ROBERTSON, Robert
(Service number 6/3848)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 20 September 1889 | Place of Birth | Outram, Otago |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | C/o G. D. Craigie, Winchester | ||
| Occupation | Draper | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs R. BLAIR (mother), Edendale, Southland | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 9th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 8 January 1916 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | 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 | 26 September 1953 | Age | 64 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Timaru | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Robert Robertson was born on 20 September 1889 at Outram, the younger son of Arthur Robertson and his second wife, Janet Marshall. His father died in 1892 at his residence, Lee Creek, West Taieri. In 1912 his mother married Roland Blair, and as Mrs R, Blair, of Edendale, she was named Robert’s next-of-kin. Young Robert was educated at West Taieri School.
Robert was a draper, residing at Winchester, South Canterbury, with his sister and brother-in-law, Janet Johnston (née Robertson) and Gordon Dunlop Craig. Private Robertson embarked on 8 January 1916 at Wellington, with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion of the 9th Reinforcements, destined for Suez, Egypt. From January 1917, Private R. Robertson’s name appeared regularly in the Active Service List published in the Temuka Leader.
He died on 26 September 1953 at Timaru, perhaps again with his sister. Robert’s older brother, Peter Robertson, may have also served in the World War I. The community of Edendale unveiled a handsome soldiers’ monument and memorial on 3 April 1917. Among the 63 names of those who had already left the country was that of Robert Robertson (Ninth Reforcements).
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [03 June 2021]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [06 June 2021]; School Admission record [06 June 2021]; Southland Times, 4 April 1917 (Papers Past) [06 June 2021]
External Links
Related Documents
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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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