John Ramsey Robertson (1889-1951)
Coal miner from Trimdon served with 19th DLI won DCM during the '100 Days Offensive'
John Ramsey Robertson, the son of William and Dorothy Robertson, was born in Houghton-le-Spring on 17 January 1889. He had four brothers and four sisters, including James William, who also served in the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) and was killed in action in 1917. In 1909, he married Annie Forbes with whom he had seven children. He attested early in the war and he joined, firstly, the 15th and 20th Battalions before becoming a sergeant in the 19th Battalion DLI. He won the Military Medal and, during the ‘100 Days Offensive’, the Distinguished Conduct Medal. After demobilisation he returned to the Trimdon area where he was still living in 1939.
His award of the DCM was gazetted on 2 December 1919 and the citation reads:
“On 14th October, 1918, for most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in action west of Courtrai. The company had been held up some 200 yards from its final objective by machine-gun fire and snipers. He took a party of ten men and attacked the post from the flank, capturing the machine-gun and three prisoners, though he he had only two men with him at the time and putting the remainder to flight. He has shown marked courage on many occasions, and set a very fine example to all ranks”.
International Encyclopedia of the First World War, Hundred Days Offensive:
https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/hundred_days_offensive
Civil Parish: Trimdon
Birth date: 17-Jan-1889
Death date: 1951
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: 75 Middle Row, West Rainton, Durham (1891 census)
5 Cross Row, Shadworth, Durham (1901 census)
Dyke Street, Trimdon Colliery, Durham (1911 census)
1 Pringle Street, Sedgefield, Durham (1939 Register)
Trimdon Colliery (England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007)
Employment: Coal miner (1911 census)
Miner, timber drawer (1939 Register)
Family: Father: William Robertson
Mother: Dorothy Robertson (nee Marshall)
Siblings: James William, Robert, Janet, Mary Jane, Edward Elizabeth, Thomas & Dorothy Robertson
Wife: Annie Robertson (nee Forbes)
Children: John (died 1912), Isabella A, John R, Dorothy, James W, Eleanor & Mary J Robertson
Military service:
15th, 20th & 19th Battalions Durham Light Infantry
Regimental number: 13672
Sergeant
Medal(s): Distinguished Conduct Medal
Military Medal
1914-1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards
