The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4289) Private Daniel Robertson, 2nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Richard Cruise , the story for this day was on (4289) Private Daniel Robertson, 2nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4289 Private Daniel Robertson, 2nd Battalion, AIF
KIA 4 May 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 4 February 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Daniel Robertson.

Daniel Robertson was born in 1883, one of seven children of Daniel and Mary Robertson of Lanark in central Scotland. The family migrated to Australia the year after Daniel’s birth, settling in Sydney. Daniel attended a Superior Public School and later worked as a carpenter. In 1902 he married Mary Ann Hanson, and the couple resided in Wahroonga on Sydney’s northern shore.

Robertson enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Holsworthy in September 1915, and after a period of training embarked for Egypt with a reinforcement group for the 3rd Battalion. By the time he arrived the Gallipoli campaign had ended and the AIF was undergoing a major restructure in preparation for the fighting on the Western Front. As part of the “doubling-up” of the AIF, Robertson was transferred to the 2nd Battalion, and spent the following weeks training at Tel-el-Kebir before sailing for France in March 1916.

Forming part of the 1st Division, the 2nd Battalion spent its first few months in France in the relatively quiet Armentières sector, where the Australians patrolled and carried out trench raids before moving on to the Somme in July 1916. On 23 July 1916 the 1st Division captured the village of Pozières, which dominated the high ground towards the British objective of Thiepval. During this time Robertson was shot in the hand while carrying water up to the front line, and he was evacuated to England for a period of rest and recovery.

Robertson was spared the bitter fighting that ensued at Pozières and the nearby position of Mouquet Farm. He returned to the Somme in
November 1916, while allied armies were hunkering down for the winter. The following months were spent holding positions between the villages of Flers and Gueudecourt, and participating in the advance that followed the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. By April Robertson’s superiors had recognised his leadership qualities and promoted him to lance corporal.

On 3 May 1917 troops of the 1st Division participated in a costly and unsuccessful attack that sought to gain possession of the formidable Hindenburg Line position from the Germans. The 6th Battalion relieved troops of the 2nd Division, who had fought their way into the German trenches and were successful in gaining a toehold, but were subjected to intense machine-gun and artillery fire which inflicted a heavy toll.

After a week of fighting at Bullecourt, the Australians had suffered more than 7,000 casualties. Among them was Daniel Robertson, who was killed by a German artillery shell on 4 May.

Aged 37 at the time of his death, his body was buried on the battlefield, but his grave was lost during subsequent fighting. Today his name appears on the Australian National Memoral at Villers-Bretonneux alongside 10,737 Australians killed in France who have no known grave.

Daniel Robertson is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Daniel Robertson, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section.