Private 11794 Richard Roby

Family details:
Son of Henry and Sarah Robey, of Council Offices, Billinge, Wigan.

Census details:
1901 - 6 years old Richard is living at Council Office Cottage, Main Street, Billinge with parents Henry (41), Sarah (38) and four full siblings: Ada A (8), Rachel (5), Minnia (3), Maria (1). Half siblings Mary E Rigby (17) and James C Rigby (16) are also living at the address. 1911 - Sees 16 years old 'Labourer - Assistant Waterman' Richard still at Council Office Cottage, Main Street, Billinge with parents Henry (51), Sarah (48) and five siblings: Rachel (15), Minnie (13), Maria (11), Ethel (9), William (6).

Notes:
[url=lmem.php?lmem=39]Remembered On The St. Aidan's C of E Church Memorial[/url] All Richards military records and CWGC show his surname as 'Robey'.

Richard was born on the 9th of November 1894 the son of Henry and Sarah Roby of Main Street, Billinge, and was baptised on the 17th of December 1894 at St. Aidan`s C.E. Church. The family lived at the council offices, Billinge and Richard worked at the Winstanley Collieries before enlisting at Wigan to join the Border Regiment, originally in the 10th Battalion. Richard was on board the 11,000 ton troop ship the `Royal Edward`sailing from Alexandria, Egypt, to reinforce the 29th Division at Gallipoli when it was sunk without warning by a torpedo on Friday the 13th of August 1915, six miles west of Kandeliusa (west of the island of Kos) in the Aegean Sea. It sank in only four minutes with more than 850 lives lost including Richard. He was 20 years old. A memorial service was held for him in St. Aidan`s C.E. Church on Sunday the 31st of October 1915. Richard was one of the first to enlist and was the first in the district to give his life. His name is recorded on the Helles Memorial, Turkey, panel 119 to 125 or 222 and 223, and on the St. Aidan`s Church Memorial and also on the family grave headstone in St. Aidan`s Churchyard, grave 9/166. Sources:- St. Helens Local History Library, Soldiers killed in the Great War; The Commonwealth War Graves Commission; St. Aidan`s Church Registers; St. Aidan`s Parish Magazine, May 1915; The Wigan Examiner, 6th of November 1915; The Wigan Observer, 11th of September 1915. [url=http://sthelens-connect.net/sitefiles/billinge-history.pdf]Information Courtesy of The Billinge History Society[/url] [pic]imgs/WW1_memorials/11794RichardRoby.jpg[/pic][caption]The panel on the Helles Memorial bearing the inscription for Private Richard Roby (Photograph courtesy of Phil Wood off GWF )[/caption]