ROBERTS, Frank William
(Service number 8/1618)
| First Rank | Lance Corporal | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 3 February 1891 | Place of Birth | Clinton |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | 12 Howard Street, Dunedin | ||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs M. ROBERTS (mother), 12 Howard Street, Dunedin; Mrs M. ROBERTS, Post office, Timaru; Mrs M. ROBERTS, 36 Harrow Street, Dunedin | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | 3rd Reinforcement | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Otago Infantry Battalion | ||
| Date | 14 February 1915 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui or Tahiti or Aparima | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Suez, Egypt | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 17 May 1962 | Age | 71 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Wakari Hospital, Dunedin | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Frank William Roberts (Robert) was born on 3 February 1891 at Clinton, the eldest son of David Farquharson Robert and his Polish-born wife, Mary (Maria) Magdalene née Belesky (Bielicki). It appears that his birth was registered twice – as Frank Robert at Popotunoa (Clinton) and as Frank Roberts at Temuka. The surname was often interchanged in family records - Robert and Roberts. Frank was educated at Gore School and Invercargill Middle School. He was a successful athlete in his youth.
He was a labourer at a brewery, giving 12 Howard Street, Dunedin, as his address, when he enlisted, and nominating his mother Mrs M. Roberts, as his next-of-kin. Her address was first recorded as 12 Howard Street, Dunedin; later as Post Office, Timaru; and later still as 36 Harrow Street, Dunedin. Casualty List No. 601, published in June 1917, listed Frank Wm Roberts among the wounded. His mother was then recorded as of Timaru.
Frank William Roberts married Henrietta Ward in 1920 at Dunedin. He died on 17 May 1962 at Wakari Hospital, Dunedin, and was cremated at Andersons Bay. Henrietta died in 1965 and was also cremated. Frank’s youngest brother, Thomas Alexander Roberts (Robert) was reported missing very soon after landing at the Dardanelles, and was found to have been killed in action. Frank (Lance-Corporal William Roberts) was wounded at much the same time. His other brother, James Wood Robert, who was next-of-kin for Thomas, was listed on the Reserve Roll, being a married man with a child. The link of Frank and/or his mother to Timaru has not been identified.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [15 August 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [18 August 2020]; School Admission records [18 August 2020]; Andersons Bay Crematorium record (Dunedin City Council) [18 August 2020]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [17 August 2020]; Lyttelton Times, 15 June 1915, Evening Star, 4 February 1916, Timaru Herald, 23 June 1917, Otago Daily Times, 15 March 1921 (Papers Past) [03 & 18 August 2020]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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