Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Early Life

Robert Harrold (Bert) Berriman was born 25 December 1895 at Prospect, SA the son of Harrie Berriman and Lily Hay Souter.

Bert’s siblings were an unnamed brother (born and died in 1894), Kenneth (born 1898) and Violet (born 1902).

The family lived at Rose Street, Prospect, SA and Bert’s father, Harrie ran the business, H Berriman & Co, Tailors and Costumiers, at the Citizens’ Building opposite the Town Hall, King William Street, Adelaide. On his death Harrie was described in his Will as a "Master Taylor".

Schooling

Bert attended the North Adelaide Public School, passing his Primary Examinations in October 1907. He also attended the Prospect Methodist Sunday School. In December 1908, Bert gained an Exhibition to attend Prince Alfred College, Adelaide.

He gained fourth prize in Fifth Form at PAC and passed his Junior Examinations in December 1909. A year later he passed his Senior Examinations and gained third prize in University Sixth Form at PAC. In 1911 Bert passed his Higher Public Examinations.

A handy all-rounder, Bert played B Grade cricket for PAC in the latter half of the 1911/12 season including a match against Adelaide University. On a rain affected wicket PAC made only 55 runs (R H Berriman a "duck") however remarkably they bowled out University for 42 runs. The future Adelaide University and State captain Donald Steele took six wickets for 17 runs.

Adelaide University

Bert commenced studying for a Bachelor of Science at Adelaide University in 1912. In May 1912 he passed Intermediate Perspective at the School of Arts. In addition to his studies at Adelaide University, Bert also studied at the School of Mines, passing Fitting and Turning in 1912, Drawing II in December 1913 and Applied Mathematics and Assaying in 1914.

Bert was awarded his BSc from Adelaide University in December 1915.

While at University, Bert was in the Senior Cadets and he was appointed a Second Lieutenant in June 1913. He was selected to attend a Map Reading and Field Sketching school of instruction in July 1914. In May 1914 completed the examinations to become a Lieutenant in the 80th Infantry, a position he was appointed to in November 1915.

Adelaide University Sport

Cricket

Bert played B Grade cricket for Adelaide University in the 1912/13 and 1913/14 seasons and again in the 1915/16 season. For the latter half of the 1915/16 season, Bert played in the A Grade. In January 1916 in an A Grade Game against West Torrens Bert ‘batted for only four minutes but in that time he notched 12 with three hits – 2, 4 and 6’.

Football

Bert played B Grade for the Adelaide University Football Club in the Adelaide Students Association in 1915 scoring two goals in a match against the School of Mines in June 1915.

Lawn Tennis

In March 1913, Bert competed in the South Australian Junior Singles Championships, In the following March (1914) he competed in the SA Men’s Singles Championship (Handicap) coming runner-up . In March 1915 he competed in the SA Men’s Singles Championship.

Bert commenced playing lawn Tennis for Adelaide University in 1914 in the C Grade but was quickly promoted to the A Grade (Class 1) team. He played for University in the 1914/15 and 1915/16 seasons. He was an emergency for the Intervarsity match between Adelaide University and Melbourne University in 1915.Bert played for Adelaide University in the first half of the 1915/16 season, however due to the number of enlistments for WWI, the SA Lawn Tennis Association decided not to run a pennant competition thus Bert played cricket for the University for the remainder of the 1915/16 season.

Bert also competed in the East Torrens Tournament of August 1915 and won the doubles competition with GM O’Dea.

Rifle

Bert’s WWI service record states that he was a member o f the University Rifle Club for two years.

World War I

Bert enlisted in the AIF on the 8th May 1916 as part of the 3rd Reinforcements of the 43rd Battalion. He was 20 years old, 5’7¾ ” and weighed 144lbs. His trade on enlistment was classified as an Electrical Engineer.

Bert embarked at Adelaide for overseas on the 28 August 1916 aboard the Anchises. He joined the 43rd Battalion on 20 November 1916 and was appointed a Lance Corporal three days later. He was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 22 June 1917, Sergeant on 14 August 1917, Second Lieutenant on 31 August 1917 then Lieutenant on 24 November 1917. He saw service in the UK and France.

In December 1917 Bert transferred to the Australian Flying Corp (AFC), graduating as a pilot on 30 July 1918 with the rank of Flying Officer. Bert joined No. 4 Squadron AFC.

Bert again saw service in France after hostilities ceased. On returning to England he was granted leave and gained working experience at United Water Softners Ltd, London and Siemens Bros Ltd, Stafford.

He returned to Australia aboard the Nestor, disembarking on 12 December 1919. His appointment in the AIF was terminated on 27 January 1920.

Post WWI – Return to Adelaide University

In December 1919, the School of Mines awarded Bert a fellowship diploma in electrical engineering and he also returned to Adelaide University and gained a Diploma in Applied Science in December 1920 (in absentia) and Bachelor of Engineering (in absentia).

Bert also returned to Lawn Tennis. In January 1920 Bert competed in the Australia Open Tennis Championships at Double Bay, Sydney, however he lost in the first round of the men’s singles. In March he competed in the Australasian Singles championships but was beaten by K Roberts in five sets. He played lawn Tennis for Adelaide University and competed in the 1920 Lawn Tennis Intervarsity competition. A team mate was future Nobel Laureate, Lord Howard Florey. Bert was awarded a Blue for Tennis in 1920.

Career and Family Life

Bert then moved to Hobart in Tasmania. It is unclear where Bert first worked in Hobart but he was appointed the instructor in electricity and magnetism at the Hobart Technical College in June 1922.

In late December 1920 he had won the Tasmanian north-west coast tennis championship at the Burnie tournament and in March 1921 he won the Tasmanian State Doubles and State Mixed Doubles champions. In addition to Lawn Tennis, Bert also played cricket for Risdon in late 1921.

By January 1923, Bert was the Captain of the Southern Tasmanian Tennis side who played a tournament against Victoria.

On the 3rd April 1923 Bert married Dulcie Beatrice Annette Read (b 21st March 1898), and the couple’s daughter Pamela Joyce Berriman was born on the 27th January 1924.

In November 1923 Bert was third in the Tasmanian men’s tennis rankings. In December 1924 Bert passed the First Aid examinations at the Electrolytic Zinc Co’s works.

In January 1925 Bert won the Southern Tasmanian tennis championships and went on to play at the 1925 Australian Open Tennis Championships. Sadly he again lost in the first round of the competition.

A report on Bert’s tennis career was published in ‘The News’, (Hobart, Tas. : 1924 - 1925) on the 2nd January 1925 (below). The report states that he had won the Tasmanian Doubles championship and the Tasmanian Mixed Doubles Championship each on three occasions. However his singles play ‘has not always shown up to best advantage, this being due to the fact that he possesses a style that requires a lot of practice to kept at its best’. The report goes on to say that he is not always in a position to put in constant practise so had entered tournaments under prepared.

Bert won the Tasmanian Men’s Doubles Championship again in April 1925 but was unable to compete in the 1926 tournament as he was on the mainland. He won the Mixed Doubles Championship in 1927.

By October 1928, Bert was actively involved in the Tasmanian Division of the Australian Institute of Engineers.

Sadly for Bert, his mother passed away on the 26th October 1928, aged 63 years.

In December 1928 Bert was involved in a meeting with a delegation from the St John’s Ambulance of London.

In February 1929, aged 33, Bert was ranked 6th in the Men’s rankings by the Tasmanian Lawn Tennis Association.

Bert was a member of the committee of the Institute of Engineers from at least April 1931 and in December 1931 he was called up for jury duty.

In April 1932 he was a runner-up in the Tasmanian Men’s doubles Tennis Championships.

In March 1933, Bert was present at a merry gathering of 27 South Australians in Hobart. From the meeting it was agreed to form the ‘Tasmanian Fellowship of South Australians’ and to hold an annual reunion. Bert became a member of the fellowship’s first committee.

In 1934 Bert was on the organising committee for an engineer’s conference and in May 1935 he was the Headmaster of the Occupational School of Hobart. He became Chairman of the Tasmanian Division of the Australian Institute of Engineers in June 1936.

Bert and Dulcie visited Bert’s father in Adelaide in January 1937. In June 1939 Bert was referred to in a newspaper article on graduates of the School of Mines and was described as ‘an engineer of the staff of Electrolytic Zinc, Risdon'.

World War II

Bert had for some years been the referee for the Southern Tasmanian Lawn Tennis Association however in November 1941 he resigned ‘owing to duties of a military nature recently taken over’.

Bert enlisted in the R.A.A.F. however his WWII record has not yet been digitised.

He was living at 15 Toorak Ave, New Town Tasmania at that stage. He was one of three WWI pilots who became Squadron Leaders for the Air Training Corps in Tasmania.

In January 1942 he gave lectures on airplane construction, operation and control to a group of boys at the start of a four week training course. Those who passed the course could then become cadets in the Air Training Corps with the prospect of joining the R.A.A.F. at age 18.

By this time Bert and Dulcie’s daughter Pamela was a teenager and was attending College School, Hobart. In January 1941 she was awarded the General Pau French Prize.

Bert designed the orderly rooms for the Air Training Corps. The rooms were opened in august 1943.

In March 1944 Bert was again mentioned in the newspaper as being on the committee of the Fellowship of South Australians.

In December 1943 Pamela passed her Intermediate Examinations with the Tasmanian Pharmacy Board and a year later she passed her final examinations and was awarded the HT Gould Memorial Prize for outstanding merit.

Bert’s service with the RAAF was terminated in May 1946.

In April 1947 Bert was selected by the Electrolytic Zinc Company to go abroad in July. In June 1948 Bert gave a talk to the Institution of Engineers, Australia, Tasmanian Division, on “A recent trip to the USA with special reference to the Grand Coulee Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge”.

In 1949, Pamela was on a cycling holiday in England and the Continent. She was then returning to London to work as a Pharmacist.

In June 1949 Bert became chief design engineer for the Electrolytic Zinc Co.

In April 1952 Bert became President of the Fellowship of South Australians, this was also the year women were admitted to the association.

Bert’s father, Harrie Berriman, passed away in late June 1952 and he was privately buried at the West Terrace Cemetery on the 1st July.

At the time of writing this profile most Australian newspapers were only available digitally to 31st December 1954 so little is known of Bert’s final working years and retirement.

It is likely that Bert travelled again in 1966 as both the photograph below (from Ancestry.com.au) appear to be a passport photograph.

Death

Robert Harrold (Bert) Berriman died in Tasmania on 21 July 1978. Dulcie Beatrice Annette Berriman passed away in 1983, aged 85.

Pamela Joyce Berriman married Maxwell Herbert Bennett and the couple had two children, Rosemary and Geoffrey. Pamela passed away on the 7th September 1979.

Author EE (Beth) Filmer

For the complete profile including photographs, newspaper articles, documents and sources prepared for the AUFC/AUCC WWI Memorial Project please see the document attached.

Note : since the writing of the document Bert's WWII record has been digitised and is available at recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5372071)