William James ROBINSON

ROBINSON, William James

Service Number: 3886
Enlisted: 11 August 1915, Adelaide, South Australia
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 10th Infantry Battalion
Born: Mt. Gambier, South Australia, January 1891
Home Town: Mount Gambier, Mount Gambier, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Labourer
Died: Killed in Action, Pozieres, France, 23 August 1916
Cemetery: Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps
Originally "Known unto God" but an identity disc was subsequently found to identify his remains, Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps, Picardie, France
Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Nairne War Memorial
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World War 1 Service

11 Aug 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Adelaide, South Australia
2 Dec 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3886, 10th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Malwa embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
2 Dec 1915: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3886, 10th Infantry Battalion, RMS Malwa, Adelaide

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Biography contributed by Evan Evans

François Berthout, Australia and NZ in WWI

Today, it is with deep respect and gratitude, under the sun of the Somme that I would like to honor the memory of one of my boys from Australia who fell on the battlefields today peaceful and silent fields of France on which he did his duty until his last breath. I want to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 3886 William James Robinson who fought in the 10th Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on August 23, 1916 at the age of 25 on the Somme front.

William James Robinson was born in 1891 in Mount Gambier, South Australia, he was the son of John and Agnes Robinson.Before the outbreak of the war, he was single and lived in Sturt Street, Mount Gambier where he worked as a farmer.

Enlisted on August 11, 1915 in Adelaide, South Australia, in the 10th Australian Infantry Battalion, 12th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Adelaide, on board RMS Malwa on December 2, 1915 and sailed for Egypt where he was disembarked in Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force on March 29, 1916 then he was sent to France and arrived in Marseilles on April 4, 1916 and joined Etaples on July 26 before being sent to the front of the Somme on July 30.

Sadly, after having fought less than a month on the battlefields of the Somme in Flers and Maricourt, William was killed in action on August 26, 1916 and was buried in the grave of an unknown soldier in Pozieres but in 1936, thanks to his identity disc, it was proved that in this grave was buried Private William James Robinson who was exhumed and re-buried with military honors at the Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps, Somme, where he rests in peace today with his comrades and brothers in arms.

William James was described as a fine type,of Australian manhood.He was highly respected by a large circle of friends.

William, in a life that was only just beginning, when the future lay before you, the war decided to spread its darkness over the whole world but, young and brave, you answered your heart's call, to the call of duty to do your duty to give the world a new hope of peace and freedom, like so many of your comrades, you have sailed the oceans and walked through the devastated fields and towns of the Somme, under the roar of cannons, in the firestorm which set the landscapes ablaze, in a world gone mad which, by the thousands, mowed down the lives of your friends day after day under the incessant fire of the machine guns which spewed death and desolation and which broke no only the lives of millions of young men but who also broke the families who were waiting for you and who prayed for you to come home.in the mud, in icy water, in the biting cold of the trenches you have seen hell on earth, living under the incessant fire of artillery and shells tearing the sky and the earth and the incessant noise of guns and machine guns, machines of death which rained despair in the ranks of tired men who fought day and night through this apocalypse that is war, you have stood firm, united with your comrades you have all done your duty with bravery ..Like a flower your life was short but your name, your memory, your story will never fade and like the Australian sun, your name will shine and live forever, we will not forget who you were and what you did for us and the French people, we who have the honor to live near you, with you, united with the Australian people, we will always protect your graves and your heritage so that you will never be forgotten, we hold in our hands, with great pride the flame of remembrance that we will always maintain with the utmost respect we have for you.Thank you William, from the bottom of my heart, your life was shattered by the war but I would always offer mine to you for that through me and each of us , you will live forever.

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Biography

"THE LATE PRIVATE W. J. ROBINSON. Mr. J. Robinson, of Sturt-street, Mount Gambier, has received word that his eldest son, Private W. J. Robinson, who left Australia in the early part of December, was killed in action on August 23, in France. The deceased soldier who was 25 years of age, was born and lived all his life in Mount Gambier, was a fine type, of Australian manhood. He was highly respected by a large circle of friends. Mr. Robinson's only other son is also in France fighting for his country." - from the Adelaide Chronicle 07 Oct 1916 (nla.gov.au)

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