Robert James Bates was born on Saturday, 13th October 1894 in Boxmoor near Hemel Hempstead, to Frederick William Bates and Emily Hollick. He was the seventh child and fifth son born to Frederick and Emily who would eventually have thirteen children, four of whom died in infancy. Frederick and Emily raised their large family at 55 St John’s Road in Boxmoor, where they had lived since their marriage in 1880 and where they would remain until they died sixty-four years later. Robert’s older brother George also died in the conflict just eight months later.

Throughout this time Frederick and many of his sons, including Robert, worked at Fosters Limited, the local sawmills on Kingsland Road adjacent to the Grand Junction (Union) Canal.

Robert’s education took place at Boxmoor JMI School where in 1902/3 he successfully completed Standards I and II eventually leaving on the 11th October 1907 to start work as an Errand Boy in Apsley Paper Mills. By the time he enlisted in the Army he was working at Fosters Saw Mills as a Mill Hand.

On the 7th June 1915 Robert aged twenty, enlisted with the Hertfordshire Regiment attesting at Hertford on that date. He was described as having black hair and hazel eyes and standing 5 feet 7 inches in height, taller than the average recruit at the time.

Robert spent the next eight months training with the 3/1st Battalion before being sent to France on the 13th March 1916. Crossing from Southampton he disembarked at Rouen the following day before joining the 1st Battalion Hertfordshires near Merville, north of Béthune on the 27th March.

Through April, Robert was in the trenches at Merville and Festubert before marching with the Battalion to Givenchy to take over the B2 sub-section of the trenches. It was here on the 19th May that Robert first fell ill and the following day he was admitted to No.132 Field Ambulance diagnosed with pleurisy. Two days later he was admitted to No.9 General Hospital in Rouen for further treatment. By the 30th May 1916 he had been transferred back to England having been at the Front only fifty-four days.

Respiratory illnesses such as pleurisy were rife in the trenches and the medical support and treatment was primitive in the field. If a wounded or injured soldier made it to a Base Hospital, such as No.9 General at Rouen, their chances of recovery increased significantly. However, with illness and disease the medical interventions and treatment of the time were often limited, and this was before the discovery of antibiotics. It is estimated that approximately ⅓ of all combatants died of illness or disease.

On his return to England, Robert underwent further medical treatment which seemed to help his recovery from pleurisy. However, Army medical notes indicate that he showed signs of early ‘plastic tubercular peritonitis’ a much more serious condition and it was this that ultimately caused his discharge from the Army on the grounds that he was ‘unfit for army service’. It is also noted that his disability was due to “Natural causes aggravated by exposure on active service” meaning that his active service was not the cause but only a contributing factor.

The medical reports also note that his condition was not permanent although it would restrict his ability to work for about six months and possibly longer. Finally, and perhaps most tragically, the reports state that Robert’s recovery depended on “proper treatment which he states he can carry out at home”. Quite what this treatment was and how Robert would manage it is not clear. Indeed, within three months of his discharge from the Army on the 26th September 1916, Robert died. He passed away in West Herts Infirmary, Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday, 5th December 1916 and was buried in Heath Lane Cemetery on Saturday, 9th December 1916.

Robert is Remembered with Honour in the Hemel Hempstead (Heath Lane) Cemetery, Hemel Hempstead United Kingdom.

He was only 22 years old when he died.

Robert was eligible for the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal.

Footnote: When I began to research the men commemorated on Hemel Hempstead War Memorial, I was contacted by Brendan Sheridan, who had carried out similar research on the men from the congregation of St Mary and St Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Boxmoor.

Brendan kindly agreed to share his research for inclusion on this website and also brought to my attention the fact, that Private Robert James Bates had not been recognised as a victim of the Great War and therefore, had not been officially recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) on the National Roll of Honour. We both determined that this was something to be put right and during research, we uncovered the evidence we needed to confirm, that despite dying after being discharged from the Army, Robert's records showed that the Army Medical Board considered his death was as a result of active service.

This information was sent to the "In From the Cold Project" (IFCP) which is dedicated to the task of achieving recognition for the thousands of men and women who died in the service of Britain and the Commonwealth during two world wars where there is no official recognition of their sacrifice. I am happy to say, that on the 5th November 2019, IFCP confirmed to Brendan and me, that CWGC had accepted our information and that Robert's grave in Heath Lane Cemetery would in due course have a headstone erected to honour his sacrifice in the Great War.

We were subsequently been contacted by Tracey Howard, Robert's Great Great Neice, who has confirmed that CWGC asked her to provide an epitaph for the headstone which was erected in Heath Lane Cemetery in Hemel Hempstead in 2024 with the appropriate words:

'HE SACRIFICED HIS LIFE

THAT OTHERS

MAY LIVE A BETTER ONE

REST IN PEACE'

I should add, that Brendan was also instrumental in ensuring that a memorial plaque to all the fallen heroes from St Mary and St Joseph, was commissioned and erected at the Church. I was honoured to attend the dedication and unveiling of the memorial on Remembrance Sunday, 11th November 2018, the centenary of the Armistice marking the end of the Great War.