Early Life :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

Following the collapse of the Italian Front in late 1917 a number of British Divisions were sent to Italy to support and stabilise the Italian effort. In March 1918, XIV Corps (the 7th, 23rd and 48th Divisions) relieved Italian troops on the front line between Asiago and Canove, the front being held by two divisions with one division in reserve on the plain. The French held the line to the left, with the Italians to the right.

The front was comparatively quiet until the Austrians attacked in force from Grappa to Canove in the Battle of Asiago (15-16 June 1918). The Allied line was penetrated to a depth of about 1,000 metres on 15 June but the lost ground was retaken the next day and the line re-established. Between June and September, frequent successful raids were made on the Austrian trenches.

In October, the 7th and 23rd Divisions were sent to the Treviso area of the River Piave front. The 48th Division, which remained in the mountains as part of the Italian Sixth Army, played an important part in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto (24 October-4 November 1918) in which the Austrians were finally defeated. By late 1918 the danger had passed and many of the British troops returned to the Western Front.

Detail :

Captain Henry Harold ROBINSON, DSO Royal Army Medical Corps. Aboard HMT Transylvania and was drowned 4th May, 1917 after being torpedoed.

Commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Lieutenant in April 1915, he went to France as M.O. to the 8th Battalion, Liverpool Regiment, winning his D.S.O. for his deeds at Wailly on 28 June 1916, a full account of which appeared in the Birkenhead News 2 September 1916:

"On 28 June 1916, he was Medical Officer to raiding parties of two Battalions. After attending a wounded man, who had returned, Temporary Captain Robinson went to a point of exit to see if any more wounded men were observable. He noticed two men in the open, and at once went out to their aid, accompanied by Private Currie of the Liverpools, who had been awarded the M.M. At the first attempt they could not reach either of the two men, but made a second effort further down. One of the two men was shot through the head before Captain Robinson and Private Currie reached him.

The other was too badly wounded to be moved at the time, and his would-be rescuers were then only about 50 yards from the German sharpshooters. They, therefore, gave the injured man some morphia and a bottle of water. And about two hours later, at dusk, Captain Robinson and his assistant took the man to the British lines, together with another whom they had observed during the afternoon. One of the two men died, but the other recovered. The Captain was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order on the field of battle some time later by the General Officer Commanding. We are glad to be able to record that Captain Robinson is making very satisfactory progress from the wounds he received in France, and hopes to be all right again very shortly."

These wounds were very probably received on the Somme, where the 8th Liverpools went into action at Guillemont in August 1916, sustaining around 570 casualties.

The report of his wounding appeared in the Liverpool Echo 29th August, 1916: "BIRKENHEAD D.S.O. WOUNDED. Captain Henry Harold Robinson, R.A.M.C., attached to the King's Liverpool Regiment, who was recently awarded the D.S.O. for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, has been wounded. He won the decoration for service crawling out in broad daylight, after a raid on the enemy trenches, to assist wounded men under fire. He is now home in Birkenhead."

It is probable, too, that at least one of his two “mentions” from Earl Haig stemmed from the same operations. In 1917 Robinson was ordered to Egypt and was embarked aboard H.M. transport Transylvania at Marseilles on 3 May. A Dictionary of Disasters at Sea takes up the story:

"The liner Transylvania, Lieutenant S. Brennell, R.N.R., completed just before the outbreak of the First World War, was taken over for service as a transport on completion. She was designed to accomodate 1379 passengers but the Admiralty fixed her capacity at 200 officers and 2680 men, besides the crew. She was carrying nearly this number when she left Marseilles for Alexandria on 3 May 1917, with an escort of two Japanese destroyers, the Matsu and the Sakaki. At 10 a.m. on the 4th, the Transylvania was struck in the port engine room by a torpedo from a submarine.

At the time the ship was on a zig-zag course at a speed of 14 knots, being two and a half miles south of Cape Vado, Gulf of Genoa. She at once headed for the land two miles distant, while the Matsu came along side to take off the troops, the Sakaki meanwhile steaming around to keep the submarine submerged. Twenty minutes later a torpedo was seen coming straight for the destroyer alongside, which saved herself by going astern at full speed. The torpedo then struck the Transylvania and she sank very quickly, less than an hour having elapsed since she was first hit..

Lieutenant Brennell, one other officer and ten men of the crew, 29 military officers [including Robinson] and 373 other ranks were killed."

He is buried in Savona Town Cemetery, Italy, Grave Reference B.6.

The news of his death was reported in the Manchester Evening News 31st May, 1917. "Capt. HENRY HAROLD ROBINSON, D.S.O., R.A.M.C., was formerly a student at the Manchester University, and had held several positions in medical institutions at Birkenhead, Southport, and Burton-upon-Trent. He was awarded the D.S.O. last year for his gallantry in rescuing wounded."

In addition to the G.V.R Distinguished Service Order, for his service he was awarded the 1914-15 Star (Lieut., R.A.M.C.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Capt.). All his medals together with his Memorial Plaque were sold at auction for £2200 in December 2005 at Dix Noonan Webb. His portrait image is displayed as part of the sale.

Masonic :

Henry was listed separately under Commercial Lodge on the 1940 Scroll, but not included under that lodge in the 1921 book. These two separate entries have been joined together in this legend.

Henry began his masonic career at Baron Egerton Lodge No. 3513 where he is listed as a 35 year old Surgeon and Physician, resident at Birkenhead. War Service is recorded for him 1915-16 and into 1917, followed by "Drowned 4.5.17." He was Inner Guard the lodge. He joined Commercial Lodge No. 3628 from the former on 27th February, 1914. He is listed as a Doctor of Medicine, resident at Birkenhead. Given that war service is recorded for him 1915-16, it is an obvious error that the note following is incorrect in more than one way. The contribution record notes that he was "Killed in Action June 1914," which precedes the war start date!

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley