William’s occupation and marital status upon enlistment, was detailed as a labourer, who was single.
- Date of Birth – 1896 in Araluen.1NSW Birth Death and Marriages, https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/ Birth – 19640/1898 Parents William P.H. and Kate Registered in Braidwood. Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Parents – William Phillip Henry Robinson and Kate McGowan.
- Enlisted – 18 October 1915, Holsworthy, New South Wales. Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT RMS Osterley on 15 January 1916.2University of NSW AIF project https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=259039 Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Regimental Number– 20713National Archives of Australia. https://www.naa.gov.au/. NAA: B2455, Robinson W J, Item ID– 1905757, Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Aged at embarkation – 184Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1665801 Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Military service – 47th Infantry Battalion, Rank – Private5Virtual War Memorial Australia, https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/308334 Accessed 4 July 2026.
- Served in France on the Western Front disembarking at Marseille on 4 June 1916. William was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal.
- Killed in action 3 April 19186Find a Grave.com https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16187899/william_james-robinson William James Robinson’s name is located at panel 144 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
- Commemorated on the Australian National War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France7Commonwealth War Graves https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1454902/william-james-robinson/ Accessed 4 July 2026.
William James (1896-1918) was the third child and eldest son of William Phillip Henry Robinson (1865-1951) who married Kate McGowan (1872-1942). William and Kate had ten children following their marriage in 1891.
The 1903 electoral roll shows William’s father William Robinson, a labourer and mother Kate, residing at West Araluen.8IHR NSW Family History Documents https://www.ihr.com.au/secure/html/directories.html Accessed 5 July 2026.
In a letter dated 7 October 1915, William Phillip Henry Robinson, from Bergalia in Moruya, gave his consent for ‘my son William James Robinson 18 4/12 years of age enlisting in the military forces’.9National Archives of Australia. https://www.naa.gov.au/. NAA: B2455, Robinson W J, Item ID– 1905757, p 33. Accessed 4 July 2026.
William joined the 1st Light Horse regiment, before transferring to the 4th Pioneer Battalion, and then on 15 July 1916 to the 47th Battalion. Serving in France, William was wounded on 11 December 1916 from a gunshot wound in the knee and was transferred to London General Hospital. On 25 December 1916, the Sydney Morning Herald10The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954), Monday 25 December 1916, p 3 NEW SOUTH WALES. reported as ‘Wounded…Pte. W. J. ROBINSON, Bergalia’. William rejoined the 47th Battalion from hospital in England on 1 December 1917.
After their initial successes into other parts of the Allied front stalled, a renewed attack aimed at capturing Amiens commenced on 3 April 1918. By the next morning the Germans had reached a point just east of Villers-Bretonneux. In May 1918 the Twofold Bay11The Twofold Bay Magnet and South Coast and Southern Monaro Advertiser (NSW : 1908-1919) Monday 6 May 1918 p 3 PERSONAL reported ‘Private W. J. Robinson, of Bergalia near Moruya was killed in action on April 3 [1918].’