Robert Cole ROBSON

Regimental number10/1052
Date of birth28 May 1893
Place of birthHastings
ReligionPresbyterian
OccupationFarm worker
AddressHavelock North
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation21
Height6' 4"
Weight150 lbs
Next of kinW Robson, Woodside Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
Previous military service'E' Company, Hastings; 'G' Company, Clive
Enlistment date18 August 1914
Place of enlistmentHastings
Rank on embarkationPrivate
Enlistment statusVolunteer
Unit nameNew Zealand Expeditionary Force, Main Body, Wellington Infantry Battalion
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Wellington on board HMNZT 10 Arawa on 16 October 1914
Final rankLance Corporal
Final unit9th (Hawke's Bay) Company, Wellington Infantry Regiment
FateDied of wounds 29 April 1915
Age at death from cemetery records21
Place of burialAt sea
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 75), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: Walter and Catherine Isabella Robson, 15 Woodside Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Embarked Wellington, 16 October 1914; disembarked Alexandria, Egypt, 3 December 1914.

Embarked Alexandria with unit to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (Gallipoli Campaign), 12 April 1914.

Wounded in action, Anzac, no date stated (bullet wounds, lungs and liver).

Died of wounds on board HS 'Galeka', at sea, 29 April 1915.

Total war service: 255 days (of which 219 days were abroad).

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Miscellaneous detailsNominal Roll Vol. 1: Wellington Infantry Batln/Main Body
SourcesArchives New Zealand (Wellington), Agency AABK, Series 18805, File 20807172