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Robert Longridge Copeland (1876 - 1939)

Robert Longridge Copeland
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdommap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , , , , , and
Husband of — married 26 Jan 1912 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australiamap
Father of , and
Died at age 62 in Port Adelaide, South Australia, Australiamap
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Profile last modified | Created 2 Sep 2022
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Contents

Biography

Robert Longridge Copeland was born on the 4th April 1876 at 41 Marlborough Street, Glasgow, Scotland. His parents were Robert and Elizabeth Copeland (nee Longridge). He was their 5th child and second son. His family resided at 41 Marlborough Street, Glasgow at the time of his birth. In later life, the middle name of 'Lionel' was often attributed to Robert, however it is 'Longridge' (the maiden name of his mother) that appears on his birth certificate, and Lionel was the name of his son. He may have use the name 'Lionel' as an alias due to several run-ins with the law.

South Australia

In 1877, the family decided to leave Scotland and move to South Australia. The ship they chose to travel on was the SS "British Enterprise". The ship British Enterprise was built at Stockholm in 1876, being a three masted iron barque of 1694 tons with dimensions of 246 feet by 40.1 ft. wide by 23.9 ft. draft. British Enterprise was a very fast ship on the England to Australia run and in the last few years of her service she had the reputation for taking a life on almost every voyage. The Certificate of Arrival for the British Enterprise gives the date of embarkation of emigrants from Plymouth, England as the 12th January 1877. There were more than 500 immigrants on board and a case of smallpox developed on board shortly after leaving England. The man died; his clothes were burned and the ship fumigated. The date of arrival at Port Adelaide, South Australia was 4th April 1877, a voyage of 82 days. The ship had been riddled with disease during it's journey, including small-pox, measles, typhus and scarlatina. The assistant health officer, Richard Jagoe, refused to label her a 'clean ship' and placed it in quarantine.

Quarantine

Because a quarantine station had not been established in the colony at the time, the health officer had some trouble enforcing the law of infected persons staying on the ship. The passengers showed their displeasure with Mr Jagoe by pelting him with loaves of bread. This forced the government of the day to charter several small vessels, and the infected passengers were divided up amongst all the boats. The children were transported to the "Fitzjames" accompanied by their mothers and, two months later, passengers began to comment 'strongly and adversely' on the situation. The health officers conversed with Captain Marshall Smith, a marine surveyor, whose ship, the "J.L. Hall", was in the Port River having partly discharged a cargo of coal. He agreed to clean the vessel and proceed to the anchorage and take the married couples and their children on board. Two barques in port, the "Ashburton" and "Fleur de Maurice", were also chartered; they accommodated the single men and single women, respectively. After the immigrants had remained another month they were allowed to go ashore, that is, six months from the time they left London. This quarantine exercise was an expensive affair and cost about £8,000. They had, in essence, created the first quarantine station on the fleet of boats. This appeared to have an effect at keeping the diseases off shore, with only a few isolated cases of small-pox in the vicinity of the dock reported. The concern was so great about the potential threat of infection that the incident was even reported in the Hawaiian Gazette newspaper. Whether or not the Copeland family was infected by disease is unknown,

Industrial School

Robert was admitted to the Magill Industrial School on the 28th January 1888 (at age 11). Remarks on his admission state that he was an ‘uncontrollable boy’ and was sentenced to a term of 12 months. Mother Elizabeth was living at Poole Street, North Adelaide at the time, and his father Robert was in Melbourne. Robert did not stay at the Industrial School long. By 6th February 1888, the Industrial School committee had placed him with a Sarah Ann Gamlin, a Methodist living at Littlehampton, near Macclesfield. His referee was Thomas Weatherall, Methodist minister at Mt Barker. Robert was adopted by Sarah Gamlin and she was given a subsidy for taking him in. It appears Robert lived with Sarah Gamlin for sometime, but by 1891, when he was 16, he was back in Adelaide and appears to have been looking for his family. His ‘uncontrollable’ behaviour appears not to have disappeared. This is determined by an article in the South Australian Police Gazette, June 8th 1891, which states:- “Robert Copeland, alias Longridge, age about 16 years, medium height and build, very fair complexion and hair, full face, wore grey coat and vest, dirty white moleskin trousers, and white soft felt hat with narrow rim, for assaulting Wah Sing, at Glanville, on the 15th ultimo. Offender’s mother resides at Glanville; he was seen there on the 18th ultimo, and stated his intention of going up the country. He was formerly employed at a farmer’s, Littlehampton.”

Boer War

Robert joined the military several years later. His World War I record states on his attestation papers that he served 2 years 9 months with the colonial forces in Africa. He did not do this in an Australian Regiment, however. Robert joined the conflict by joining a South African regiment - as a trooper in the 1st Imperial Light Horse. His brother Samuel did the same. A newspaper article states that "Trooper Robert Copeland, a member of the South African irregular corps" arrived back in Adelaide with other Boer War troops in February 1902 (The Chronicle, 8th February 1902).

Children and Marriage

Robert had a child out of wedlock with May Blinman in 1910. The child's name was Arthur William Russell and his birth was registered under his mother's maiden name of Blinman. He was born in Port Augusta, South Australia on 28.9.1910. Robert married May Blinman on 26.1.1912 at Adelaide, South Australia. They settled in Kapunda, South Australia, and had two more children - daughter Elsie Jean (born in 1912) and son Lionel Robert (born in 1914).

World War 1

Robert enlisted for World War I on 27/8/1914 at Morphettville in South Australia. Have gave his birthplace as ‘Ballergate’, Glasgow, Scotland, age 36 years, and stated his trade was a butcher, having been apprenticed by a B. Watts for 3 years. He stated he was married, gave his wife’s name as next of kin and said she was living at Kapunda. He did not give any information about his previous criminal history on his attestation form. At his medical examination, Robert was found to be 5ft 6inches in height, 140 pounds, a 56 inch chest measurement, with dark complexion, brown eyes and dark hair. He was given the rank of Private and placed with ‘B’ Company, 10th Infantry, A.I.F. Robert signed the attestation paper on the same day as his brother James, 27/8/1914. Robert embarked from Adelaide on 20/10/1914 on HMAT Ascanius. Robert’s service record is extensive and there are several documents concerning his war service held in the National Archives.

Death of daughter

While he was away at the war, Robert's daughter Elsie died in 1915, aged just 3 years of age. The death occurred in Adelaide.

Witness to whereabouts of soldier

Robert served at Gallipoli and was wounded at the Dardenelles on Anzac Day 1915. On his wounding, Robert was moved to a hospital in Malta to recover, via the ship Clan McGillary. The ship left the Dardenelles on 26th April and arrived in Malta in early May. On board the ship with Robert was a private by the name of Patrick Francis Ryan who had also been wounded in the leg on Anzac Day. When Private Ryan's family enquired about his location and wellbeing, Robert gave a witness statement stating that they had been moved to hospital onboard the same ship and that Paddy Ryan was still in hospital as of June that year. He gave a physical description of him and stated that he came from Adelaide. In January 1916 Robert was granted leave in Alexandria at the same time that two of his brothers were also there. He was then transferred to the 50th Battalion and received a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Wife May enquired about his whereabouts at this time, and he was sent home to Australia for an operation. While there, he got very drunk one night and did not return to camp. Court marital proceedings were raised, he was caught and tried. He was found guilty of being absent without leave but not desertion. When he recovered in 1917, he was sent to France. He was diagnosed with trench fever and night blindness and sent back to Australia in July 1918.

Witness in Murder Trial

After the war, Robert moved in the mid-north region of South Australia to work on many of the farm properties. In April 1920, he became a key witness in a murder trial of Alexander Lee, who was accused of poisoning his wife and children at Rhynie. Mr Lee and Robert had met at a hotel at Burra in March of that year, where Robert was employed by one of the properties to poison dogs. Robert said that Lee posed as a policeman, and requested that Robert provide him with some strychnine so he could poison some dogs. Robert had been drinking at the time that he met Lee, and gave him an ounce of strychnine in a bottle. It is believed that Lee used the strychnine to poison his wife and children. The incident was reported in several newspapers of the time, including the West Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Brisbane Courier, and the Argus.

War Medals

Robert was still working up north of the state in November of that year, when he signed for his 1914/1915 star at Koomaree Station, witnessed by a J. Thompson. Where he was in June of 1921 is unknown, as his sister Elizabeth Underdown (nee Copeland) signed for receipt of his British War Medal. A William Copeland signed for Robert’s Victory Medal in Adelaide in April of 1922. William Copeland is likely to be his son (Arthur William Russell Copeland).

Death

Robert died at Port Adelaide on 22.1.1939 from drowning in the Port Adelaide river. He and a friend went swimming on a particularly hot day and got into difficulty. The incident was reported in the newspapers of the day. Robert was buried at the Cheltenham Cemetery.

Sources





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Categories: Gallipoli Campaign | Second Boer War | 10th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, World War I | Cheltenham Cemetery, Cheltenham, South Australia | British Enterprise, Arrived 4 Apr 1877