Eric Gascoigne Robinson

Infobox Military Person
name= Eric Gascoigne Robinson
lived= 16 May 1882 – 20 August 1965
placeofbirth= Greenwich, London
placeofdeath= Royal Hospital Haslar, Gosport


caption=Eric Robinson, VC from Gallaher Cigarette Cards
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
branch=
serviceyears= 1897 – 1942
rank= Rear Admiral
commands=
unit=
battles= Boxer Rebellion
World War I
*Gallipoli Campaign
Russian Civil War
World War II
awards= Victoria Cross
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mention in Despatches
laterwork=
Rear Admiral Eric Gascoigne Robinson VC, OBE (16 May 1882 – 20 August 1965) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He earned his award with a string of daring operations whilst a Lieutenant Commander with the fleet stationed off the Dardanelles during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I, including the single-handed destruction of a Turkish naval gun battery and the destruction of a captured British submarine under fire from Turkish shore artillery.

Following these exploits he was badly wounded at the frontline on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but recovered and served continuously for the remainder of the war and into the Russian Civil War. In 1939 aged 57, he again volunteered for military service and spent three more years at war, commanding convoys during the Second battle of the Atlantic. During his lengthy career, Robinson remained a highly-regarded officer who served through four wars and amassed a large collection of awards and honours.

Early life

Eric Gascoigne Robinson was born in 1882 at Greenwich in South-East London to John and Louise Aveline. John was the chaplain of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich and Eric's youth was spent in preparation for a life at sea. Robinson joined HMS "Victory" aged just fifteen in 1897 and rapidly progressed to the battleship HMS "Majestic" and then the light cruiser HMS "Endymion", in which he took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China. It was here, aged 18, that he saw his first action with the relief force, being wounded in action, mentioned in despatches and gaining a reputation as a daring and resourceful officer.Snelling, p.22 ] He remained in China serving on a Yangtze gunboat for several years before returning to England and becoming a torpedo specialist at HMS "Vernon" in 1907.

In 1910, Robinson was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and spent his time between the torpedo school HMS "Vernon", the depot ship HMS "Thames", the battleship HMS "Blenheim" and the cruiser HMS "Amethyst" on active service. In 1913, he married Edith Gladys, with whom he had three children. Robinson was slightly injured in a train accident shortly after his wedding, [This incident was probably the Ais Gill rail crash in Cumbria on 1 September 1913, which killed 14.] but soon recovered and was dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea at the outbreak of the First World War on board the old battleship HMS "Vengeance".

The Gallipoli campaign and the Victoria Cross

The first exploit in his Victoria Cross nomination was the result of his close friendship and working relationship with another aggressive officer, Roger Keyes, whom he had first met in China fifteen years before. Keyes was asked by his superior, Admiral John de Robeck, to prepare an assault on the Turkish gun battery at Orkanieh (also known as Achilles' Tomb), [Arthur, p.218] a position between Kum Kale and Yeni Shehr on the southern shore of the Dardanelles.Snelling, p.19 ] This position had withstood fire from the battleships of the Allied fleet during the preceding weeks. Robinson was suggested as the leader of a commando force of sailors and Royal Marines who were tasked with destroying the battery and withdrawing in good order on 26 February.

Robinson accepted the mission without hesitation and his force landed without being noticed in the early morning, destroyed two small artillery pieces and made fast progress towards the main battery, before being pinned down by Turkish snipers in the mid-afternoon. The white naval uniforms of the sailors proved an easy target for the Turks and casualties mounted as Turkish reinforcements were brought up to cut the raiding party off. Instead of withdrawing in the face of this threat, Robinson marched his men through gullies and came out close to a small rise behind the main battery. The open ground of the rise was covered by several Turkish snipers, but realising the importance of removing the artillery overlooking the sea passage, Robinson delegated command of the party to a junior officer and made the climb alone, dodging bullets in his white uniform until he crested the rise unhurt, emerging a few minutes later and starting back apparently unconcerned by the increasingly heavy gunfire directed at him. He was said to be "strolling around . . . under heavy rifle fire . . . like a sparrow enjoying a bath from a garden hose".Snelling, p.20 ] The battery had been ungarrisoned, and Robinson was able to lay fuses which destroyed the large 9.4" main gun and two anti-aircraft emplacements within the position. Withdrawing in good order, Robinson evaded the Turkish reinforcements and then directed gunfire from the fleet onto their positions, including a force garrisoning an ancient tomb, inflicting heavy casualties. An immediate recommendation for the Victoria Cross was put forward by Admiral de Robeck who had observed proceedings from HMS "Queen Elizabeth" offshore.

The E15 mission

During March, in preparation for the landings on the peninsula, Robinson led four sorties into the extensive sea minefields around the beaches and bays of Gallipoli. On one of these, his minesweeper was struck by small calibre shells 84 times and the other operations were scarcely less dangerous but, in spite of Turkish resistance, Robinson was able to clear wide lanes for the invasion forces.Snelling, p.21 ] Robinson volunteered in April for an even more dangerous mission, following the Turkish capture of the grounded submarine HMS "E15". All efforts to destroy this craft had so far failed and it was considered vital for naval morale that the submarine not be allowed to remain in Turkish hands. Robinson took command of two picket boats from the battleships HMS "Triumph" and HMS "Majestic", each armed with two torpedoes mounted on the gunwales in dropping gear, and entered the Dardanelles under cover of darkness on 18 April. Despite heavy and accurate Turkish fire from artillery and machine guns, Robinson's boat (from HMS "Triumph") was able to fire a torpedo but missed. Shortly afterwards, a carelessly-directed Turkish searchlight briefly illuminated "E15", allowing the boat from "Majestic" skippered by Lieutenant Goodwin to score a direct hit, wrecking the grounded submarine. As the small craft turned to go, they were caught by the searchlights and subjected to heavy and accurate gunfire which holed "Majestic's" boat, killing one of the crew and causing her to sink fast. Robinson again did not hesitate, turning back to the stricken vessel and rescuing her crew before returning to Mudros. It was estimated that the Turks fired at least 500 heavy calibre rounds of ammunition at the two boats in just a few minutes.Snelling, p.23 ] A German officer present noted that "I have never on the course of the war seen an attack carried out with such pluck and fearlessness". It has also been commented that this action should have brought Robinson a second Victoria Cross, but in the end it was merely added to his previous citation and practically ensured its confirmation. As a reward for this operation, he was promoted to Commander by special decree.

Later war service

In August, Robinson was sent to Anzac Cove as a naval liaison officer and on his second day there, was badly wounded near the front line, forcing his evacuation to England, where King George V presented him with his medal at Buckingham Palace. Returned to the Mediterranean in December 1915 following his recuperation, he took over the coastal monitor HMS "M21", in which he shelled Turkish positions throughout Egypt and Palestine and was awarded another mention in dispatches and the Egyptian Order of the Nile, 4th Class. [LondonGazette|issue=29848|startpage=11840|date=5 December 1916|accessdate=2007-11-26] Returning to England in the summer of 1917, he narrowly missed selection for Keyes's operations against Zeebrugge and Ostend owing to his war wounds, and instead trained crews of coastal torpedo boats, a role which led to a distant posting in the Caspian Sea during the Russian Civil War, fighting the Bolshevik forces along the Russian coastline. Robinson commanded a squadron of coastal torpedo boats in the Caspian and forced the surrender of several enemy forts through aggressive tactics. These achievements would later win him the Imperial Russian Order of St. Anne, 2nd Class. [http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-11/p-44.php MQ Magazine, Issue 11, October 2004] , "Letters, "Admiral Robinson VC", Carl Clayton, Retrieved 5 February 2007] His most infamous achievement at this time was leading a small coastal motor boat inside the harbour of Fort Alexandrovsk, where he sank a barge and prompted a mass surrender from the garrison.

Peacetime and Second World War service

", Retrieved 18 January 2007] prompted a second retirement in 1942.

Robinson settled in the village of Langrish, near Petersfield in east Hampshire. He died peacefully at Haslar Naval Hospital, Gosport, on 20 August 1965 and was laid to rest at St John's, the village church he had served for 20 years as warden. For unknown reasons, his grave was without a headstone until 1998, although a large plaque to him was dedicated by his sister in 1969 and surmounts the altar. Following investigations by the Naval VC Association, his grave was discovered and a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone erected. At the dedication ceremony, attended by over 150 friends, relatives, Masons and servicemen, Admiral Derek Reffell gave the eulogy which stated: "The admiral was a hero, but more importantly he was a naval man from the finest mould. Now at last we can accord him the dignity he deserves."

Citations

"Admiralty, 21st April, 1915"

Lieutenant-Commander Eric Gascoigne Robinson has been specially promoted to the rank of Commander in His Majesty's Fleet in recognition of the distinguished service rendered by him on the night of the 18th April, 1915, as Commanding Officer of the force which torpedoed and rendered useless Submarine E.15, thus preventing that vessel from falling into the enemy's hands in a serviceable condition, Dated 20th April, 1915.

The London Gazette, 23rd April, 1915 [LondonGazette|issue=29140|startpage=3946|date=23 April 1915|accessdate=2007-11-26]

"Admiralty, 16th August, 1915"

The following awards have been made in recognition of services during operations in the vicinity of the Dardanelles prior to 25th-26th April:-

The King has been graciously pleased to approve of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Lieutenant-Commander (now Commander) Eric Gascoigne Robinson, R.N., for the conspicuous act of bravery specified below.

Lieutenant-Commander Robinson on the 26th February advanced alone, under heavy fire, into an enemy's gun position, which might well have been occupied, and destroying a four-inch gun, [ This is probably a typo, later investigations clearly state that the gun was 9.4", not 4".] returned to his party for another charge with which the second gun was destroyed. Lieutenant-Commander Robinson would not allow members of his demolition party to accompany him as their white uniforms rendered them very conspicuous. Lieutenant-Commander Robinson took part in four attacks on the mine fields - always under heavy fire.

The London Gazette, 13th August, 1915 [LondonGazette|issue=29264|supp=yes|startpage=8132|date=13 August 1915|accessdate=2007-11-26]

Notes

References

*cite book
author= | title=The Register of the Victoria Cross
date=1997
publisher=This England Books
id=ISBN 0-906324-27-0
*cite book
author=Arthur, Max
title=Symbol of Courage, A History of the Victoria Cross
date=2004
publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson
id=ISBN 0-283103-51-9
*cite book
author=Harvey, David
title=Monuments to Courage
date=1999
publisher=Naval & Military Press Ltd.
id=ISBN 1-843423-56-1
*cite book
author=Snelling, Stephen | title=VCs of the First World War - Gallipoli
date=1995
publisher=Sutton Publishing
id=ISBN 0-750913-95-9 Both books by Snelling contain the same information as part of different collections. ]
*cite book
author=Snelling, Stephen | title=VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs
date=2002
publisher=Sutton Publishing
id=ISBN 0-750913-95-9

External links

* [http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/hampshir.htm Location of grave and VC medal - The History of the Victoria Cross]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Robinson&GSfn=Eric&GSmn=Gascoigne&GSby=1882&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1965&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=10463497& Find-A-Grave profile for Eric Gascoigne Robinson]
* [http://www.diggerhistory2.info/graveyards/pages/others/brit-vc2.htm#robinson Short biography at The Graveyards of Gallipoli, www.diggerhistory.info/]

Persondata
NAME=Robinson, Eric Gascoigne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Royal Navy admiral and First World War Victoria Cross recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=16 May 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH=Greenwich, London
DATE OF DEATH=18 August 1965
PLACE OF DEATH=Portsmouth