Salmon, RS

Sergeant Robert Swaine Salmon

Born on September 15th 1883, Robert was the son of a tea salesman, also named Robert Salmon, and his wife, Jane. He spent just over six years at Dulwich, between 1895 and 1901 and shortly after leaving, in 1903, went over to Canada. He found work with the Sturgeon Lake Lumber Company, with whom he was employed for the better part of a decade, until 1911. That year he travelled up to Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories where he was involved in the setting up of the Government Indian Agency and Experimental Firm.
Because of his remote location Robert at first was unaware of the outbreak of war in the summer of 1914, only finding out about the global situation that December. Shortly afterwards, in February, he left Fort Smith and spent two weeks travelling by dog sled to Edmonton where he enlisted in the 51st Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. He was then transferred to England, arriving that September, by which point he had been promoted to Corporal. After less than a month in England he was transferred to France where he joined up with the 49th Battalion at Messines; interestingly, whilst in a front line trench there he met his brother Leonard, a fellow OA and member of the 7th Battalion, whom he had not seen in thirteen years. In March 1916 Robert and his unit were transferred from Messines to the area around the Ypres salient, and shortly afterwards he was promoted to Sergeant. In early June he was killed in action whilst leading a counter attack, near Hooge, aged 32.