Robert Matthew Beatham VC (1894 - 1918)

Biography

Robert Beatham VC

Robert Matthew Beatham VC was born on 16th June 1894 in Glassonby, a small village in the Eden Valley of Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. He was the fifth of nine sons of John Beatham and Elizabeth Allison. ^[1] Like his siblings, he was educated at Maughanby School, Glassonby.

As teenagers, Robert and his brother Walter went out to Victoria, Australia in 1909; probably in search of adventure. Robert was labouring at Geelong in Victoria when he volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force on 8th January 1915. Walter also enlisted, on 25th January, but was posted to a different battalion than Robert.
Robert was posted to the 8th Australian Infantry Battalion ^[2] with the rank of Private. He embarked on HMAT Hororata from Melbourne on 17th April 1915 for Suez but returned to Australia in August 1915 due to venereal disease. After recuperating, he embarked for Gallipoli as a reinforcement for 8th Battalion. He saw nearly a month of active service at Gallipoli before the general evacuation to Alexandria.

From there, Robert was sent to France, arriving in Marseilles with his battalion on 31st March 1916 en route for the Western Front. Later that year he participated in the Battle of Pozières during which he was wounded. After recuperating he rejoined his unit in late September 1917. He was wounded a second time on 4th October 1917 at Broodseinde during the Battle of Passchendaele and was evacuated to England for treatment and recovery.

Victoria Cross

At Rosières, east of Amiens, on the second day of the Battle of Amiens, Robert's battalion was attacking high ground when it was held up by heavy machine gun fire after supporting armour was knocked out of action. Robert, accompanied by Lance Corporal William George Nottingham, ^[3] made four charges to knock out a series of German machine gun posts holding back the advance of the Australians.

Wounded in the leg during the first charge, he was killed taking out a final machine gun post on 11th August. For his gallantry he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). ^[4][5] Robert Matthew Beatham's name is located at panel 52 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. He is buried at Heath Cemetery, in Harbonnières. ^[6]

Five of his brothers saw active service in the First World War; three losing their lives. Walter served with the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion. Whilst surviving the war, he did spend two years as a prisoner of war.

Robert's Victoria Cross is held in a private collection in Melbourne.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Sep qtr 1894, vol 10b, page 458; registered at Penrith
2. ↑ Australian Infantry Battalion unit record: 8th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 12 Mar 2019
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: 3674 Lance Corporal William George Nottingham; accessed 25 Jun 2022
4. ↑ Australian Honours: Victoria Cross; accessed 25 Jun 2022
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: Victoria Cross; accessed 12 Mar 2019
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour: 2742 Private Robert Matthew Beatham VC; accessed 12 Mar 2019

See also

• Blanch, Craig and Pegram, Aaron. For Valour: Australians Awarded the Victoria Cross. New South Publishing, Sydney NSW, 2018. ISBN 978 17422 35424.
• Wikipedia profile: Robert Beatham; accessed 12 Mar 2019.