On the 4th November 1918 British Tanks fought for the last time in the First World War. Four members of the Tank Corps were killed that day: Privates Hubert Smedley, Thomas Thompson and Henry Ford and Major Frederick ‘Eric’ Robinson.
Smedley, Thompson and Ford were members of the 9th Battalion, and were all killed during separate tank attacks. However Robinson, a Company Commander in the 10th Battalion, was killed ‘whilst returning to Rallying Point’ after the fighting was over.
This makes it almost certain that he was the last member of the Tank Corps to be killed in action in the First World War.
By a curious coincidence, he had also been one of the very first men to fight in a tank.
Eric Robinson
Stephen Pope researched Eric’s life for his book ‘The First Tank Crews.’ This short summary is based on his extensive work.
Frederick was born in Wood Green, London on the 2nd October 1892. Named after his father, he was always known as Eric to distinguish between them.
He followed in his father’s footsteps and trained as an engineer. By 1914 he worked in the electrical department of the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Company, based at Silvertown.
After the outbreak of the First World War Eric joined the Royal Naval Air Service as an engineer. A keen motorcyclist, he was soon a member of the RNAS Armoured Car Division. In August 1915 he transferred to the Army’s Motor Machine Gun Service and was commissioned as an officer.
The MMGS was the source of many of the first tank crews, including Eric. He joined D Company of the Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps and trained as a tank commander at Elveden in Norfolk. He commanded D-22, a Male tank with a crew of 8.
Flers-Courcelette
Eric and D Company moved to France in early September 1916, just a few days before they went into action at Flers-Courcelette.
On the 15th September tanks were used in battle for the first time. Eric and his crew fought at High Wood. He advanced over very difficult ground covered with tree trucks, roots, trenches and barbed wire before turning right and leaving the shattered wood.
Eric and D-22 were then responsible for one of the most unfortunate events of the day. As he crossed a trench the tank got stuck. The trench was full of soldiers, and the crew opened fire. Tragically these men were British, members of the City of London Rifles. It’s not known how many were killed and wounded before their comrades were able to convince the tank crewmen to stop.
Eric and D-22 were then responsible for one of the most unfortunate events of the day. As he crossed a trench the tank got stuck. The trench was full of soldiers, and the crew opened fire. Tragically these men were British, members of the City of London Rifles. It’s not known how many were killed and wounded before their comrades were able to convince the tank crewmen to stop.
For the next fourteen hours Eric and his crew struggled to extricate their tank. They worked under constant shell fire, but were eventually successful.
Despite the ‘friendly fire’ incident, Eric was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery in command of his tank, and for his efforts to dig out the trapped machine.
Eric fought again on the 26th September and the 14th November. On both days his tanks were hit by artillery and destroyed.
On leave in the UK over Christmas, he married Elsie Mapley. During 1917 Eric was a Section Commander leading three tanks during the Battle of Arras. It’s very likely he also fought at Passchendaele that autumn.
Company Commander
In late 1917 the Tank Corps was expanding. New units were being formed, and experienced soldiers and officers like Eric were needed to man them. He returned to the UK in September and took command of A Company of the 10th Battalion, being formed at Bovington.
They moved to France that December, and Eric first led his new command into action during the German Spring Offensive of March 1918. He was wounded on the 21st May, badly enough to have to return to the UK whilst he recovered.
At the Battle of Amiens on the 8th August Eric was awarded a Bar to his Military Cross. The early morning mist led to tanks and infantry getting lost. Eric realised this, and went forwards to direct his tanks. As a Company Commander he didn’t have a tank of his own, so he had to move on foot, at great risk to himself from German shellfire.
Eric continued to lead A Company throughout the Hundred Days. The 10th Battalion saw little action during September and October as it refitted and trained, and even in late October only a small number of tanks could be made available. Just 5 took part in the fighting on the 4th November, under Eric’s command.
The 4th November
The Battle of the Sambre was the last large battle fought by the British in the First World War. The Germans hoped to hold a defensive position along the Sambre-Oise Canal to buy time whilst they established stronger lines that could hold off the Allies through the winter of 1918. The British aim was to prevent this by crossing the Canal.
The tanks were split into two Sections. One, made up of three tanks, supported the 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment as they attacked the village of Catillon. The other, of two machines (another had got stuck on its way forward), supported 96th Infantry Brigade further north near Ors. We believe Eric was with this Section.
The tanks supported the Brigade’s advance up to the canal. In particular they played a major role in quickly capturing high ground that overlooked the crossing points.
Two battalions of the 96th Brigade, the 16th Lancashire Fusiliers and the 2nd Manchesters, attempted to cross using pontoon bridges, but were unsuccessful.
The war poet Wilfred Owen was an officer in the 2nd Manchesters. He was killed here, attempting to repair one of the bridges.
Ultimately the British abandoned these crossing points for one further south in the village of Ors. From here they forced the Germans back.
It was after this, as the tanks were withdrawing, that Eric was killed, although there’s no record of the exact circumstances. He was almost certainly buried where he fell, around a mile west of Catillon. He was 26 years old.
After the war the bodies of thousands of soldiers buried across the Western Front were exhumed and moved into larger cemeteries. One of them was Eric. He is now buried in Highland British Cemetery, Le Cateau.
