Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Initially Robert’s father, Timothy Edward Joseph Crotty, was employed with the State Railways at Port Adelaide, then Peterborough and Port Pirie. He finally went to Port Augusta in 1905 and later joined the Commonwealth Railways department. Timothy married Hannah May (Nance) Fullerton in a very early 5:00am ceremony in 1909, so they could catch the train from Port Augusta to Semaphore for their honeymoon. Robert’s father was also later credited with having driven the first East-West express out of Port Augusta. In his younger days he took an active part in all forms of sport, specialising in cricket as a bowler.
Robert was born on the 3rd April 1914. His first name was in honour of his uncle (Timothy’s brother), known to be a talented sprinter and the local Justice of the Peace, and middle name was in honour of his mother’s family surname. Robert was the third of five children with siblings, Vera, Jim, Eileen and Avis. The year of Robert’s birth was marred by his father being involved in an horrific railway fatality where he was the train driver. Following the discharge of ballast, the guard had signalled for Trevor to move the engine, but as he did so a worker overbalanced and was run over, being killed instantly. It was a particularly challenging time for all involved.
Robert, known as Bob, certainly inherited his father’s and uncle’s sporting prowess. Having just turned 12, Bob was the only successful Port Augusta student in the ’26 Great Northern Juvenile Athletic and Schools Exhibition Association. The Transcontinental reported that ‘Special trains were run from Farina and Port Augusta, and as the weather conditions were all that could be desired, about 1,500 people made the trip, coming from as far south as Booleroo, Whim and Moockra.’ Bob came second in the Hop, Step and Jump, the only Port Augusta student to win a prize. The following year Bob went one better and won the same triple jump competition, again, the only successful student from his school in the athletics section. With schooling complete, Bob initially became a waterside worker with the Adelaide Steamship Company before becoming a butcher.
Whilst working, Bob continued to develop as an elite athlete and sprinter. He was trained by Edward Hill who worked in the Railways and took an active part in sport, training talented cyclists and successful athletes including Bob and Reg Grantham. The local Cycle Club frequently ran sports meetings, which grew in popularity, at the Claypans location. The meeting included foot racing as part of the competitions offered. Bob was a talented competitor in the 100-yard handicap, with his finishing speed often commented on as being a brilliant dash. The handicap events were well orchestrated, with Bob frequently being the back runner. An exciting race run in December ’36 described how ‘at 50 yards from the tape R. Crotty, from the back mark, was coming through with telling strides, and the writer, at this stage, thought he would win, but this was not so, all competitors producing wonderful sprint over the final ten yards. The judges' verdict, C. Morgan first by three inches from W. Porter, with R. Crotty Inches away third, was a very popular decision. I am sure a yard would have covered all the runners at the finish. This denotes the high standard of handicapping.’ Soon after, the Club decided to purchase colours for the runners to wear, thus making visual placing at the final tape easier.
Another race that year saw Bob unfortunate to break prior to the gun firing, and therefore be penalised a further yard at the start. He came a very close third and was unfortunate not to have won that encounter. He was also successful in the 130- and 220-yards handicaps and travelled to sports meetings at places including Terowie where he was promoted as upholding the reputation of his home club. His skills were transferred to the football field where Bob played for Centrals and also to cricket where he proved to be a master in both sports.

Playing for Railways, Bob, the teenager was instrumental as an opening batsman, scoring a century against Davenport in ’30 and continuing this form in ensuing years.
He was a ‘natural’ in football, being awarded the most improved junior for the Flinders Football team in 1930 and was a regular in the best player list for most games and best on ground several times. Three years later he was awarded the Mail Medal, presented during the interval at ‘the talkies’ on Saturday evening. Then in ’34 he was elected to captain the Flinders Football team. He used his speed and agility to enhance his marking and kicking skills, providing regular highlights for each game. He also became an immediate selection for inter-town football competitions. Enthusiastic followers of the game wrote into the local paper and invariably nominated him in their ‘dream team’. He was selected to play in the Port Augusta Representative team against Jamestown, Port Pirie, Whyalla, Iron Knob, Cowell and South Adelaide. In many of these encounters, Bob captained his home team.
Bob also added table tennis to his impressive list of sporting skills, playing for Tigers.
He was 15 when his sister Veronica (Vera) married George Miller and his older brother Jim acted as groomsmen in ‘30. Little did the family know that would be the last gathering they would celebrate together. Bob had barely turned 16 when his 47-year-old father died in the Port Augusta Hospital in November ’30 that year.
In April ‘34, older brother Jim married Phillis Irons on Bob’s 20th birthday with Bob being chosen as best man and his sister Eileen as one of two bridesmaids. Jim and Phillis moved to Port Pirie, with Bob therefore supporting his widowed mother.
As WWII loomed, Bob, then working as a butcher, was already serving with the Militia as S24193 in the 43rd Infantry Battalion and had successfully undertaken a musketry course at Warradale. Aged 27, he enlisted to serve in WWII on the 14th July ’41. He was given the number SX13729 and initially allocated to the 2/10th Battalion. By August, and still in South Australia, he went absent without leave for a day, losing 5/- pay and missing a draft. This was the start of many similar incidents throughout his time in the army. By early September, two more days of being absent were recorded with the additional punishment of being ‘escorted to Bendigo Gaol’. Bob had been absent without leave for six days, earning himself a huge loss of a week’s pay. He returned to Port Augusta on pre-embarkation leave to a presentation by the Port Augusta Swimming Club. He and Jeff Bolitho SX13181, also an enlistee from the 2/48th Battalion, were presented with a wallet containing a 10/- note.
Soon after, over 500 people attended a Civic Service at the Town Hall on the Day of National Prayer, observed at the express wish of His Majesty the King. A huge parade of clubs marched to the venue. Jeff and Bob were two of six enlistees home on leave who were seated on the stage with the Mayor and other officials. As part of the formalities, the two young men were honoured by the President of the R.S.A. who shared that he had ‘known both Jeff Bolitho and Bob Crotty for the major portion of their lives. Having played cricket with both these boys he was able to speak of their qualities and mentioned that when batting against the enemy there would be no slow bowlers to bat against, but all fast ones, and their job would be to keep their heads down.’ He continued to praise their willingness to serve their King and country before then presenting each with a distinctive certificate from the Corporation and citizens of Port Augusta. The singing of the National Anthem concluded the formalities.

At the end of November ’41 Bob arrived in the Middle East but within two months continued what was to be a regular occurrence of again being absent without leave and the loss of pay. Early the following year he had time with the Australian Infantry Battalion and the Infantry Special Group before re-joining the 2/48th Battalion. The challenging conditions contributed to a deterioration of his physical health with an extremely high fever (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin) soon followed by him contracting malaria causing him to spend two weeks in June ’42 in hospital.
The new year of ’43 was again marked with Bob’s being absent without leave for three days and the inevitable forfeiture of pay and added Time in the Detention Barracks. The following month Bob was on his way to return to Australia via Melbourne.
Brief leave followed before training in Queensland commenced in preparation to face a very different enemy in the tropical conditions of New Guinea. However, Bob was still not a physically well man, having a recurrence of the high fever (PUO) in June ’43 and spending a week in hospital again. Within two months he was disembarking in Milne Bay and almost immediately went absent again, inevitably forfeited another day’s pay. By September his high fever returned with Bob being placed on the seriously ill list for ten days, having contracting scrub typhus. Back home, this news was shared through the local Transcontinental that ‘Relatives in Port Augusta have been advised that Pte. R. Crotty (A.I.F.), who has seen considerable service in the Middle East and New Guinea, is seriously Ill.’ It took until the commencement of October before the family were able to share that Bob had been removed from the dangerously ill list.
Robert’s time in New Guinea continued to be marked by poor physical health with bouts of malaria in December ’43 before he returned to Australia via Brisbane. By August ’44 Bob was diagnosed with a haemorrhage of a blood vessel in his eye which received treatment prior to Bob returning to the 2/48th. A quaint entry in his records indicate some medical attention given to Bob with the annotation of ‘Constitutional Insufficiency’. He returned to Moratai, then to Tarakan in April ’45. A fellow Port Augusta friend, Gunner Winter, wrote home to the local RSL Sub branch in May “to let you diggers at the club know how the local lads are going up at Tarakan, Borneo. Being artillery men, ‘Sugar’ Hall and I have a little more time to do the writing. Jim Absolom, Jim Just, Bob Crotty and "Scranner" Bolitho, of that famous infantry unit which has a credit of four Victoria Crosses, are living up to the name they made in Africa. There are quite a number of Port Augusta lads here in Borneo. I know that they haven’t time to write, but I am sure that when they all get home they will have some interesting tales to tell."
August for Bob was marred by what was becoming his routine offences of not attending parade, then not obeying a routine order. More pay was forfeited.
At the end of September ’45 whilst with the 2/3rd Battalion, Bob was heavily fined 21 days’ pay for being at ‘a place beyond the limits’ without a pass or written leave from his Commanding Officer and being in ‘the vicinity of District Four’. Within two months he was leaving Tarakan in preparation for being formally discharged in February ’46. For those at home, it was good news to read that ‘A well-known Port Augusta lad in Bob Crotty has now donned civvies again after being discharged from the Army.’ An official at Bob’s football club, Centrals reported that the red and blacks hope to have the services of Bob back playing, as well as others who had served. Sadly, that part of Bob’s life was never to return.
Bob’s formal war service was finally over, but he was a very unwell and troubled man. The elite, talented athlete with so much potential was lost. His behaviour, which continued to surface as his involvement in warfare progressed, began to take over his life.
By January ’47 Bob was jailed for three weeks for using indecent language and damaging a cell bucket. He was fined £2 with £1/7/6 costs. In November he served more jail time, a fortnight, for being drunk and causing wilful damage. He was bound over on a bond of £10 and a surety of £10 to keep the peace for 12 months. A similar charge, to which using indecent language was added, was faced in July ’50 with a two-month jail term being ordered.
Less than a year later, Bob’s oldest sister, 41-year-old Vera Miller died. She had been a particularly active worker with the Methodist Church. Her mother, Hannah placed a thank you in the local paper on the family’s behalf ‘MILLER: Mrs. H. Crotty and family wish to THANK all hind friends and relatives for beautiful floral tributes, cards, telegrams, letters and personal expressions of sympathy in the recent sad loss of their loving daughter and sister.’
By this time, Bob, who had been lodging at the Central Hotel, was devastated. He reacted in the only manner he knew. Again, he was arrested for being drunk and using indecent language and when found at his lodgings where he had "disturbed good order," had been lying on the floor near a bottle of wine. Bob attempted to explain that he had been "on the square" for four or five months, but wine had "knocked him over.''
Edward Hill, who had identified Bob’s talents as a young sprinter and trained him to an elite level, died in April ’50. As part of the tribute to Edward, the Transcontinental made particular reference to the success the two had in developing Bob as an elite runner.
By 1954, Bob, the once talented athlete, had amassed 56 convictions. His 57th arose in Adelaide where he was convicted of having unlawfully begged alms in King William Street. Bob pleaded guilty and was jailed for six weeks. He told the police that he had been without food for several days and had been sleeping in the parks. Soon after being released, Bob returned to Port Augusta. His cry for help went unrecognized and he again fronted the court on a charge of wilful damage when he heaved a bottle of wine through a plate glass window of Chas Geddes and Co. Ltd., causing damage estimated at £35. A month’s imprisonment followed.
Aged 76 Robert’s mother Hannah died in March 1963 and was buried in the Port Augusta Cemetery. Bob is remembered on her headstone.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.