Hobbins, Samuel John

1946 Private Samuel John Hobbins - 28th Battalion AIF

Samuel John Hobbins was born in Perth WA in 1890 to Henry and Annie Hobbins. Samuel had several siblings, William (1887), Clara (1888), John (1893), Stella and May (1895).

The family lived in East Fremantle and Sam was educated locally. The family soon moved to Yarloop where Sam worked on their dairy farm. His father Henry was also working here.

On the 23rd June 1915 Sam enlisted into the AIF. He was found to be fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 6 & 3/4 inches tall;

Weight - 117lbs;

Chest Measurement - 33-35 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Greyish Brown;

Hair - Brown.

Upon his successful enlistment, Will was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 3rd Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.

Pictured below in Camp at Blackboy Hill in front row is mates from Fremantle, in the front row, Will Sheldrake, Bert Ellement and Matt Cusack while Clarrie O'Neill is second from left, Jack Bolt in third from left and Sam Hobbins is in the back row, third from right and Herman Dedman on right.

After a few months of training in WA this group left Fremantle on the 2nd September 1915 aboard the transport ship HMAT Anchises. After their arrival in Egypt Sam and his group did not remain long there and were sent on to Gallipoli, landing at Anzac Cove on the 11th October 1915. They were sent into the line at the newly captured positions in the northern sector of the Anzac battlefield.

The harsh conditions at Gallipoli were soon taking a severe toll on the men, and sickness was outstripping casualties from Turkish fire. Dead bodies of friend and foe alike littered the battlefield and sickness was rife.

Sam and the 28th Battalion were given a break from the line but there was no real rest as the men were always under shell fire even when they were helping to dig graves and improve trenches near the Beach. The weather was also taking a turn for the worse.

On the 29th November 1915 Sam reported sick to the Battalion medial officer. Sam penned the following ditty in the diary of his mate Will Sheldrake.

'It was a cold and snowy morning and to the quack I went,

there was a cold and hungry crowd too, assembled in that tent.

Each man went up to the doctor as his turn came around,

and there was I cold and shivering, well in the background,

at last he bawled out ‘Hobbins, well what is wrong with you’.

He fairly had me baffled I nearly was a stew.

At last I plucked up courage and said it was my heart.

He said open up your tunic, he put the gadget on me and then he scratched his head,

with a solemn looking face he turned to me and said,

‘How long has that been on you’ I said just a few days.

He turned to the orderly and said mark this man Mudros Bay.

If I’d been given a tenner I couldn’t have been more pleased.

In fact I started trembling and damned near snapped off at the knees.

I went and rolled up my pack in Rest Gully not far away,

Never in my life before had I known such a happy day.'

Sam was sent aboard the hospital ship Oxfordshire and was taken back to Egypt. He was admitted to No.3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital where his condition was continually assessed.

While in hospital he met several friends from Fremantle including Will Sheldrake. Though they were patients in hospital they were allowed on outings. Below is a picture of Will and Sam on a camel in Egypt.

In January 1916 Sam was sent to the Convalescent Depot in Egypt and his fitness program increased to see how his heart was faring. Sam suffered a relapse and was returned to hospital in April 1916.

The medical authorities ruled that Sam was no longer fit for active service and he was assigned a berth on a hospital ship home. On the 11th May 1916 Sam boarded the Hospital ship Kanowna and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 8th June 1916.

On arrival he joined his parents at their house in Cantonment Street. As he had to go for medical check ups at No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace at least this was close.

Sam was discharged from the AIF on the 4th August 1916. However the war still went on for the Hobbins family. Sam's brother William served with the 11th Battalion from 1916 to 1918. Unfortunately he was killed in Action in France on the 21st April 1918. William Hobbins is buried in Meteren Military Cemetery.

Sam's father Henry also served, being assigned to the 48th Battalion, however from 1916-17 while in England Henry suffered ill health and was not sent to the Western Front. He was discharged from the AIF in 1917 due to Senility. Henry Hobbins died at home in 10 Malcolm Street Fremantle in 1924.

In the 1920's & 30's Sam was working as a Horse Driver and was living at 44 Queen Victoria St Fremantle. He moved to 5 Burt Street in the 1940's and was working as a truck driver.

Samuel Hobbins died in Perth in 1960 aged 69. He was buried in Fremantle Cemetery plot Anglican Mon A3 0635