9/196 Staff Sergeant Robert Rendall, (9/4/1890-25/11/1918). "knocked out by a shattering wound"

There were three military funerals in Dunedin yesterday afternoon, the bodies being interred in the Anderson's Bay Cemetery. The deceased soldiers were: Lance-corporal Wm. Daniel Lysaght, aged 22 years (son of Mr Daniel Lysaght, of Ashburton), who served with the 13th Reinforcements; Private John Simmons, aged 32 years (son of Mr Joseph Simmons Castle street, Dunedin), who served with the 18th Reinforcements; and Regimental Sergeant-major Robert Rendall, aged 28 years, whose mother lives in Orkney, Scotland. He enlisted in the Otago Mounted Rifles attached to the Main Body, served in Egypt, and was knocked out by a shattering wound in the arm during the fighting at Gallipoli. Prior to enlisting he worked on the farm of Mr C. Duff, at Crookston. Major Fleming and Captain Myers attended the funerals as representatives of the military authorities.  -Otago Daily Times, 28/11/1918.

Robert Rendall's Army record shows that he was wounded on the "7th or 8th" of August, 1915, a period of time during which the Otago Infantry Regiment took and briefly held the strategically vital height of Chunuk Bair, suffering heavy losses.

He was on the "dangerously ill" list for more than a month and was repatriated to New Zealand in November, 1915.  His wound, described as a "bomb shell wound" on the right elbow, becam ulcerated and set badly. He was discharged from the Army as physically unfit due to his wounds a little over a year after he suffered them.

Robert Rendall rejoined the Army in 1917 and served at Trentham Camp, attached to the 35th Reinforcements as an instructor, then at Milton from where he was sent to Dunedin Hospital for an appendectomy in November.

In January, 1918, comes something of a surprise in Robert Rendall's Army record - a note in a rather scrawling hand, headed "Concealment of Venereal Disease" to the Area Officer, Milton. The substance of the note reads "Dear Sir, I beg to acknowledge receipt of the above wound." This "wound" was possibly detected by the medical staff involved in his appendectomy and would probably be the reason for his transfer to Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua where he died of pneumonia caused by influenza.

The image below is the best I can present of a very interesting letter in Rendall's army record.  It was written regarding the execution of Robert's will by Charles Duff to Major Gairdner regarding the payment of a sum from Rendall's will and ends with the words "I expect to be in town for show time to try and fix everything up. That abominable influenza scourge knocked me over again last week. I got caught while mustering on the mountains etc, etc."

Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.