Field, RA
(1895 - 1917)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
13th March 1895
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1909 - 1912
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
91 Worple Road, Wimbledon
REGIMENT
2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment
FINAL RANK:
Captain
DATE OF DEATH:
2nd April 1917
AGE AT DEATH:
22
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Henin, near Arras
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Henin Communal Cemetery Extension. II D 22
Captain Robert Alister Field
Born on March 13th 1895 in Wimbledon, Robert was the eldest son of hat manufacturer Joseph Field and his wife, Frances. Having originally attended Rokeby School in Wimbledon he subsequently came to Dulwich at the age of fourteen, spending three years at the College before leaving in the summer of 1912. He went over to Canada, and was farming at Clearwater, a small town in Manitoba, by the summer of 1914.
With the commencement of the conflict that summer Robert returned to England, originally joining the Inns of Court O.T.C., before being offered a commission in the Yorkshire Regiment in March 1915, going out to France for the first time that August. During the battle of the Somme he was twice mentioned in despatches, and in December 1916 he was awarded the M.C. for his conspicuous gallantry during the battle. By this time he had already been promoted to Lieutenant and was serving as Bombing Officer for his regiment; a short time later, in March, he was to be promoted once more to Captain. On April 2nd he was leading his men into battle at Henin, near Arras, when he was killed, at the age of 22.
