pittman was born in Mackay. He saw service with the 6th Queensland Mounted contingent to the Boer War.
Robert was one of a group of ten men who were members of either the Murgon or Cloyna Rifle Clubs. All ten enlisted in Gympie on 2nd September 1914 and were placed into “B” Company of the 9th Battalion at Enoggera with consecutive service numbers. Robert stated his age as 34, and gave his address as the Royal Hotel, Murgon.
The ten mates remained together during the voyage from Australia and the period of training in Egypt. On 25thApril, the Murgon Ten were in the first group to land at Anzac Cove. Robert was wounded at Gallipoli on the first day and spent time in a hospital in England. By the time the AIF was withdrawn from Gallipoli, Robert had been promoted to Corporal.
Robert was transferred to the 49th Infantry Battalion when it was formed in Egypt at the beginning of 1916. At Pozieres in August 1916, Robert was wounded for a second time with a shrapnel wound to his foot. On the first day of the Battle of Messines on 7th June 1917, Robert’s left elbow was shattered by a burst of machine gun fire. He was evacuated to hospital in England where a medical board determined he was unfit for active service. Robert returned to Australia on 18th October 1917 and upon discharge began living in the Howard Hotel, outside Maryborough. He was granted a disability pension of three pounds, eight shillings a fortnight.