ARGUE, Robert Price
| Service Number: | 1461 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 June 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop |
| Born: | Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia , 17 June 1896 |
| Home Town: | North Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Mechanical engineer |
| Died: | Florence Nightingale Hospital, Brighton, Victoria, Australia , 8 June 1980, aged 83 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Oct 1915: | Involvement Sapper, 1461, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Oct 1915: | Embarked Sapper, 1461, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Signal Troop, HMAT Port Lincoln, Melbourne |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Robert Price Argue was an incredibly bright and disciplined man who marched down an honourable path of life shaped by education, engineering and military honours. Born on the 17th June, 1896 in Fitzroy, Melbourne (1), Argue was raised in a middle-class family in Sydney by his mother Agnes Price Middleton and stepfather Joseph Hirst, yet he kept the name of his biological father, Robert Argue (2).
Argue was well known for his truly commendable academic prowess; as such, he attended the prestigious Sydney Technical High School from the dates of 1909 to 1914, in which his tremendous effort placed him ranked among the top 25 students (3) in such a school, a truly remarkable achievement. Furthermore, Argue participated in a wide range of extracurriculars, such as various sports and mainly the Australian Defence Force cadets. While balancing his studies and extracurriculars, Argue’s sheer determination eventually earned him promotion to the rank of cadet sergeant on the 1st of December, 1913 (4). His strong aptitude in mathematics and engineering led him to employment as a mechanical engineer with the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (5), setting the stage for his future role as a sapper in the Australian Imperial Force.
On 17th June, 1915, Argue’s 19th birthday, he enlisted in the Australian Defence Force. Armed with his vast technical knowledge and skill, as well as his immense leadership potential, Argue embarked from Melbourne aboard H.M.A.T A17 ‘Port Lincoln’ on 16th October 1915, set sail to Cairo, Egypt (6). Argue was deployed to the 2nd Light Horse Brigade as a ‘Sapper,’ (7) a combat engineer whose role was to destroy and deploy obstacles such as barbed wire and mines. His service was marked by his numerous honourable accomplishments which contributed to his promotion to the highly esteemed rank of Lieutenant. But, Argue continued to prove his mettle in battle, and as such, was later promoted to the higher rank of Second Lieutenant in December 1918 (8). These recognitions did not spawn out of nowhere; Argue participated in the historically significant Battles of Bullecourt, two costly battles fought by Australian and British forces in April and May of 1917, aiming to capture the heavily fortified village of Bullecourt, a part of the German Hindenburg Line. The First Battle on April 11th saw disaster, with tanks failing and the Australians suffering 3,300 casualties and 1,170 captured. The Second Battle from May 3rd to May 17th resulted in over 7,000 Australian casualties but secured parts of the German line, along with the famous siege of Australia in Cairo (9). Argue’s performance was such that his commanding officer praised him as “a very capable and efficient officer” (10) who achieved excellent results with his unit. Before returning home, he completed a motor engineering course at the Open School of Motoring between the 1st of July and the 1st of September 1919 (11).
After World War One, on the 23rd of September 1919, Argue returned to his homeland of Australia and settled in Hawkins St, Artarmon, North Sydney, NSW (12). While there are few to no records left in existence that dictate Argues post-war life, it is believed that he did not marry or have children. Furthermore, his professional and personal pursuits remain undocumented. Argue eventually passed away on the 8th of June 1980, 11 days before his 84th birthday.