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| Bert and Effie |
William Herbert (Bert) Robinson was B's great great grandfather. His wife was a Scottish born woman named Euphemia whom the family called Effie.
Prior to the war, Bert was a linotype operator at the Manawatu Daily Times. He lived in Palmerston North.
Bert was part of the 5th Reinforcements, Otago Infantry Battalion. He embarked a troopship in Wellington harbour on 13 June 1915 which was headed to Suez, Egypt. He arrived there on 24 July 1915.
By 9 August 1915, Bert was with the ANZAC forces on Gallipoli. A few days later, on 12 August, he received shrapnel wounds to his hand and head. He was taken on board the ship HS Neuralia in the Dardenelles.
Later, on 30 October 1915 admitted to the 2nd Australian Hospital, this time with jaundice. He was transferred to the 27th General Hospital in December.
He was sent to the 1st Australian Hospital in Cairo. By 7 September he was recovered.
By 31 August 1916, Bert was again with his unit after being in hospital. He now had the rank of Lance Corporal.
On 4 November 1916, while in the field in France, Bert got in big trouble with his army superiors for writing censored information in a letter. He had written about an operation that his unit were involved in. He had also included photographs of it. As a consequence, he was tried and found guilty, receiving 90 days Field Punishment Number 2 and was deprived of his Lance Corporal stripe.
On 8 June 1917 Bert was admitted to the 14th General Hospital in Rouen, France then quickly transferred to the New Zealand General Hospital in London. He had received gunshot wounds to his right arm, and severe wounds to his right side.
Bert returned to New Zealand on the troopship Tainui. He was discharged from service on 28 May 1919 after serving a total of 4 years and 28 days.
Bert received the 1914-1915 Star, The British War Medal and The Victory Medal for his services during the war.
In his later life, Bert and Effie became the parents of Bert Junior and Velma. Bert Senior became a Justice of the Peace (in 1943), and in 1964 he was appointed the president of the New Zealand Justices Association. He died on 2 October 1974, aged 83, and was buried in the Onerahi Cemetery, Whangarei (H Plot 218). Euphemia passed away less than two years later. A photo of their grave can be seen here.
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| B with a copy of the newspaper article about Bert Robinson, her great great grandfather. |
Sources of information
Online Cenotaph Records - Auckland War Memorial Museum
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