Frank Roberts (soldier) (1888-1918)

Francis William Roberts, known as Frank, was born in South Melbourne in 1888. His parents were John Garibaldi Roberts and Roberta Margaret Roberts (née Dickson). He had two younger siblings — a sister, Gwen Dickson Roberts (born 1891, who was given her mother’s maiden name as her middle name), and a brother, Bertrand John Roberts (born 1902, who was known as “Bert”).[1]

He received his education at Camberwell State School, South Melbourne College, and at Stott & Hoare’s Business College (Collins Street, Melbourne).[2]

Frank was a very active person. He was an enthusiastic lacrosse player, and played with the Hawthorn club. In late April 1910 the Victorian Lacrosse Association granted him a permit to allow him to transfer to the Essendon club (this was a small victory for him, as they had previously refused his request for a transfer).[3]

He was an employee of the Bank of Australasia for three years, and then began working as an orchardist at South Sassafras (Victoria) in about 1911. But then the First World War started, and Australian volunteers began to sign up. There were some who thought that it “would all be over by Christmas”; but, as the months went on, the war intensified, and new events encouraged more volunteers to step forward. A few weeks after the end of the Gallipoli campaign (the last evacuations occurred on 9 January 1916), Frank decided to volunteer.[4]

Frank Roberts enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force on 23 February 1916, at the age of 27 years and 7 months. He embarked for overseas service from Melbourne (Vic.), on HMAT A11 Ascanius, on 11 May 1917, and arrived 70 days later at Devonport (England) on 20 July 1917. He was seen as having abilities beyond that of a common soldier; he completed the officers’ training course at Duntroon, and underwent further training whilst in the UK. He was appointed as Acting Sergeant on several occasions, to fill in when needed; however, he did not get to serve as an officer. Roberts was dispatched from Southampton (England) on 6 November 1917, arrived at Havre (France) the following day, and then joined the 21st Battalion in the field a week later, on 14 November. He was lucky enough to get nine day’s leave in Paris, 2-11 March 1918, which would have been a welcome respite from the front lines and the battalion area. Unfortunately, about six months later, he was killed in action at Mont St Quentin, France, on 1 September 1918, at the age of 30 years old.[5]

Written just four weeks before his death, an entry in his diary reveals his thoughts about his participation in the Battle of Hamel (which took place in the vicinity of the town of Le Hamel, in the valley of the Somme, northern France) on 4 July 1918: “After the start all trepidation vanished. Wonderful barrage put up … We caught glimpses of Fritz going for life. No return barrage and no machine-gun fire. An easy walkover. Slung my gun and stumbled across. Experiencing none of the ‘blood lust’ … A most prosaic affair.”[6]

He was buried in a mass grave, along with ten other soldiers of the 21st Battalion who were killed at Mont St Quentin. Later on their bodies were exhumed and reburied in separate graves in the Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension (Péronne, France).[7]

Not long after signing up for military service, he had become engaged to Ruby May Barratt (their engagement was announced in March 1916), even though he was due to start military training on 1 May 1916. The two were married at St. Matthew’s Church, Olinda (Vic.), on 30 September 1916, with the Rev. G. M. Cerutty officiating (Frank was a Sergeant at the time). The newly-married couple conceived a child, which was born on 2 November 1917, almost six months after Frank left Australia for Europe on a troopship. Sadly, young Nancy May Roberts never got the chance to meet her father.[8]

Roberts was just one amongst many thousands of Australians who decided to volunteer for the war effort. 416,809 men enlisted in Australia, which was 38.7% of the male population of military age (18 to 44 years old). An estimated 62,300 Australians died in the war, which was 14.4% of the enlistees, or 1.2% of Australia’s population. Considering that Australians had to travel from the other side of the world to participate in the war, that’s quite a sizable percentage (in comparison, the USA lost 0.1% of its population in the First World War). When it comes to the Australians who were wounded, the numbers are huge. Unlike other allied countries, the Australian statistics excluded hospitalisations due to illness and injury, so the figures which are usually given are vastly understated. Using the international standard for determining the numbers of military personnel wounded in wartime, it has been estimated that there were 750,000 hospitalisations of the 308,000 Australians who served in a theatre of war. The First World War killed, maimed, and damaged enormous numbers of our best and brightest men; it was a national tragedy.[9]

In line with so many other Australians, Frank Roberts served God, King, and Country. By joining the Australian military for service overseas, he was putting himself in mortal danger, but he did it because he believed that it was the right thing to do. As with all of those who went to war, he knew that he was putting his life on the line. Australia lost enormous numbers of men of high calibre during the First World War, men who were willing to step up when the country needed them, men who fought and died for what they believed in. Their deaths were a great loss to our country. Like Frank Roberts, they were all heroes.

See also:
Emu Paddock, Melbourne Zoo [postcard, 13 December 1905]
A postcard sent to Frank Roberts’ brother, Bert Roberts, from his father.
Francis William Roberts (soldier) [several items, 1918]
Several items regarding Francis William (Frank) Roberts, from newspaper reports on those killed in action, as well as death notices placed in newspapers by family and friends.
“The goal beyond the prize”: Lacrosseur gives his life [WW1 obituary for Francis William (Frank) Roberts, 23 September 1918]
An obituary for Frank Roberts, published in The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.).

References:
[1] “Died on service”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 17 September 1918, p. 1, column 1 [“elder son of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Roberts, “Eumana,” 17 Hastings road, Upper Hawthorn … brother of Gwen and Bert”]
“Search your family history”, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria
1) birth record: name: Francis William ROBERTS; mother’s name at birth: Roberta Margaret DICKSON; father’s name: John Garibaldi ROBERTS; place of birth: MELB S; reg. year 1888; reg. no. 22525/1888
2) birth record: name: Gwen Dickson ROBERTS; mother’s name at birth: Roberta Margt DICKSON; father’s name: Jno Garibaldi ROBERTS; place of birth: HAWTHORN; reg. year 1891; reg. no. 23796/1891
3) birth record: name: Bertrand Jno ROBERTS; mother’s name at birth: Roberta Margt DICKSON; father’s name: Jno Garibaldi ROBERTS; place of birth: HAWTHORN; reg. year 1902; reg. no. 26802/1902
Note: The middle name of Frank Roberts’ father, John Garibaldi Roberts, was presumably derived from Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary and republican, which indicates that Frank Roberts’ grandparents had some Italian ancestry, or a personal Italian connection, or were politically radical (or some combination thereof).
See: “Giuseppe Garibaldi”, Wikipedia

[2] ““The goal beyond the prize”: Lacrosseur gives his life”, The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.), 23 September 1918, p. 2 (Final Edition) [schools]
“Australians on service: Killed”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 24 September 1918, p. 7 [schools]
See also: “Stott & Hoare’s Business College stands at the head” (advertisement), The Camperdown Chronicle (Camperdown, Vic.), 15 December 1906, p. 1 [an example of the name of the Business College, although often referred as “Stott’s Business College”, its full name was “Stott & Hoare’s Business College”; a search of the Trove site for 1900-1909 gives numerous results for “Stott & Hoare’s” for every year throughout the decade]

[3] “Lacrosse”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 23 April 1910, p. 17 [permit refused by the VLA’s permit committee]
“Lacrosse”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 29 April 1910, p. 10 [permit granted]
““The goal beyond the prize”: Lacrosseur gives his life”, The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.), 23 September 1918, p. 2 (Final Edition)
“Roll of honor”, The Essendon Gazette, and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic.), 26 September 1918, p. 3 (Morning Edition) [“well known as a player with Essendon’s first lacrosse team”]

[4] ““The goal beyond the prize”: Lacrosseur gives his life”, The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.), 23 September 1918, p. 2 (Final Edition)
“Australians and the war: Killed in action” The Age, (Melbourne, Vic.), 24 September 1918, p. 8 [“for the five years prior to enlistment he was an orchardist at South Sassafras”]
“Gallipoli campaign”, Wikipedia

[5] “Died on service”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 17 September 1918, p. 1, column 1 [“aged 30 years”]
“Deaths: On active service”, The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 23 September 1918, p. 1, column 1
“ROBERTS Francis William : Service Number – 6874 : Place of Birth – South Melbourne VIC : Place of Enlistment – Melbourne VIC : Next of Kin – (Wife) ROBERTS Ruby May”, National Archives of Australia [NAA: B2455, ROBERTS FRANCIS WILLIAM; Item ID: 8033301; links to scans of various documents relating to the wartime service of Francis William Roberts]
“The transport ship Ascanius (A11) a steam passenger ship which was requisitioned in 1914 as troop …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra
“Australian Troop Ships: A – I”, Anzac Spirits of South Australia
Note: In the early 20th century, it usually took about 40 days to sail between Australia and England; however, it could take much longer when ships used different routes and avoidance tactics to minimise the risk of attacks from enemy submarines.
See: 1) Cheyenne Macdonald, “What travel looked like 100 years ago: Map shows how many days it took to travel to the furthest corners of Britain’s Empire in 1914”, Daily Mail, 1 December 2015 [“the journey would take at least a month and or more than 40 days”]
2) “How long did it take to sail from England to Australia in 1919?”, Quora
See also: “Transport of Australians to war zones in World War I”, Anzac Portal (Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Australian Government), 24 February 2022

[6] Claire Hunter, “Remembering the battle of Hamel”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 4 July 2018
“Hamel: the textbook Victory – 4 July 1918”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 28 January 2021
“Battle of Hamel 4 July 1918”, Anzac Portal (Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Australian Government), 14 January 2020
“Battle of Hamel”, Wikipedia
“Le Hamel, Somme”, Wikipedia

[7] “Grave marker of eleven members of the 21st Battalion who were all killed in action at Mont St …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C46515: photo of a mass grave: “Grave marker of eleven members of the 21st Battalion who were all killed in action at Mont St Quentin, France on 1 September 1918 and buried in a mass grave. Listed on the plaque are: … 6874 Pte Francis William Roberts from Upper Hawthorn, Victoria … The above listed were all later moved to individual graves in the Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension, France.”]
“The burial ground of men of the 21st Battalion who fell in the attack at Mont St Quentin on 1 …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C970885: photo of a mass grave of eleven men of the 21st Battalion, including the body of Frank Roberts]
“The burial ground of men of the 21st Battalion who fell in the attack at Mont St Quentin on 1 …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C1028640]
“Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension”, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
“Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension”, Virtual War Memorial Australia
“Péronne, Somme”, Wikipedia

[8] “Engagements”, Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic.), 16 March 1916, p. 9 [engagement “of Miss Ruby Barratt, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. Barratt, Warwick Farm, Olinda, to Mr. Frank W. Roberts of “Sunnyside” South Sassafras, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Roberts, Upper Hawthorn”; Roberts going into camp on May 1]
Elizabeth, “As a woman views it”, The Graphic of Australia (Melbourne, Vic.), 24 March 1916, p. 14 [engaged; “Frank Roberts, of South Sassafras, is going into camp on May 1”]
“Marriages”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 11 November 1916, p. 13, column 2
“Births”, The Age (Melbourne, Vic.), 17 November 1917, p. 7, column 1 [birth of Nancy May Roberts]
“Births”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 17 November 1917, p. 13, column 1 [birth of Nancy May Roberts]
“Died on service”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 17 September 1918, p. 1, column 1 [Ruby May Roberts, Nancy May Roberts]

[9] “Australian recruitment statistics for World War I”, National Archives of Australia [416,809 enlistees; 38.7%]
“Australians in World War 1”, State Library of Victoria [416,809 enlistees; estimated 62,000 deaths]
“World War I casualties”, Wikipedia [1.2%] (accessed 12 April 2023)
“Deaths as a result of service with Australian units”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [estimated 61,674 deaths]
David Noonan, “Why the numbers of our WWI dead are wrong: New research shows Australia’s official casualty statistics are seriously distorted and must be revised immediately”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 April 2014 [re Australia’s WW1 wounded numbers being understated; estimated 62,300 deaths]
See also: “Selected WW1 Statistics”, ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland) [see table “Percentage of Enlistments to Population in the Australian States”]
“Search your family history”, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria
1) marriage record: name: Francis Wm ROBERTS, to Ruby May BARRATT; reg. year 1916; reg. no. 6498/1916
2) birth record: name: Nancy May ROBERTS; mother’s name at birth: Ruby May BARRATT; father’s name: Francis Wm ROBERTS; place of birth: HAWTHORN; reg. year 1917; reg. no. 29636/1917

Further reading:
1) “Private Francis William Roberts”, Australian War Memorial [Service number: 6874; Birth date: 1888]
2) “Private Francis William Roberts”, Australian War Memorial [“Service number: 6874; Final rank: Private”]
3) “Francis William (Frank) ROBERTS”, Virtual War Memorial Australia
4) “ROBERTS Francis William : Service Number – 6874 : Place of Birth – South Melbourne VIC : Place of Enlistment – Melbourne VIC : Next of Kin – (Wife) ROBERTS Ruby May”, National Archives of Australia [NAA: B2455, ROBERTS FRANCIS WILLIAM; Item ID: 8033301; links to scans of various documents relating to the wartime service of Francis William Roberts]

Photographs relating to Frank Roberts:
* Section 1. Photos available via the Australian War Memorial, Canberra:
“Photograph album related to the service of 6874 Francis Roberts”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C2104269: Frank Roberts in uniform, with arms crossed; a notation on the reverse side says “to Mrs F.W. Roberts, with love from her loving husband Frank, posted 1st April 1918”]
“Photograph album related to the service of 6874 Francis Roberts”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C2104271: Frank Roberts in uniform (including his Sergeant stripes) and his wife Ruby]
“Photograph album related to the service of 6874 Francis Roberts”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C2104273: No. 2 Platoon, Officers Training School, Duntroon, Nov-Dec 1916 (this group photo apparently includes Frank Roberts)]
“Grave marker of eleven members of the 21st Battalion who were all killed in action at Mont St …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C46515: a mass grave of eleven men of the 21st Battalion, including the body of Frank Roberts]
“The burial ground of men of the 21st Battalion who fell in the attack at Mont St Quentin on 1 …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C970885: a mass grave of eleven men of the 21st Battalion, including the body of Frank Roberts]
“Photograph album related to the service of 6874 Francis Roberts”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C2104272: photo of the parents of Frank Roberts, John Garibaldi Roberts and Roberta Roberts]
“Mixed Collection relating to Francis Roberts 6874”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C2096426: no photo, but gives information regarding the photos held by the AWM relating to Frank Roberts]
“The transport ship Ascanius (A11) a steam passenger ship which was requisitioned in 1914 as troop …”, Australian War Memorial, Canberra [C1274737: photo of the transport ship Ascanius (A11), i.e. the ship which took Frank Roberts to England in 1917]
* Section 2. Photos available via the Virtual War Memorial Australia page for Francis William (Frank) ROBERTS:
“Francis Roberts”, Virtual War Memorial Australia
“A page of photos of the men from the 21st Battalion, KIA on 1st September 1918 and buried in the battlefield quarry”, Virtual War Memorial Australia
“At Mont St Quentin on 1st September, 1918, Pte Francis William ROBERTS fell on part of the battlefield was captured by the 21st Btn. The men killed were buried in a quarry. They now lie in the @CWGC cemetery in Peronne”, Virtual War Memorial Australia [detail of the page of photos]