Augustus Robinson (Siam)

[BCBangkok]

The 1922 commissioned War Memorial at the British Embassy, Bangkok contains the following name:

 

Augustus Robinson

Died of Wounds

France 1915

 

This year, as the British Embassy relocates to a tower block, the War Memorial will re-site to The British Club Bangkok, founded 1903, and I am attempting to create some mini-biography of each of the 25 men listed who gave their lives in the Great War.

 

This name has become problematical in my research in two ways: I can find no definitive record of his working in Thailand (Siam as it was) nor can I find a specific military record for him. I am hoping  that someone might be able to shed some light on this matter?

 

Thanks

 

Paul Cheesman

Honorary Secretary

The British Club Bangkok

[George Rayner]

Welcome to the forum.

On a quick check I have found an Augustine Robinson, Lt. of South Staffordshire Regiment attached to East Lancashire Regiment who died of wounds in France on 15/3/15. Says he is buried at Estaires  Communal Cemetery Northern France. Born c1884 in Portsmouth. Mother Lydia. Father given as next of kin Charles Richard Hudson Robinson Capt RN.

 

This may not be your man of course but could be a link to follow and discard.

 

George

[PRC]

3 hours ago, George Rayner said:

On a quick check I have found an Augustine Robinson, Lt. of South Staffordshire Regiment attached to East Lancashire Regiment who died of wounds in France on 15/3/15. Says he is buried at Estaires  Communal Cemetery Northern France. Born c1884 in Portsmouth. Mother Lydia. Father given as next of kin Charles Richard Hudson Robinson Capt RN.

 

This may not be your man of course but could be a link to follow and discard.

 

 

There is a picture of Augustine held at the Imperial War Museum attached to which there is an obituary in the form of a newspaper clipping. There is nothing there to indicate any connection to Siam.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205387905

 

His service record at the National Archive is here.

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1080510

 

However I note from the 1891 Census he had older brothers Francis, (then 10) and Leonard. (then 9) - could the connection possibly come through them? No match for Francis on later censuses. Leonard was a Sub-Lieutenant, Royal Navy in 1901 but doesn't appear to be on the 1911 Census. From the birth records Francis was a Francis Joseph while Leonard had no middle names.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[BCBangkok]

Thanks George Rayner and PRC. 

 

I am unsure that the War Memorial would have a wrong name - it was created by subscription of the British in Siam in 1922 and I would have thought people would have personally known these men. I found one Augustus Robinson who was Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire) Regiment but it is definitely not him.

 

What is puzzling further is that, from searching each of the 'The Directory and Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, and etc' dating from 1904 to 1914, I cannot find anyone called 'A. Robinson' in any position in Siam. 

 

Thanks again,

 

Paul Cheesman

Honorary Secretary

The British Club Bangkok

[pierssc]

I assume that the Club itself has no records of Mr Robinson as a member?

 

I take your point about them probably getting his name right, but if Robinson was a fairly minor and short-lived resident of Siam (as he might be if he doesn’t show up in directories), it is conceivable that he was perhaps not senior or well enough known for that.  Having an Augustine as a forbear myself I know that he was known to his close friends as Gus with the result that the name was sometimes wrongly reported as Augustus.  So while they probably got it right on the memorial I think you might keep an open mind on the possibility of his being an Augustine.

 

Alternatively Robinson might have been the child of a family with Siamese connections, who may have been educated in England and joined up in 1914 from School or University.  He would therefore be under the radar in terms of directories but might have had parents in Siam in either the commercial or diplomatic line who wished to commemmorate him.  Are there any such possible Robinsons c. 1922?

 

 

Edited 8 February , 2019 by pierssc

[PRC]

7 hours ago, BCBangkok said:

I am unsure that the War Memorial would have a wrong name - it was created by subscription of the British in Siam in 1922 and I would have thought people would have personally known these men. I found one Augustus Robinson who was Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire) Regiment but it is definitely not him.

 

 

If it was paid for by subscription then the organising committee may have been very flexible in the criteria - and even the nominating individual(s) may have only known him by the name he preferred to use or may simply have mis-remembered - it was getting on for seven years after the death. If the connection comes through family then he may never have been to Siam in his life or it may just have been a holiday to stay with them. If it's a family connection only then even they may have gone to Siam after the war - a naval attache at the Embassy for example. You don't have to research too many war memorials to find mystery names with no immediately apparent link to the place in question.

 

The most likely way to resolve this would be requesting in the documents look up section of this forum to see if anyone visiting the National Archive can pull his service record to see if there is anything there that reveals the Siam connection.

 

If there is then you could consider paying a researcher to copy the whole file for you - there are several professional researchers on this site who would do that.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[BCBangkok]

Thanks Peter and pierssc, 

 

Thank you for your feedback.

 

Sadly the British Club Bangkok did not come out of WWII in good shape: as well as being trashed by the Japanese Imperial Army, all our records were lost or destroyed prior to the Siamese handing it back to us in 1946. As such our records are only those that I and others have gleaned from various source over the past decades.

 

I take on board fully that it could be a typing error, repeated in the press of the time, or that it could be someone of low rank in a company thus not on record - I will check the post-WWI Directories as well, in case he was a child of someone who moved to Siam during the conflict.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Paul Cheesman

Honorary Secretary

The British Club Bangkok

[pierssc]

Something which strikes me is that he almost certainly should show up in CWGC records.

 

He is said to have “died of wounds” which means that he was not lost on the battlefield but lived long enough to have entered the casualty chain, possibly the German one, most likely the British.  So he must be one of the comparatively few Augustus/Augustine or simply A. Robinsons who died in 1915 who show up on a search at the CWGC site.

 

Of these it is notable that the South Staffs officer, Lt Augustine Robinson postulated by PRC, is also noted on CWGC records as “Died of Wounds” - see https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/268435/robinson,-augustine/#&gid=null&pid=2

 

Searching on the father’s name brings up a brother of Augustine, Gregory Robinson, who was 29 when he married in 1905, occupation Artist.  He seems to have specialised in ship paintings and has no immediately clear connection to Siam.  His father died 1922 in Southsea near Portsmouth.

 

Following the family through the census we find a son Leonard aged 19 in 1901, Sub-Lt RN, and Augustine, then aged 17.  1891 census additionally shows a brother Francis, then 10.  In 1916 Leonard was at Lt Cdr RN in the Operations Division at the Admiralty.  I am having difficulty tracking him further but he might possibly be a candidate for a post-war Naval attaché?  May be worth investigating further.  I haven’t looked up Francis yet.

 

Of course one would expect a brother to get the name right... but mess-ups do happen.

 

 

Edited 9 February , 2019 by pierssc

[pierssc]

A brief biography of Leonard:  http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Leonard_Robinson

 

The reference to his having cables, telegraph and telephone experience, and his having worked in Washington, makes me think we may possibly be on to something.  He appears to have retired in 1921 and the 1923 Navy List shows he was retired and had an OBE.

[alf mcm]

These 2 naturalisation records at T.N.A. show 2 Robinsons born in Siam in 1903 {Dennis Austin Wilmer Robinson,} and 1916 {William Alfred Auguste Robinson}. These records should show parents names. Unfortunately, the records have not been digitised. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=robinson+thailand

 

Regards,

 

Alf McM

[DavidOwen]

Not sure if it helps or hinders but William Alfred Auguste Robinson appears to be living at 132 Bradford Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire in 1945 according to the electoral register

[BCBangkok]

Many thanks for all your help and advice.

 

> The two Robinson children born in Siam in 1903 and 1916 were probably the sons of  W.A. Robinson, manager at the Asiatic Petroleum company (pre-cursor to Royal Dutch Shell), who is on record in directories for both years.

 

> The CWGC gave me four "A.Robinson" that met the death year but none where I can find a Siamese link.

 

>The Augustine Robinson option is still dry as I cannot find any reference to him sailing into Siam nor working here.

 

Thanks again,

 

 

Paul Cheesman

Honorary Secretary

The British Club Bangkok

[BCBangkok]

It seems that I have exhausted all means of tracing my Augustus Robinson.

 

All of the CWGC entries of 'A. Robinson' died 1915 do not fit. I cannot trace any Augustine Robinson in Siam either.

 

Many thanks to those who helped in this matter.

 

Paul Cheesman

Honorary Secretary

The British Club Bangkok

[MaureenE]

Probably only a small chance of success, but you could check out the free online  English newspapers for Singapore and Hong Kong.  Sometimes they carried items from a wider geographic area.

 

Details on the FIBIS Fibiwiki pages Singapore and Hong Kong.

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Singapore#Newspapers

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Hong_Kong#External_links

 

Have you checked out the passenger lists to and from UK ports. on Ancestry, and findmypast. For details see

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Passenger_lists

 

Cheers

Maureen

 

 

[BCBangkok]

Many thanks Maureene,

 

I will check these out.

 

Regards,

 

Paul Cheesman

Honorary Secretary

British Club Bangkok