Robert Stewart Laidlaw

Joined the battleship HMS Agamemnon as a midshipman probably directly after leaving Dartmouth Naval College in May 1912. In February 1915 Agamemnon proceeded to the Mediterranean to take part in the bombardment of Turkish positions in support of the invasion of Gallipoli.

Now a sub lieutenant, Robert left Agamemnon in April 1915 to joint HMS Ribble, a destroyer also serving in the Mediterranean. He spent almost a year aboard apart from a period in Bighi Hospital, Malta with suspected appendicitis.

HMS Usk

In May 1916 joined HMS Usk, a sister ship to Ribble in the same flotilla. He was starting to make progress in his career; he had passed his watch keeping certificate and was recommended for promotion to Acting Lieut and consideration for appointment as First Lieut of a destroyer. Towards the end of 1916 Robert must have returned to Britain as he underwent an operation for appendicitis at Haslar Hospital, Portsmouth on 23^rd December 1916 and spent four weeks recuperating at South Queensferry.

He was declared fit for active service in January 1917 and posted to HMS Mastiff at the end of the month. Mastiff was part of the 6^th Destroyer Flotilla based at Dover. In May 1917 Mastiff ran ashore under Shakespeare Cliff, Dover, but she was refloated on the following day. A Court of Enquiry was called and Robert’s service record records he “is much to blame for gross carelessness”. On the other hand other evidence says the stranding was due to “great carelessness” on the part of Captain Hutchison the commanding officer. In June 1917 Robert moved to HMS Cardiff, flagship of 6^th Light Cruiser Squadron and presumably was on board during the action in the Heligoland Bight on 17 November 1917.

By this time Robert seems to have had a clearer picture of how his future career in the Royal Navy might develop as he applied for the Light Cruiser Gunnery Course at HMS Excellent, Portsmouth and left Cardiff at Rosyth on 10^th November 1918.

He completed the course at the end of January 1919 and was posted to HMAS Melbourne which was stationed in Britain at the time. In April 1919 Melbourne set off to return to Australia and Robert died on board her on 23 April 1919.