Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Robert was born in St Peters on the 22nd April 1915 to Matilda and George Vincent Harper. He came from a large family which included surviving siblings Harry, Olive, Dorothy, Elsie, Allen, Laurel Ruth, Kath, Robert, Eileen and Hazel.
Robert’s oldest brother, Harry Lindsay Gordon Harper was born in Freemantle, but the family soon travelled to live in South Australia. Harry, who became an 18-year-old postal assistant, enlisted to serve in WWI in June 1916. Both parents gave their written permission to enlist on the proviso he remained in Australia until his 19th birthday. Harry became a Sapper in the 1st Signal Company Engineers and was allocated the number 18602. He served in Moascar and Alexandria.
Life was challenging for the family. Their 11-year-old daughter, Winifred May died in February ’23. The following year, Robert had just turned nine years old, when his older sister, 28-year-old Jessie Muriel who had suffered on-going ill health died in May ’24 with the family sharing that ‘Her end was peace.’ As a fourteen-year-old, Robert learned of the shock death of his 32-year-old brother Edward William at his own hand, having alighted from a bus travelling from Adelaide to catch a ferry to Kangaroo Island in August ’39.
Post school, Robert worked as a storeman and packer, but with the outbreak of WWII, aged 25-year-old, Robert enlisted to serve on the 29th June 1940. He was allocated the number SX6969 and placed in the newly formed 2/48th Battalion. Initially he nominated his mother, Matilda as his next of kin, but by the end of July Robert married Emily Jean and changed these details to nominate his new wife.
In September that year, Robert’s father died on the 10th and was buried in the West Terrace Cemetery with the three children who had pre-deceased him.
Perhaps not unexpectedly, while on pre-embarkation leave, Robert took two extra days of leave to be with Emily. Resultantly he was confined to barracks for three days and fines 10/-. Then, just days before sailing at the start of November, Robert again took a full day of unofficial leave forfeiting a total of a pound in fines. However, by the 17 November Robert was aboard the Stratheden, arriving in the Middle East on the 7th December.
Within six months, Robert was first wounded in action in July ’42. Typically, in the confusion of war and territory taken, John Glenn in Tobruk to Tarakan recounted how a camouflaged truck came to a halt out from C Company. A patrol was sent to investigate when they came under fire killing Lieutenant Jack Wilson and Sergeant Prime Willmott. The remaining patrol members opened fire, killing several enemy and taking seven prisoners. ‘When later questioned, the prisoners shared they had become lost in the earlier engagement and had moved east. They had no idea where they were, were tired and confused, and had been told to lift mines.’ Besides Robert, SX7715 Privates Allan L. Biele and SX13570 Charles Holman were wounded during the day. (Charles was later killed in action on the 26th October ’42 in the fight to capture Trig 29.)
Back home, The Chronicle was one of the newspapers to carry a list of those wounded in action. Those from Robert’s 2/48th Battalion, included SX7512 L-Sgt Albert R. Cross, Wallaroo Mines; SX6840 Pte. John F. R. Dixon, Adelaide; SX6969 Pte. Robert M. Harper, Evandale; SX8060 Pte. Archibald J. McFarlane, Cobdogla; SX13O19 A-Sgt. John Murray, Adelaide and SX8039 Pte. Donald F. Priester, Renmark and SX8182 Pte. Maxwell S. Wolter, Renmark. Seriously Ill at start of August, but by 22nd was removed from all Lists.
Robert was to become one of the highly regarded Rats of Tobruk. This unofficial term was designed to destroy the morale of the troops who sheltered in fly and rat-infested dugouts. It had the opposite effect and was seized on as an unofficial badge of honour.
Robert spent some time being treated before finally being able to rejoin his 2/48th Battalion in October. Dysentery followed. Finally, his battalion was able to leave the dust of the Middle East and head home to Australia via Melbourne at the start of February ’43.
After brief time with family, Robert headed to Queensland to prepare for a very different enemy in the tropical jungle conditions of New Guinea. He sailed from Cairns arriving in Milne Bay in August and was promoted to Lance Corporal. Unfortunately, the humid conditions contributed to a range of illnesses including dermatitis, dyspepsia, extremely high temperature and almost inevitably, malaria before he was able to return to Brisbane in February ’44. By this time, he was also diagnosed as being deaf. Three months later Robert requested to revert to the rank of Private before returning to Morotai and Tarakan for the closing days of the war. He was finally discharged on the 16th September ’45.
Robert’s mother, 73-year-old Matilda survived to see Robert return from war. She died the following year in November ’46.
Aged 48, Robert died on the 8th September 1963 and was buried in Centennial Park Cemetery, General E Path 10 Plot 710. He is also remembered in the South Australian Garden of Remembrance. His wife, Emily lived for many more decades until aged 82 she died on the 14th August 2001 and now rests alongside Robert.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.