Helliwell, Roby

585 Private Roby Helliwell - 28th Battalion AIF

Roby Helliwell was born in North Fremantle WA on the 16th December 1893 to Isaac and Rosina Helliwell. He had several siblings, Harry (1887), Ruby (1891), Albert (1896), Leonard (1898), Rosina (1900), Edgar (1902), Olive (1905), Aubery (1907), Ivy (1907), Edith (1910) and Myrtle (1913).

Roby was educated at North Fremantle Primary School and the family were living at 35 Swan Street North Fremantle.

After leaving school Roby found work with the WA Government Railways and he was working at the North Fremantle Railway goods yard. Prior to the Great War he was also working as a shunter.

On the 12th January 1916 Albert enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for service and the medical examiner recorded his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 9 inches tall;

Weight - 148lbs;

Chest Measurement - 33-37 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Hazel;

Hair - Brown.

Upon his successful enlistment Roby was sent to Claremont Showgrounds Camp where he was assigned to "C" Company of the newly forming 44th Battalion AIF.

Roby trained with the 44th Battalion for the next five months in WA. On the 6th June 1916 the 44th Battalion left Fremantle Harbour on the troopship HMAT Suevic and set sail for England, reaching Plymouth on the 21st July 1916.

(Pictured Below - Robert Abercromby, Albert Helliwell and Roby Helliwell - Robert was a brother-in-law having married Albert & Roby's sister Ruby)

After arriving in England Roby and the 44th Battalion was sent to the 3rd Australian Division Training Ground at the Salisbury Plains.

Roby trained with the 44th Battalion for the next few months. The four Australian divisions then currently in France had suffered heavy casualties over the last few months and men from the 3rd Division in England were asked to volunteer to join these units.

Roby was one of these and was reassigned to join the 28th Battalion AIF. He departed England on the 14th October 1916. Roby was taken on strength of the 29th Battalion on the 30th October 1916. 

Five days later Roby was involved in a 28th Battalion attack at Flers on the Somme. During the action Roby was shot in the shoulder. He was treated at the nearest Field Ambulance station and was then sent to the 1st Australian General Hospital in the French town of Rouen.

On the 19th November 1916 Roby was transferred to England by hospital ship and on arrival was sent to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Brighton. Roby spent the next two months here recovering.

On the 18th January 1917 Roby was granted a two week furlough, after which he would report to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Wareham. On the 1st April 1917 he was transferred to No.3 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott.

On the 7th May 1917 Roby was detached for duty with the Australian Army Veterinary Corps (AAVC). Though currently not fit enough for front line service, Roby was able to work for the AAVC in France from the 15th May 1917 to the 28th October 1917. He was then transferred back to the 28th Battalion.

The 28th Battalion were then holding the line near Passchendaele in Belgium.

From December 1918 to March 1918 the 28th Battalion continued to hold the front line in Belgium between Ypres and Messines. On the 20th February 1918 Roby was granted a fortnight's leave to England, returning on the 9th March 1918.

As a result of the Germans offensive of March 21st 1918 when they broke through the British Army further south, the Australian Divisions were sent south to help stop the German advance. The 28th Battalion were sent to the Somme River region around Ville-sur-Ancre and Morlancourt.

They remained in this sector for the next few months. On the 1st June 1918 Roby was wounded when a German airplane dropped a bomb on the 28th Battalion's positions. The bomb killed and wounded several men. Roby was  wounded but helped to bandage other wounded men and ensured that they were evacuated before he was.

He received a commendation from his divisional commander but it doesn't appear that any medal was awarded for his actions.

Roby was initially treated at the 5th Field Ambulance for shrapnel wounds to his arm. He was then sent on to the 61st Casualty Clearing Station where he remained for several more days. He returned to the 28th Battalion on the 20th June 1918.

The 28th Battalion remained around Villers Bretonneux for the next month and on August 8th 1918 took part in the advance which began pushing the Germans back. By late August 1918 the 28th Battalion were in action around Peronne and Mont St Quentin. On the 2nd September Roby was wounded when he was hit by a bullet in the arm.

He was evacuated back to hospital at Rouen but he only stayed there for a day and was then shipped to England. He was admitted to a military hospital at Brocombe where he remained until the 1st October 1918. He then reported into No.4 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott.

On the 9th December 1918 Roby (and also his brother Albert) boarded the transport ship Leicestershire and set sail for Australia, disembarking in Fremantle on the 15th January 1919.

Roby was discharged from the AIF on the 8th May 1919.

In 1922 Roby married Marian May Holroyd. A daughter Joyce was born in 1923 and a son Robert in 1925.

At this stage Roby was a Goods Porter for the WA Government Railways and was living in Cottesloe.

In 1942 his brother Leo Helliwell (WX9755) was killed in Singapore during the Japanese invasion.

Roby died on the 29th July 1961. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.