Private Robert Hawkes was born to James and Eliza Hawkes in County Tyrone, Ireland on October 22nd, 1890.  His military records do not indicate if he had siblings, but do record that his “present address” was in Rhode Island.  Robert married Mary Grace (nee Canning) of New Grafton, in Boston on July 12th 1917.  He worked as a Gardener and was an Episcopalian.  Robert stood 5 feet 5 and ¾ inches tall (167cm), weighed 147 pounds (67kg), and had blue eyes and brown hair.

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      Robert enlisted at 26 years of age, in Toronto on October 3rd, 1917.  He joined the 1st Depot Battalion as an Infantryman and was assigned the rank of Private and Regimental number 3105135. 

Private Hawkes sailed from Canada on November 20th, arriving in England on December 7th, 1917.  Private Hawkes and Mary Grace had a son, Robert, who was born on December 21st in New Grafton.  Private Hawkes landed in France on April 4th, 1918 and was transferred to the 116th Battalion on April 7th.  The 116th Battalion operated in France and Belgium until the end of the war.

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      In late August 1918, the 116th Battalion was tasked with pushing the Germans east from the villages and forests of eastern France.  Private Robert Hawkes perished near the village of Boiry-Notre-Dame on August 27th, 1918, when his Battalion was ordered up a long incline and across open fields with the intent to break through the Hindenburg Line.  He was 28 years old. 

 

      Private Hawkes bequeathed his estate to his wife, Mary.  She also received the War Service Gratuity to Dependents of Deceased Soldiers of 180 dollars and the Memorial Plaque and Scroll.  Private Hawkes' mother, Eliza, who still lived in Ireland, was awarded the Memorial Cross Medal (also known as the Silver Cross). 

     

      Private Hawkes' remains were never recovered, and he is commemorated at the Vimy Memorial.  Inscribed on the ramparts of the Vimy Memorial are the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as 'missing, presumed dead' in France. At the base of the memorial, these words appear in French and English:

TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA

 

      Private Hawkes son, Robert, died of drowning on June 19th 1930, at twelve and a half years old.

 

      Private Robert Hawkes is commemorated on page 425 of the World War One Book of Remembrance.  He is also listed on the Caledonia Cenotaph.

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Online References

War Grave Search – https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1569015/robert-hawkes/#&gid=1&pid=1

Local Grave Search - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56678505/robert-hawkes

Canadian Virtual War Memorial - https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/1569015?Robert%20Hawkes

Canadian Census - https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/index

First World War Personnel Records Database (file download size 18.8 Meg) - https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Home/Record?app=pffww&IdNumber=449027&ecopy=384562a