MCKERLIE, Robert
| Service Number: | 1832 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 13th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Ryde, Ryde, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 6 July 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 7 - 17 - 23 - 25 - 27 - 29 - 31., Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Mar 1915: | Involvement Private, 1832, 13th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar 1915: | Embarked Private, 1832, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Sydney |
Help us honour Robert McKerlie's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He is one of 11 Australian soldier casualties of the Great War who are remembered on the Rutherglen war memorial.
The listing of names and the nationality of the force in which they served is not entirely accurate
The main memorial, The Cenotaph, was constructed in the 1920's and stands at the west end of Rutherglen Main Street. A further memorial stands in Rutherglen cemetery. Although the Sword of Remembrance memorial at the entrance to Rutherglen Cemetery, again constructed in the early 1920's, contains an inscription it contains no names unlike the Cenotaph.
The main memorial was unveiled on 26th October 1924; the memorial itself was by Robert Gray sculptors of Glasgow, and the bronze figure of 'Courage' is by George Henry Paulin.
The provost of Rutherglen called a meeting on 10th May 1920 to consider the erection of a memorial. After some debate it was decided to erect a commemorative memorial rather than a utilitarian memorial such as a hospital or social club. By 1921 the decision was taken to halt fund raising " in respect that there was at present in the Burgh considerable distress in consequence of the large amount of unemployment for which a Public Relief Fund was presently being raised". It is worth remembering that the vast majority of war memorials were erected by public subscription made up from large numbers of small donations from ordinary people who by 1921 were suffering badly from high unemployment.
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