DAVID, Robert Craig
| Service Number: | 2161 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia, 13 October 1884 |
| Home Town: | Boonah, Scenic Rim, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Moorang School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Stockman |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 5 February 1917, aged 32 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Boonah War Memorial, Kalbar War Memorial, Maroon War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2161, 49th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Boorara embarkation_ship_number: A42 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2161, 49th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Boorara, Brisbane |
Narrative
Robert Craig David #2161 49th Battalion
Robert David was born at Maryvale Station near Warwick to parents Agnes and Protheroe David. His mother when completing the Roll of Honour Card reported he had attended school at Rosewood near Ipswich. He attained qualifications in cream and milk testing as a young man.
Robert reported for enlistment on 24th February 1916 in Brisbane. He was 31 years old and gave his occupation as stockman. He named his wife, Edith Matilda as his next of kin. Edith’s address was in Sherwood. However between the time Robert enlisted and then presented himself to camp at Enoggera, Edith had died. Robert’s father also died around the same time leaving his mother as his next of kin.
Robert embarked for overseas in Brisbane on 16th August 1916 and arrived in Plymouth on 13th October. By Christmas Day of 1916, Robert was with his battalion; the 49th, in trenches on the Somme. The 49th as part of the 13th Brigade moved up to the front line over the first three nights of February 1917 in the vicinity of Flers.
The battalion war diary does not record any major action in the first week of February but nevertheless Robert David is recorded as wounded. He subsequently died of wounds on 5th February 1917. Robert was buried in a temporary cemetery. In 1918 that part of the Somme where Robert lay was fought over twice more. Any trace of individual grave markers was obliterated during the fighting.
At war’s end, the Imperial War Graves Commission established the Bernafray Wood Cemetery near Flers. A memorial cross was erected in the cemetery bearing the name of Robert David and the inscription “Buried in this cemetery; actual grave unknown.”
Submitted 2 April 2021 by Ian Lang
Biography contributed by Ian Lang
Robert Craig David #2161 49th Battalion
Robert David was born at Maryvale Station near Warwick to parents Agnes and Protheroe David. His mother when completing the Roll of Honour Card reported he had attended school at Rosewood near Ipswich. He attained qualifications in cream and milk testing as a young man.
Robert reported for enlistment on 24th February 1916 in Brisbane. He was 31 years old and gave his occupation as stockman. He named his wife, Edith Matilda as his next of kin. Edith’s address was in Sherwood. However, between the time Robert enlisted and then presented himself to camp at Enoggera, Edith had died. Robert’s father also died around the same time leaving his mother as his next of kin.
Robert embarked for overseas in Brisbane on 16th August 1916 and arrived in Plymouth on 13th October. By Christmas Day of 1916, Robert was with his battalion; the 49th, in trenches on the Somme. The 49th as part of the 13th Brigade moved up to the front line over the first three nights of February 1917 in the vicinity of Flers.
The battalion war diary does not record any major action in the first week of February but nevertheless Robert David is recorded as wounded. He subsequently died of wounds on 5th February 1917. Robert was buried in a temporary cemetery. In 1918 that part of the Somme where Robert lay was fought over twice more. Any trace of individual grave markers was obliterated during the fighting.
At war’s end, the Imperial War Graves Commission established the Bernafray Wood Cemetery near Flers. A memorial cross was erected in the cemetery bearing the name of Robert David and the inscription “Buried in this cemetery; actual grave unknown.”
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