SYKES, Robert Leonard
| Service Numbers: | 6641, 6641A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hay, New South Wales, Australia, 1893 |
| Home Town: | Koorawatha, Young, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Kenmore Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Plumber |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 9 August 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Heath Cemetery, Picardie Plot II, Row D, Grave No. 15, Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Koorawatha War Memorial Park Gates, Werribee Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6641, 18th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 6641, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Feb 1917: | Embarked Private, 6641, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Wiltshire, Sydney | |
| 9 Aug 1918: | Involvement Private, 6641A, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 6641A awm_unit: 17th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-08-09 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
When the Sykes family were located in Hay (c.1894-1898), they lived at Marked Tree Point, on the Gunbar Road. This would have been close to the railway line, which Robert’s father helped to maintain.The family moved to Kenmore in the Goulburn District, NSW around the turn of the century. Robert Leonard Sykes enlisted in the A.I.F. at Goulburn, NSW during September 1916.
On his application form to enlist he stated that he was single, and that his mother was his next of kin. Then in the short time between enlisting and his embarkation overseas, Robert Sykes married Molly I. Duffy at Goulburn.
After enlisting, Robert Sykes went to the Military Camp at Goulburn, he was then transferred to the 55th Battalion at Liverpool (south of Sydney), before being appointed to the 19th reinforcements for the 18th Battalion.
He arrived at Devonport, in England, in April 1917. It was decided that Robert Sykes would retain his rank of Acting Corporal, but that wasn’t to last. On 21 April 1917, while at the 5th Training Battalion at Rollestone, he was charged with drunkenness, and after being charged, the penalty was a reduction to the ranks.
On 5 May 1917, Private Sykes became a victim of the influenza epidemic that swept through the country. He was admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital for treatment, and was discharged back to duty on 23 May 1917.
Training continued through the English summer, and on 4 December 1917, Private Sykes proceeded to France via Fovant, as a reinforcement for the 17th Battalion.
He was taken on strength with the 17th Battalion at Le Menegate, on 11 December 1917.
Private Robert Sykes was killed in action during the large offensive at Amiens on 9 August 1918.
His 2 brothers, Pte James Arthur Sykes and Sgt Major A. E. Sykes, were both killed. Another older brother, 2776 Sergeant Walter William Sykes of the 55th Battalion AIF was the only one of the four brothers to return to Australia. He died in 1923, at 37 years of age.
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