Robert Scrivener
Birth 1889, Froyle, Hants Robert Scrivener
Parents Son of William & Esther Scrivener of Upper Froyle, Hants
Residence Australia
Occupation Bushman
Enlisted 17th August 1914, Surrey Hills, Victoria
Regiment 8th Battalion Infantry, Australian Army
Regimental No: 825
Rank Private
Service Record After training, his battalion embarked on board HMAT Benalla A24 on 19th October 1914, out of Melbourne, bound for Gallipoli.
Death 16th June 1915, killed in action aged 25
Theatre of War Balkans
Burial Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey
Medals 1914-15 Star, Victory Medal, British War Medal
Robert Harry Scrivener was born in Froyle in July 1889, the son of William and Esther (née Knight) Scrivener and in the 1901 Census he is living with his parents and two brothers at Ryebridge Cottages, Upper Froyle. His father died in 1906 and Robert had left home by the time of the 1911 Census. We find him working as a potman (a person who served and collected empty glasses) in a public house, The Portland Arms, at 40 Portland Place, South Clapham Road, London SW9. How long he stayed in this job we do not know but, on 20th March 1913, Robert left England for a new life in Australia aboard the White Star liner Irishman.
We believe he lived in the Carrum Downs area of Victoria, as, when enlisting, he mistakenly gave this as his place of birth, adding Lower Froyle after it. He gave his occupation as bushman and groom. He was 5ft 6½ inches tall, weighed 10st 5lbs, with a 34 inch chest. Complexion and hair were fair and he had blue eyes.
Robert enlisted into the Australian Army on 17th August 1914 at Surrey Hills, Victoria and he served with the 8th Battalion, as 825 Private Robert Scrivener. After training, his battalion embarked aboard HMAT A24 Benalla on 19th October 1914, out of Melbourne, bound for Gallipoli.
He lost his life on 16th June 1915, during an action recorded in the battalion’s war diary:

10th June Anzac Cove - Gallipoli Peninsula
Received word to relieve 1st Battalion in trenches.
11th June - Relieved 1st Battalion by 4pm.
12th June - In trenches. 3 casualties. Mail received.
13th June - In trenches.
9pm enemy reported to be tunnelling towards our lines 5ft away from our tunnel D9.
14th June - 7.30am charge fired.
Results satisfactory.
15th June - Quiet day. Mail arrived. Small one.
16th June - Heavy shelling. Casualties 4 killed and 9 wounded. Parapets seriously damaged but repaired at night. Attack expected but only slight firing about 11pm to midnight.
Robert Scrivener was one of those four men.
Private Robert Scrivener was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was laid to rest in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey, Grave II.D.8. He was not quite 26 years old.
Although Robert’s death is recorded in the August 1915 parish magazine:

Robert Scrivener killed in action at the Dardanelles while serving in the 8th battalion of the Australian Imperial Force.
....it would appear that his mother did not accept this. In September Mr F Bach, writing on behalf of the family, asked for information as to the whereabouts of Robert, as his mother had heard nothing from him for three months! Eventually, almost four months after his death, she received official confirmation!
I was particularly moved by one document discovered, which was an inventory of Robert’s effects, which were despatched on 16th November 1915. It simply read:

1 brown paper parcel. Contents - 1 cigarette case, 1 metal watch chain, 1 wallet, 1 medal, photos etc, 1 identity disc, 1 belt.
All that remained of a young life!