ROBERTSON, Colin Ernest
| Service Number: | 490 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 August 1914, Enlisted at Broadmeadows, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Pyramid Hill, Yarrawalla, Victoria, Australia, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Wodonga, Wodonga, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Bank Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 25 April 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" No known grave Panel 29, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hampton RSL Gallipoli Memorial Gardens, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Werribee Shire Great War Roll of Honor, Werribee St Thomas' Church of England Honor Board |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 490, Enlisted at Broadmeadows, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 490, 7th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 490, 7th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
Help us honour Colin Ernest Robertson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Henry Thomas Robertson and Florence Margaret Robertson nee Vallance of 'Stuartville', Aberfeldie Street, Essendon, Victoria
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Colin Ernest Robertson was born in 1891 at Pyramid Hill, around 250kms north of Melbourne on Victoria’s northern plains. When war broke out in August 1914, his parents – Henry and Florence Robertson – were living at Wodonga where his father was the local station master.
Colin was working at the Commercial Bank in Shepparton as a bank clerk at the time of his enlistment on 25 August 1914, aged 23. His enlistment papers show that he had been a member of both the Werribee and Shepparton Rifle Clubs pre-war.
He was assigned to D Company, 7th Battalion. The 7th Battalion formed part of the second wave of landings at ANZAC on 25 April – a campaign that was to cost it a third of its strength.
According to subsequent reports, Private Colin Robertson became separated from members of his platoon shortly after the landing – not an uncommon occurrence on that dreadful day. He found himself fighting with a group of New Zealanders close to what became known as Courtney’s Post. He was killed instantly with gunshot wounds to the head and chest on the opening day of the campaign, aged just 23.
His Dad stated on his Roll of Honour form that he “was an athlete, a good exponent of golf, tennis, cricket and football. He was a playing member of both Brighton and Werribee football clubs, a Golf Club, Werribee cricket club and also member of crew at Shepparton Rowing Club.”
Colin’s brother, Ivan Vallance Robertson, joined the AIF just after the war ended in December 1918 aged 21. He had spent the previous four years at the Royal Military College at Duntroon, graduating as a Lieutenant. He was demobilised from the army in England in 1919 and joined the Royal Artillery as an officer, based at Woolwich before returning to Australia in 1920.