MAXWELL, Robert
(Service number 16314)
| First Rank | Trooper | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 17/11/1887 | Place of Birth | Ashburton |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 4 May 1916 | Age | 28 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Beautiful Valley, Geraldine, New Zealand | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 2 years South Canterbury Mounted Rifles | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs R S Maxwell (Mother) Beautiful Valley, Geraldine, New Zealand | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 16the Reinforcements, NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade | ||
| Date | 8 October 1916 | ||
| Transport | Moeraki (transferred to Moolten at Sydney for Suez) | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Imperial Camel Corps | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Egypt Expeditionary Force 1916-17-18 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
DCM. London Gazette, 26 June 1918, p7567: For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in connection with military operations culminating in the capture of Jerusalem. He advanced for 500 yards to an advanced post under heavy shell, machine gun and rifle fire to rescue a wounded comrade. Although he had to cross a very exposed piece of ground, he succeeded in bringing the wounded man back to our lines, displaying magnificent coolness and courage
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 | 31 March 1918 | Age | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Palestine | ||
| Cause | Died of wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery, Syria | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Gapes and Beautiful Valley First World War Memorial & Geraldine War Memorial (as Pte R Maxwell DCM) | ||
Biographical Notes
Robert was the son of Robert Taylor and Sarah May Maxwell of Beautiful Valley, Geraldine. Brother of George Worner (b.1884), Elizabeth Chalmers (b.1886), Sidney (b.1889), James (b.1891), Reginald (b.1893), Edward (b.1895), Evelyne (b.1897) and Louise (b.1900). It appears he had a brother Charles who also served and was killed in action.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Cenotaph Database (Oct 2013); Archways (Oct 2013); CWGC (Oct 2013); NZ War Graves (Oct 2013); NZBDM 1888/3722 (Born 1887 Registered 1888)
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Janette Clarke, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
JCl
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.