Herbert Maurice ROBERTSHAW

Herbert Robertshaw was born on 22 April 1887 at Orange. His parents were Henry and Jeannie Merchant (née Souter) Robertshaw. He attended Scotch in 1906. At the outbreak of war he had nearly completed qualification for Presbyterian ministry.

Herbert was a bank clerk when he enlisted on 17 August 1914 at Melbourne. He served in the 6th Battalion with the rank of Corporal. His Regimental Number was 51.

Herbert died on 25 April 1915 at Gallipoli. He was 28 years of age.

Service record

He was initially posted missing, but a Court of Inquiry in April 1916 pronounced that he had been killed in action. A document in his service record states that he was one of eight men cut off on 25 April. Another eyewitness from Robertshaw’s section says that he advanced with Robertshaw some two miles inland before the unit had to retire from its scattered positions in the bush (see below). Another eyewitness claimed that Robertshaw had been wounded in the leg and suffered shock but had returned safely to England for treatment. Yet another report said that he had been seen in the Tanta hospital in Egypt with a paralysing shoulder wound. This raised his parents’ hopes, but they were told that the hospital involved denied ever having received Robertshaw (see below).

Herbert Robertshaw has no known grave but is commemorated at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey.

Photographs and Documents:

From Robertshaw’s service record, Herbert Robertshaw at Broadmeadows camp in about January 1915. For another photo from this period, see AWM OD0229

Herbert Robertshaw is in centre of the front row in this photo of 6th Battalion men at the Great Pyramid, Giza in 1915. Twenty-year-old Sergeant Leo Basto, at front left, was reportedly one of eight men cut off with Robertshaw on 25 April and killed in the subsequent fighting. Of the pictured men, only one survived the war [For other photos of Robertshaw at the Pyramid see AWM P06424.006 and P06424.008. At the time of writing, the captions of .006 and .007 have been transposed].

Letter

Letter

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