Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

Robert Ernest Lamond was the son of James Lamond and Agnes Lamond (nee Geggie). He was born Puerua, Otago, on 22 December 1890. Prior to the war he was employed at the Taieri Milk Supply Company.

He signed up for service in the First World War in Milton on 18 August 1914. Robert joined the Otago Mounted Rifles and with them left New Zealand for Suez, Egypt, on 15 October 1914. They disembarked at Alexandria on 3 December 1914.

After a period of training and preparation in Egypt the Mounted Rifles were also committed to the Gallipoli campaign. There he was wounded in the Dardanelles on 8 June 1915 after receiving a gunshot wound to the buttocks and sacrum. The Otago Witness carried a story about his return home on 15 September 1915, which recounted some of his experiences:

“Amongst the returned troopers is Trooper Ernest Lamond, of Puerua, roar Balclutha, who was hit by a bullet which went out at the spine, from which it chipped pieces of bone, and yet he has made a splendid and almost complete recovery. He was in the open, under heavy fire, when he received the wound, and for three hours lay helpless, unable even to wag a finger, and all the time bullets were flying, but fortunately he was not struck again. Then some of his comrades came through the heavy fire and took him to safety. During the early stage of the war he was one of General Sir lan Hamilton’s bodyguard, and consequently accompanied the General everywhere and saw much that was denied to others …”

“ … One of the chief afflictions of the men is the enemy’s sharpshooter. On one occasion Trooper Lamond and another were ordered by an officer to try to locate a sharpshooter who had been causing much trouble. They very carefully crawled out of the trenches, took whatever cover they could, and watched intently, but before they had been there many minutes two bullets came within a few inches of each man. A hasty return to the trenches was the result, but their object had boon partly gained, in that the direction from which the bullets came had been noted. A careful examination showed a crevice, and into this was poured a sustained rifle fire. At night time the crevice was visited, and the hostile sharpshooter was discovered dead with numerous wounds. ‘His field glasses are now in my cabin in the Tahiti,’ said Trooper Lamond.”

After his wounding Lamond returned to NZ on SS Tahiti in August 1915, arriving 11 September 1915 in Wellington. A few months later he was discharged in Dunedin in November 1915 as no longer medically fit for service. His discharge notes he was however fit for civilian employment. He had served for one year and 101 days, all but 136 of which were spent overseas. His medals, the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and Victory Medal were sent to him at 67 Woodlands Road, Timaru, after the war. In 1983 the Gallipoli Lapel badge & medallion, issued to servicemen or their relatives in later decades, were sent to Mrs Walder, presumably a descendant.

Later Lamond married Lilian (“Lily”) Frances Hasselberg in 1919, the same year he began working at the brickworks in Timaru. Robert tragically died in a workplace accident at the South Canterbury Brickworks on College Road, Timaru, on 26 June 1924. The Timaru Herald carried a report of the accident under the title “A Terrible Death”:

“A shocking fatality took place at the South Canterbury brickworks in College Road, at noon yesterday, when Ruben Ernest Lamond, an engineer in the employ of the Company, lost his life under circumstances unusually tragic and distressing.

Before cutting oil the power it is the usual practice at the works to disconnect the belting running from the counter-shaft to the big brick press, this operation usually being accomplished by means of a piece of timber. It is presumed that Indore blowing the noon day whistle, the deceased left the engine room, and in attempting to remove the belting, which is only a small one, by means of his hands or feet, became caught in the belt and whippet round and round the shaft ... At the moment when the unfortunate man became entangled in the belting the shaft would he turning out 168 revolutions per minute, and at this speed the terrible injuries which were inflicted can easily he realised.

The first intimation of the accident was received bv Mr W. Smith, manager of the works, who hearing a short call, hurried to the spot and found Lamond wound round the shafting. He proceeded to the engine room with all speed and shut off the power, but by this time the injured man was past all aid.

The police were, communicated with, and after some considerable difficulty the body was removed and taken to the morgue.

The deceased, who was 34 years of age was married with one child, and resided in Avenue Road. He was a popular young man of sober and industrious habits, and was held in high esteem by all with whom he came in contact. During the late war he served with distinction in the Gallipoli Campaign, during which he was severely wounded. He joined the staff of the brickworks in 1919, and had since been constantly in their employ. An inquest will be held this afternoon.”

The coroner ruled that that the cause of death was “accidental crushing and mangling by being caught in a belt and thereby pulled round the shaft driven by an electric motor at the brickworks” When he passed away, he and Lilian had one daughter who was approximately 15 months old. Robert received a military funeral.

Sources

SCRoll web submission by J Macdonald, 9 November 2024; "Back from the war" in the Otago Witness on 15 September 1915, p4, and "A terrible death" in the Timaru Herald on 27 June 1924, p6, courtesy of Paperst Past at https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ [Accessed 14 November 2024]; Timaru District Cenmetery Database at https://www.timaru.govt.nz/community/community-and-culture/cemeteries/cemetery-search?BurialId=4943 [Accessed 14 November 2024]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Tony Rippin, South Canterbury Museum

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.