WILLIAMS, Robert Miers
| Service Number: | 6853 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 April 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 35th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, 27 May 1898 |
| Home Town: | Parkes, Parkes, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Sawmiller |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 6 April 1918, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Adelaide Cemetery Villers-Bretonneux, France Plot III, Row E, Grave No. 1. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Parkes & District Cenotaph, Parkes District Roll of Honor, Parkes RSL Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Apr 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6853, 18th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 6853, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Beltana embarkation_ship_number: A72 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 6853, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Beltana, Sydney | |
| 11 Jan 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 35th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Robert Miers Williams's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Robert Miers Williams was the son of Charles William and Rebecca Maud Williams of Parkes, New South Wales. His dad Charles had two marriages and was father to twelve children, of whom Robert was the youngest son.
Robert Miers Williams had four older brothers who served,
6852 Pte. Bert Frederick Williams 18th Battalion AIF, RTA 4 January 1919. (dilated action of the heart)
2030 L.Cpl. Walter Waldron Williams 18th Battalion AIF, RTA 12 May 1918. (shrapnel wound to back)
6849 L.Cpl. William Arthur Williams 18th Battalion AIF, RTA 5 March 1919. (twice wounded, discharged medically unfit)
3287 Pte. Sydney Williams 45th Battalion AIF, RTA 31 January 1918. (wounded at Messines, gunshot wound shoulder)
Robert was only taken on to the strength of the 35th Battalion at the front during January 1918, and was killed in action a few months later, when the Australians were called in to the front line again to defend against the 1918 German offensive.
The Parkes Western Champion reported on Anzac Day 1918,
“News of the death of her youngest son Private Robert Miers Williams, was received by Mrs. C. Williams, of Caledonia Street, Parkes, on Saturday morning, just after returning from the public welcome tendered Private Sydney Williams, elder brother of the deceased, on his return to Parkes from active service abroad. Private Robert Williams, who had not completed his twentieth year at the time of his death, enlisted in May last, and had been in France since the middle of January. He was attached to the 20th Battalion. The wire announcing his death reports him as killed in action on April 6th, so that he fell in the attempt to stem the tide of the present German offensive. Private Williams was one of five brothers who responded to the call of their country and the deepest sympathy is extend ed to the sorrowing parents and relatives in their dark hour of affliction. “Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend.”
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