Robert William COVERDALE

Regimental number893
Place of birthBroomfield, Victoria
SchoolVere Street, Collingwood, Victoria
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
AddressCollingwood, Victoria
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation21
Height5' 8"
Weight148 lbs
Next of kinFather, James Coverdale, 76 Budd Street, Collingwood, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date21 September 1914
Place of enlistmentBroadmeadows, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name9th Light Horse Regiment, 5th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number10/14/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A58 Kabinga on 8 May 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll9th Light Horse Regiment
FateKilled in Action 29 August 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Age at death22
Age at death from cemetery records22
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 9), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
7
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: James and Sarah COVERDALE, 76 Budd Street, Collingwood, Victoria, and the late James COVERDALE
Family/military connectionsBrother: 595 Pte James Henry COVERDALE, died of wounds, France.
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Proceeded to join Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 5 August 1915; taken on strength, 9th Light Horse Regiment, 5 August 1915; missing, 29 August 1915; court of enquiry, Serapeum, 26 April 1916, found that he was killed in action, Gallipoli, 29 August 1915 (his brother was an informant, who had heard that Robert had been killed along with a friend, the bodies then being burnt by a fire that broke out).

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, COVERDALE Robert William