Peterborough & The Great War

Biography

When William Robinson passed through the Peterborough East Station on 3 July 1916, he was a 2^nd Engineer on HM Trawler Gabir.  William wrote in the visitors’ book “Let him that thinkth he standth take heed lest he falls”.

William was from North Shields and was born in 1869, to parents William and Mary.  His father was a House and Commissions Agent from Tynemouth.  In the 1881 census William was listed as the eldest of 5 children, and at school.

In 1891, he was serving aboard the SS Anselm of the Booth Steamship Company, based in Liverpool.  He married Lizzie Lumsden from North Shields in December 1896. Their first child William was born in 1900 and they had at least 3 further children.  In the 1901 and 1911 Census his family were listed in North Shields and it is assumed William was absent at sea.

William’s medals were issued in October 1919 to the family address in North Shields.  Unfortunately William Robinson is a very common name in the Tynemouth area and his death has not yet been traced.

HM Trawler Gabir was hired by the Royal Navy for war use.  It was built in 1909 and registered in Grimsby.  It was in service as a minesweeper between May 1915 and May 1918. On 24 May 1918, the Gabir struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Pakefield, Suffolk with the loss of two of her crew.  One of the crew members who lost his life was James Jenner, a deck hand from Lowestoft.  http://bit.ly/2ms9ZlC

Could William Robinson be related to you?  Do get in touch if you can help.