L/Cpl 21617 Robert James Roberts

• Age: 19
• From: Bootle, Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 19th Btn
• K.I.A Sunday 30th July 1916
• Commemorated at: Guillemont Rd Cem
  Panel Ref: VI.A.6

Robert James (Bob) Roberts was born 05th February 1897 at Bootle, Liverpool, the son of William Henry Roberts and his wife Sarah (nee Haddock). He was baptised on 07th March 1897 at St John’s Church of England Church, Bootle, at the time of his baptism his parents lived at 45 St. John’s Road, Bootle, and his father’s occupation was listed as labourer. His parents married on the 19th August 1884 also at St John’s Church. William was a 21 year old carter of 5 Sheridan Place, father John a labourer, whilst Sarah was aged 20 of 269 Derby Rd, father Samuel a carter.. Robert was the youngest of six children: John (who died at age 4), Sarah, Emily Megson, William Henry, and Walter (who died at 7 months).

His father is found on the 1891 census when the family were living at 269 Derby Road, Bootle.  He is 28 years old, a carter born in Bootle.  His wife Sarah is 27.  They have two daughters, Sarah, 5, and Emily, 2. They are living in the household of his in-laws, Samuel and Sarah Haddock and their four sons, Samuel, James, Henry, and Arthur. 

His father appears to have died in 1898 when Robert was not yet two years old, at the age of 36.

In 1901 his widowed mother and her three children are living with her mother-in-law Ann J. Roberts, 60, and sister-in-law Jessie, 20, at 273 Derby Road, Bootle. His mother is 36, working as a dressmaker on her own account at home.  Emily is 12, William 9, and Robert 4.  Also in the household is her father Samuel Haddock, widower, 63, a carter, and brother Arthur Haddock, 18.  Eldest daughter Sarah, 14, is a domestic servant in Boundary Street, Liverpool.

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 46 Beatrice Street, Bootle. His mother, Sarah, is a widow aged 47, born in Liverpool in 1864 is a dressmaker. She is living with her two sons who were both born in Bootle. William Henry is aged 19, born 1892 occupation sawyer's labourer and Robert James aged 14, born 1897 is an office boy. His sisters Sarah, 24, and Emily, 22, are in service together in an 11-room house at 11 Breeze Hill, Bootle. Sarah is a cook and Emily a housemaid.

He enlisted on the 04th September 1914 at St George's Hall in Liverpool, joining the 19^th Battalion of The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private 21617. He gave his age as 19 years and two days and gave his occupation as a clerk. He was described as being five feet seven and a quarter inches tall, weighed 135lbs, 37" chest with a fresh complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. He stated his religion as Church of England. It would appear Robert enlisted aged 17 and was underage.

Formed on 07^th September 1914 the 19^th Battalion trained locally at Sefton Park and remained living at home or in rented accommodation until November 1914. They then moved to the hutted accommodation at Lord Derby’s estate at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 19th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915.

03.8.15: At Belton Park, Grantham he turned up late for parade at 9.10am and was confined to barracks for three days.

14.5.16: Appointed unpaid Lance Corporal. 

Robert was killed in action on the 30^th July 1916, aged 19, at the village of Guillemont, France, during the Somme Offensive.

19^th Battalion Diary 30^th July 1916

MALTZ HORN FARM

BATTLE begun. ZERO hour 4:45 am. The Battalion reached its objective, but suffered heavy losses, and had to evacuate its position owing to no reinforcements.

Everard Wyrall gives details of the attack in his book The History of The King’s Regiment; 

"The 2nd Attack on Guillemont- 29th July 1916 the 89th Brigade the 20th King's were to attack on the right and the 19th on the left. During the evening of the 29th the night was dark and foggy when the Battalions moved off and the 19th with Lt Col G Rollo commanding, when passing the South east of the Briqueterie they were heavily shelled first with H E and then with a new kind of asphyxiating Gas shell which had curious results, at first it had no nasty effect but about 8 hrs later men began to fall sick with violent headaches and pains in the stomach. All ranks had to wear gas masks which in the darkness and mist made the going terribly difficult. It was indeed wonderful that they were able to reach their Assembly point at all. But they did and by 2.45 a.m. on the 30th July 1916 the Btn was assembled having suffered about 30 Casualties on the way up ready for the Zero hour at 4.45 a.m.

It is known that the two left Companies of the 19th under Capt. Dodd and Capt. Nicholson advanced in touch with the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on their left although they suffered many casualties from Machine gun Fire did not encounter many Germans and reached their final objective about the time allocated, beginning at once to dig in south of the orchard on the South east corner of Guillemont.  

On the left of the 19th the Scots Fusiliers most gallantly forced their way through Guillemont to the eastern side of the village but were soon overwhelmed by the enemy and few returned. 

At 8 a.m. finding that the village was not held the two left Companies of the 19th received no word from the rear or either flank believed themselves to be totally isolated so were forced to fall back and dig in, their position being untenable.

At midday the effective fighting strength of the 19th Btn was just 7 Officers and 43 other ranks" 

When darkness fell on the battlefield the 30^th Division held a line from the railway on the eastern side of Trones Wood , southwards and including Arrow Head Copse, to east of Maltz Horn Farm. On this line the division was relieved by the 55^th Division during the early hours of the 31^st July.

Casualties in the 19^th Battalion were 11 Officers and 435 Other Ranks 

The events of 30^th July 1916 were regarded at the time as Liverpool’s blackest day. There follows an extract from The History of the 89^th Brigade written by Brigadier General Ferdinand Stanley which gives an indication of the events of the day.

Guillemont

Well the hour to advance came, and of all bad luck in the world it was a thick fog; so thick that you couldn’t see more than about ten yards. It was next to impossible to delay the attack – it was much too big an operation- so forward they had to go. It will give some idea when I say that on one flank we had to go 1,750 yards over big rolling country. Everyone knows what it is like to cross enclosed country which you know really well in a fog and how easy it is to lose your way. Therefore, imagine these rolling hills, with no landmarks and absolutely unknown to anyone. Is it surprising that people lost their way and lost touch with those next to them? As a matter of fact, it was wonderful the way in which many men found their way right to the place we wanted to get to. But as a connected attack it was impossible.

The fog was intense it was practically impossible to keep direction and parties got split up. Owing to the heavy shelling all the Bosches had left their main trenches and were lying out in the open with snipers and machine guns in shell holes, so of course our fellows were the most easy prey.

It is so awfully sad now going about and finding so many splendid fellows gone.   

His service record shows that Robert was initially listed as Wounded, to Field Ambulance.

His name appeared in the list of K.L.R. Wounded published in the Liverpool Post & Mercury on 11th September 1916, but on 30th September he was listed in the newspaper as Wounded and Missing.

King’s (Liverpools) - Roberts, 21617, Lance-Corpl. J. R. 

His mother, living at 46 Beatrice Street, Bootle, contacted the International Red Cross concerning L/Cpl Robert James Roberts, 21617 K.L.R., 4th Company, 16th Platoon, wounded and missing since 30th July 1916 but received a reply dated 02nd October 1916, that they held no information on Robert.

It was not until July 1917, after a year of torment for his family, that the Army Council declared him killed in action or died of wounds on or shortly after 30th July 1916.

His death was reported in the Liverpool Evening Express on Saturday 14 July 1917: 

ROBERTS— July 30, 1916, reported missing, now officially reported killed in action, in his 19th year, Lance-Corporal R. J. (Bob) Roberts, the youngest son of Sarah and the late William H. Roberts, 46 Beatrice-street, Bootle. 

ROBERTS— In loving memory of Lance-Corpl. R. J. Roberts, KLR, who was reported missing July 30, 1916, now reported killed.  

We often think of days gone by,  

When we were all together; 

A shadow came over our lives, 

A dear chum gone for ever.  

Em and Matt, 21 Queen's-road, Bootle.  

ROBERTS— In loving memory of our dear nephew, Lance-Corpl. R. J. Roberts, KLR, missing July 30, 1916, now officially reported killed. (Ever remembered by aunt Em and uncle George and family, also Harry in France)— 21 Queen's-road Bootle. 

Bob had been buried close to where he fell and his grave marked with a cross. After the Armistice, when the battlefields were cleared, his body was located and identified and reinterred in Guillemont Road Cemetery, where he now rests.

Guillemont was an important point in the German defences at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. It was taken by the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers on 30 July but the battalion was obliged to fall back, and it was again entered for a short time by the 55th (West Lancashire) Division on 8 August. On 18 August, the village was reached by the 2nd Division, and on 3 September (in the Battle of Guillemont) it was captured and cleared by the 20th (Light) and part of the 16th (Irish) Divisions. It was lost in March 1918 during the German advance, but retaken on 29 August by the 18th and 38th (Welsh) Divisions.

The cemetery was begun by fighting units (mainly of the Guards Division) and field ambulances after the Battle of Guillemont, and was closed in March 1917, when it contained 121 burials. It was greatly increased after the Armistice when graves (almost all of July-September 1916) were brought in from the battlefields immediately surrounding the village and certain smaller cemeteries, including:-

HARDECOURT FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY. The village of Hardecourt-au-Bois was captured by French troops on the 8th July 1916, and again by the 58th (London) and 12th (Eastern) Divisions on 28 August 1918. Five British Artillerymen were buried by their unit in the French Military Cemetery, in the middle of the village, in September 1916; and in 1918 the 12th Division buried in the same cemetery 14 men of the 9th Royal Fusiliers and two of the 7th Royal Sussex.

Guillemont Road Cemetery now contains 2,263 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 1,523 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to eight casualties known or believed to be buried among them.

The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

Robert is remembered on the following Memorials:

Hall of Remembrance, Liverpool Town Hall, Panel 45 as 18th Bn 

Bootle Civic Memorial.

He earned his three medals, which his mother Sarah signed for.  

His Army pay and a War Gratuity of £8-10s went to his mother.

The only item of personal property returned was his identity disc on the 19th November 1918. 

His mother received a pension of 7/6 from 21st August 1918-25th February 1919 after which the pension was reduced to 5/- a week.

In 1919 Sarah, Emily, and William were at home with their mother at 46 Beatrice Street. 

His mother died in 1934 at the age of 70 and was buried on the 24th May 1934 at St Mary's Churchyard in Bootle. The churchyard was destroyed by enemy bombers in the Second World War.   

Grateful thanks are expressed to Rhobyn Goch for permission to use the photograph of Robert James Roberts now on this site.   

We currently have no further information on Robert James Roberts, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.