ALLAN, Robert Brechin
(Service number 29203)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 9 April 1894 | Place of Birth | Geraldine |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 27 June 1916 | Age | 22 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Waikari | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | 13th Infantry Regiment 5 years | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | John ALLAN (father), Park View, Waikari, North Canterbury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 18th Reinforcements, Canterbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 11 October 1916 | ||
| Transport | Tofua | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 October 1917 | Age | 23 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Belgium | ||
| Cause | Died of Wounds | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Tyne Cot Memorial in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. Waikari Cemetery - memorial | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Robert Brechin Allan (Bob) was born on 9 April 1894 at Geraldine, the youngest son of John and Jane (Jean/Jeanie, née Forrester) Allan. John and Jean had married in 1877 in their native Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, before emigrating with their first-born in 1878. After a spell in the Ashburton district, Mr Allan started farming at Geraldine in 1880. A second son was born at Ashburton, followed by four daughters and four sons, all born at Geraldine. When Mr Allan sold the farm in 1897, the family moved to North Canterbury. There the younger children transferred from Geraldine School to Masons Flat School and on to Waikari School. Young Robert started at Masons Flat School in June 1899, later transferrin to Waikari School.
Robert Breachin Allan enlisted on 27 June 1916 at Trentham. Farming at Waikari with his father, single and Presbyterian, he named his father as next-of-kin – John Allan, Park View, Waikari, North Canterbury, and afterwards 75 Bishops St, St Albans, Christchurch. John and Jane Allan later moved into Papanui Road, Christchurch. Private R. B. Allan embarked with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion of the 18th Reinforcements, leaving for Plymouth, England per the “Tofua” on 11 October 1916. Just a year after, on 17 October 1917, he died of wounds in Belgium. He is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium. “For King and Country.”
Private R. B. Allan and his brother, Corporal J. Allan, are remembered on their parents’ headstone at Waikari Cemetery. Their cousin, John Alexander Macdonald Allan, served with the Royal air Force in World War One and was killed on 20 May 1918 in an air accident in England. Another cousin, James Waddell Scott, who was born in Scotland, served with the New Zealand Forces in the South African War. He died in an accident in 1905 and was buried at Waimate, his parents with him. Scottish-born cousin, William Brechin, was killed in action on 7 August 1915 in France.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [15 February 2025]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [15 February 2025]; School Admission records [16 February 2025]; Lyttelton Times, 26 November 1917, Press, 27 November 1917, Sun, 27 November 1917 (Papers Past) [16 February 2025]; Waikari Cemetery records (Hurunui District Council) [16 February 2025]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Scoiety
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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