The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (580) Trooper Alfred Charles Robbins, 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment, 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (580) Trooper Alfred Charles Robbins, 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment, First, World War.

580 Trooper Alfred Charles Robbins, 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment
DOW 13 June 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 14 June 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Trooper Alfred Charles Robbins.

Alf Robbins was the second son of William and Rebecca Robbins of Rylstone. He was born in 1880 and educated at the local school. In 1902 Alf enlisted in the 5th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse for service in South Africa, serving 111 days.

On his return, Robbins took up farming and horse-breaking in the Rylstone district. In September 1914 he became the first man from the Rylstone district to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force for service in the First World War. He would eventually be followed by four of his brothers. A fifth also tried to enlist but failed to pass the medical test.

Robbins was posted to the 1st Light Horse Regiment, which left Sydney in October 1914. Arriving in Egypt in early December, the men continued their training. The light horse was originally considered unsuitable for service on Gallipoli, but on 12 May the 1st Light Horse Regiment arrived on the peninsula, without their horses, to reinforce the infantry.

Just a few weeks after his arrival at Anzac Cove, Trooper Robbins was wounded in the head, probably by shrapnel. The wound was very deep, and he was taken to the Greek Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt for treatment. There he was cared for by Nurse Paraskeva, who later reported that he was delirious when he arrived and they expected he would die that day. However, he rallied and spent a great deal of time talking about his parents and Rylstone to the nurse. Paraskeva wrote to Mrs Robbins in Rylstone to say that “his strong constitution kept him alive a whole week”. His wounds were too severe, however, and he died quietly on 13 June 1915.

Rebecca Robbins had a stone erected in the cemetery in Rylstone to the memory of her son. Another of her sons, Percy, was wounded in 1918 and died a year after his return to Australia. A third son, Sid, was awarded the Military Medal.

Alf Robbins was the first from the Rylstone district to enlist, and the first to be killed. The local newspaper reported that “the deceased soldier was a brave, fearless fellow who like many thousands of our brave lads, have given up their lives for their country”. He was 35 years old.

The name of Alf Robbins is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 Australians who died during 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 Trooper Alfred Charles Robbins, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section