REID, Robert Baker
| Service Number: | 5335 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | January 1883, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Builder |
| Died: | 17 August 1965, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Blackwood War Memorial, Exeter Semaphore Uniting Church (fmly Wesleyan) Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 5335, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 5335, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Adelaide |
Help us honour Robert Baker Reid's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Robert Baker Reid was born in January 1883. Residing in Blackwood, he grew up in Semaphore, South Australia. A practicing Christian, Reid belonged to the Methodist Church.
Reid’s occupation prior to his enlistment was a builder. His next of kin was his mother, Margaret Anne Reid. Reid was 33 years old when he enlisted, and his marital status was single. Robert Baker Reid enlisted in Adelaide on the 19th of January 1916. He joined the 10th Battalion after they had evacuated from Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay in December 1915, where the Australian forces had suffered many casualties.
Reid embarked with his unit from Adelaide, South Australia on board the HMAT Aeneas (A60) on 11 April 1916 for Suez with the 10th Battalion, 17th Reinforcements, 32nd Battalion, 6th Reinforcements, 48th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcements, 50th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcements. The ship weighed 10,049 tons with an average cruise speed of 14knots an hour. It operated as a troopship under the control of the Commonwealth Government of Australia.
The 10th Battalion was part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. Reid’s rank on enlistment was Private. A private was the ordinary soldier. He was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant of the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion on the 24 April 1917 and was promoted to Lieutenant of the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion on 7 August 1917.
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the 10th Battalion returned to Egypt. Reid joined the Battalion in Egypt. The Mena camp was the main AIF camp in Egypt and was established west of Cairo. It was a tent camp with very few facilities, and the soldiers trained for 8 hours a day in the desert. On 6 August 1916 Reid sailed for Plymouth England on SS Megantic.
In October 1916 Reid marched out from Perham Downs training camp and sailed for France to the Western Front for the Battle of the Somme. The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest and bloodiest battles in the First World War. The Battle of the Somme was also known as the Somme offensive.
On 17 November 1916 Reid was promoted to Lance Corporal in the field. He joined the 48th Battalion 4 days later. The 48th Battalion was part of the 12th Brigade, 4th division. The 48th Battalion was formed in Egypt in on March 16, 1916, as part of process known as “doubling” the AIF to create the 4th and 5th Divisions. The Battalions’ first major battle of the Western Front was the Battle of the Pozieres in northern France. Many lives were lost in the 1st, 2nd and 4thAustralian Divisions but the battle ended with the Australians seizing Pozieres. From then, until 1918 the Battalion took part in bitter trench warfare.
In March 1918 Reid was dispatched to the 12th Training Battalion in England. He remained there until September 2018. It is possible that he was recovering from an injury during this period as all Australian soldiers arriving in France, whether reinforcements or those returning from hospitals, went to Base Depots before deployment to the Western Front.
On 4 September 1918 Reid arrived in France for a second time and re-joined his unit as a Lieutenant. On 18 September 1918 Reid is awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and good leadership. The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to captains or officers of lower rank up to warrant officers granted in recognition of “an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members, of any rank in Our Armed Forces”.
Reid’s military cross citation reads as follows:
“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during the operations near LE VERQUIER on the 18thSeptember, 1918. Lieut. REID was in charge of the Left Platoon of the Battalion. Throughout the advance he repeatedly crossed through very heavy shell and machine gun fire to keep liaison with the attacking troops on his flank. It was due to his keenness and around knowledge that he was able to keep his Company Commander well ported in all movements of the troops on his flank. Immediately after the capture of the objective Lieut. REID went forward under very heavy machine gun fire and selected outpost positions to cover his Company during consolidation. Later throughout the operations 19/20th Lieut. REID displayed great bravery and found knowledge in organising his defences on the Right flank of the final objective.”
The First World War officially ended on 11 November 1918. At the time the war finished there were over 19,000 Australian soldiers in France. The Government was unable to send them home immediately, and so many soldiers stayed in France to help clean up after the war. The large number soldiers meant most men didn’t return home until 1919.
On 22 March 1919 Reid returned to England for rest and relaxation. Many men had left university to join the war and the government was concerned that there were not enough skilled or professional workers. They, therefore, offered scholarships to returned service men to encourage them to go to university. On 8 April 1919 Reid was approved leave until 8 August 1919 to undertake a building and design course in the School of Architecture at Liverpool University.
On 9 August 1919 Robert Baker Reid was officially discharged from the Australian Armed Forces and he arrived back in Australia on 8 September 1919. In 1928 he married Margaret Ann Baker and they lived in Prospect SA. They had 2 children, who are still alive. Reid died at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 17 August 1965.
ANZAC ‘Spirit’
Anzac spirit is a concept which suggests the positive qualities Australian and New Zealand have seen their forces show in war. These perceived qualities include strength, endurance, courage and mateship. Robert Baker Reid joined the war after many men had died and the horrific conditions of war were already known to many. This was courageous. Once he arrived on the Western Front he was promoted quickly because he had leadership qualities and he endured many months of trench warfare. In 1918 Reid’s displayed true ANZAC spirit when he put himself at risk to move through heavy gunfire to relay messages to other soldiers. These actions displayed strength of character, physical endurance, courage and mateship.
References:
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www.bayanne.info. (n.d.). Family Group Sheet for Robert REID / Margaret Ann BAKER (F158618) m. 4 Mar 1874 : Shetland Family History. [online] Available at: https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/familygroup.php?familyID=F158618&tree=ID1 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2022].