Description
British War Medal, officially impressed “3031 PTE R. CRAIG 3 BN. A.I.F.”
Victory Medal, officially impressed “3031 PTE R. CRAIG 3 BN. A.I.F.”
Robert Kennedy Craig, son of Alexander and Minnie Craig, was born in 1894 at Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland and moved to Australia as a young adult, working as a Barber. On the 23rd August 1915, Craig attested for the Australian Imperial Force as Private 3031 of the 7th Reinforcements to the 18th Battalion and embarked from Sydney on the 20th December 1915 aboard the HMAT A29 ‘Suevic’ for overseas service. After disembarking, Craig was taken on strength into the 3rd Battalion A.I.F. at Tel-El-Kebir on the 14th February 1916, serving with the 9th Platoon, ‘C’ Company. The 3rd embarked from Alexandria aboard HMAT ‘Grampian’ on the 22nd March and disembarked at Marseille six days later on the 28th, joining the British Expeditionary Forces. For several months, the 3rd Battalion underwent an acclimatisation period, undertaking duties around ‘quiet’ sectors of the line until July 1916 where they would take part in the Battalion’s first major action in Europe, the Battle of Pozières.
Initial stages of the Battle saw the capture of village of Pozières – the 3rd Battalion, amongst the wider Australian 1st Division, were to advance from the south in three stages, beginning their scheduled attack at 12:30am on the 23rd July. The infantry was reticent in their advance, creeping their way into no man’s land until closing in on their target, lifting and rushing the German trenches along the south. On the afternoon of the 23rd July, Robert Craig was killed by a German sniper when out on patrol in Pozières – Sergeant A.B. Tanner, a fellow ‘C’ Company, witnessed the event and reported “[Craig] was out on patrol the day we went over the top (July 23rd). I was out with him and saw him shot through the head and killed outright… we pulled the body into a shell hole and had to leave it there”. This story is corroborated by Private W.H. Etchell of the ‘C’ Company, who reported “[Craig] was shot in the head by a sniper, and killed instantly. It was impossible to secure and bury his body at the time”.
Robert Kennedy Craig was later buried at Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
Medals ‘as new’ with original ribbon in card posting box, includes mother’s black pendant which is missing star and with pin broken.