Stephen Henry Robson

Sunday Times 10 Sep 1916
Personal Information
Date of Birth	not known
Place of Birth	Canning Mill, Western Australia
Death	27 May 1916
Place of Death	Fleurbaix, France
Age at Enlistment	31 years old
Description	6'1¼" (1.87m) tall; weight 177 lbs (80.3kg); medium complexion, grey eyes, dark brown hair.
Occupation	Farrier
Religion	Roman Catholic
Address	NOK 47 Lake street, Perth, Western Austalia
Next of Kin	Step Brother Mr William Robson
Military Information
Reg Number	2831
Date of Enlistment	3 Jul 1915
Rank	Driver
Unit/Formation	11th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division
Date of Embarkation	5 Oct 1915
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A20 Hororata
Fate	Killed in Action 25 Jul 1916 Poziéres, France
Monument	Mundijong Villers-Bretonneux Memorial
Medals	1914-15 Star,br />British War Medal Victory Medal

Pre War

Served for 2 years with the 3rd Western Australian contingent to the Boer War.

Electoral Roll entries - 1910 Lucknow, blacksmith; 1912 Worsley, mill hand; 1913 Victoria street, Bunbury, labourer

War Service

On entering camp, Stephen was allocated to the 9th reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion, and travelled with it to Egypt. Before travelling, however, he was charged at Blackboy Hill with having been AWOL from 8 Sep 1915 until 10 Sep 1915. Only punishment appears to be that he forfeits 2 days pay.

At Habieta, Egypt, while with a Training Battalion waiting to be taken on by the 11th Battalion he was on 29 Dec 1915 charged with being absent from the 7:00am parade on 27 Dec 1915. For this he was awarded 6 days confined to barracks.

Taken on strength by the 11th Battalion on 7 Jan 1916 he was allocated to A Company in Tel-el-Kebir, and on 30 Jan 1916 at Habieta, Egypt was appointed Pack Animal Driver.

He boarded HMT Corsican at Alexandria on 29 Mar 1916 to travel to Marseilles and join the British Expeditionary Forces in France. They arrived in Marseilles on 5 Apr 1916, and moved to the area known as the "nursery" - the front lines south of Ypres and north of the Somme.

In the early morning of 23 Jul 1916 the battalion was a part of the first attack on enemy positions at Poziéres. A Company was a part of the first line of attackers, but it is not clear if Stephan was with them, in which case the date of his death could be 23 Jul 1916. Officially Stephen's death is listed to of occurred between 22 and 25 Jul 1916. However, given that the attack didn't start until after midnight 22 July, that Stephen's body was never found, his role in the battalion, and that on 25 Jul 1916 from 6:30am until 6:00pm the enemy carried out one of the heaviest bombardments of the war, it is likely that he was killed during this period.

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  Villers Bretonneux Memorial 2015 photo Linton Reynolds

Notes

1. Both parents deceased.

2. Although the Commonwealth War Graves Commission have his name as being on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, he does not appear in the current list of 11th Battalion men.

3. Newspaper report states he was of York and Mundijong. Born in Canning Mills.

4. Although he gave his step-brother as NOK, his medals, plaques, etc. were issued to a full sister Catherine Citroni.

External Links

• AIF Project
• RSL Virtual War Memorial