ROBERTSON, Montague Watson
| Service Number: | 2775 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia, 1879 |
| Home Town: | Queanbeyan, Queanbeyan, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Shearer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Queanbeyan Avenue of Memory, Queanbeyan Fallen Soldiers War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2775, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 2775, 52nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 2775, 52nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Sydney |
Help us honour Montague Watson Robertson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Montague Robertson was the son of Rebecca Robertson of Queanbeyan, New South Wales. His father John had passed away during 1911.
Known as ‘Monty’ to his family and friends he was a shearer, and at 36 years of age he enlisted up at Charleville in Queensland, probably shearing at the time.
He joined the 52nd Battalion in France during January 1917 and was wounded in the side during the Battle of Messines in June 1917. During the fighting around Ypres in September 1917 he was hit by a piece of shell, which badly sprained his ankle, resulting in a trip to England to recover.
In a letter to home he wrote, “The doctor at the casualty clearing station asked me if I would give blood to a badly wounded man and then he would send me to England. I waited there four days and he took 1½ pints of blood out of my arm and put it into a man with his leg off. It just made me weak for a day—blood transfusion they call it. I am in a real ‘bosker’ hospital here and get, everything good to eat, also stout to drink, so only wish I could stay here for some time.”
He rejoined the 52nd Battalion in January 1918 and was reported missing after units of the Battalion were overrun during a massed German attack on 5 April 1918.
He gave his next of kin as his mother, and it emerged after his death that he was in fact married at time of enlistment. This resulted in a bit of drama with his will, entitlements, and personal effects which was seemingly amicably arranged between his mother and wife.
His brother, 314 Pte. Herbert William Robertson was an original member of the 17th Battalion and returned to Australia during late 1918.
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