Walter Robin was not an easy man to find in any official record, the reason for that being his name on the family gravestone is spelt Robins and his official record has it as Robin - not the first discrepancy I've found between stone and paper.
Walter joined the army after the Gallipoli Campaign and was mustered into the Otago Infantry Regiment's line "somewhere in France" in July, 1916. The Battle of the Somme had begun and the Otagos were waiting to take their part. This began on September 15
The 2nd Battalion of the Otagos reached their objectives in the German line and were well dug in at the end of that first day, as can be read in the Official History here. But it was not without cost. Of the 836 men who crossed behind the barrage into no-man's-land, 460 - more than half - were killed or wounded. Walter Robin was one among many who died that day. He has no known grave.
No comments:
Post a Comment