Robert RESIDE
Year of Birth: abt 1864
Place of Birth: Newry, Ireland
Date of Enlistment: 13 January 1917
Date and Place of Embarkation: 13 June 1917 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Ship: HMAT Hororata
Rank: Private
Unit(s): 25th Battalion
Regimental Number: 6857
Died: 14 March 1920
Robert Reside was born in Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland about 1864 and arrived in Brisbane, Queensland, on the ship New Guinea on17 August 1885 as a 21 year old farm labourer. He married Fanny Balderston in 1900 and lived with their two daughters in the Croydon area until about 1905 where Robert was a Police Constable at Table Top, a community north of Croydon.
They then moved to Cairns and Robert enlisted in the AIF on 13 January 1917. He stated his age was 44 (ie, DOB 1873) although in the ship’s passenger list when he arrived in 1885, he was listed as aged 21 (ie, DOB 1864). If the passenger list date is accurate, he put his age down to enlist.
On enlistment he was described as 5 feet 10½ inches tall, weighed 160 pounds with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. His religion was Church of England. He named his wife Fanny as his next of kin.
On 10 January he passed the medical examination and embarked on the HMAT Hororata from Sydney on 13 June that year.
He marched into 7th Training Battalion at Rollestone England on 27 August. On a Medical Report of 19 November 1917 his age was noted as 54 years and he was diagnosed as unfit for military service due to chronic endocarditis after complaining “of being unable to carry on with the military training, says he can march quite well but when he has to do any strenuous exertion becomes quite fatigued. He had malaria 10 years ago and many subsequent attacks.” He was recommended as permanently unfit for general service, fit for home service.
On 31 January 1918 he embarked for Australia on the HMAT Argyllshire..
He returned to Cairns to civilian life. His daughter, Olive, died on 21 March 1919 age 21.
Online Resources
NAA: B2455 (RESIDE R) National Archives of Australia
National Library of Australia: Trove Digitised Newspapers
Queensland Registrar of Births Deaths & Marriages
If you have a photograph or further information about this soldier you would like to share and add to his biography, please contact the Society at projects@cdfhs.org or leave a comment below. Thank you!