Eric Gascoigne Robinson
Encyclopedia
Rear Admiral
Eric Gascoigne Robinson VC
, OBE (16 May 1882 – 20 August 1965) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces. He earned his award with a string of daring operations whilst a Lieutenant Commander
with the fleet stationed off the Dardanelles
during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I
, including the single-handed destruction of a Turkish naval gun battery and the destruction of a captured British submarine
under fire from Turkish shore artillery.
Following these exploits he was badly wounded at the frontline on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but recovered and served continuously for the remainder of the war and into the Russian Civil War. In 1939 aged 57, he again volunteered for military service and spent three more years at war, commanding convoys during the Second battle of the Atlantic
. During his lengthy career, Robinson remained a highly-regarded officer who served through four wars and amassed a large collection of awards and honours.
in South-East London
to John Lovell Robinson and Louisa Aveline Gascoigne. John was the chaplain of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich and Eric's youth was spent in preparation for a life at sea. Robinson joined HMS Victory
aged just fifteen in 1897 and rapidly progressed to the battleship
HMS Majestic
and then the first class protected cruiser
HMS Endymion
, in which he took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion
in China. It was here, aged 18, that he saw his first action with the relief force, being wounded in action, mentioned in despatches and gaining a reputation as a daring and resourceful officer. He remained in China serving on a Yangtze gunboat for several years before returning to England and becoming a torpedo specialist at HMS Vernon
in 1907.
In 1910, Robinson was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and spent his time between the torpedo school HMS Vernon, the depot ship HMS Thames
, the battleship HMS Blenheim
and the cruiser HMS Amethyst
on active service. In 1913, he married Edith Gladys Cordeux, with whom he had three children. Robinson was slightly injured in a train accident shortly after his wedding, but soon recovered and was dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea
at the outbreak of the First World War on board the old battleship HMS Vengeance
.
The first exploit in his Victoria Cross nomination was the result of his close friendship and working relationship with another aggressive officer, Roger Keyes, whom he had first met in China fifteen years before. Keyes was asked by his superior, Admiral John de Robeck
, to prepare an assault on the Turkish gun battery at Orkanieh (also known as Achilles
' Tomb), a position between Kum Kale and Yeni Shehr on the southern shore of the Dardanelles. This position had withstood fire from the battleships of the Allied fleet during the preceding weeks
. Robinson was suggested as the leader of a commando force of sailors and Royal Marines
who were tasked with destroying the battery and withdrawing in good order on 26 February.
Robinson accepted the mission without hesitation and his force landed without being noticed in the early morning, destroyed two small artillery pieces and made fast progress towards the main battery, before being pinned down by Turkish snipers in the mid-afternoon. The white naval uniforms of the sailors proved an easy target for the Turks and casualties mounted as Turkish reinforcements were brought up to cut the raiding party off. Instead of withdrawing in the face of this threat, Robinson marched his men through gullies and came out close to a small rise behind the main battery. The open ground of the rise was covered by several Turkish snipers, but realising the importance of removing the artillery overlooking the sea passage, Robinson delegated command of the party to a junior officer and made the climb alone, dodging bullets in his white uniform until he crested the rise unhurt, emerging a few minutes later and starting back apparently unconcerned by the increasingly heavy gunfire directed at him. He was said to be "strolling around . . . under heavy rifle fire . . . like a sparrow enjoying a bath from a garden hose". The battery had been ungarrisoned, and Robinson was able to lay fuses which destroyed the large 9.4" main gun and two anti-aircraft emplacements within the position. Withdrawing in good order, Robinson evaded the Turkish reinforcements and then directed gunfire from the fleet onto their positions, including a force garrisoning an ancient tomb, inflicting heavy casualties. An immediate recommendation for the Victoria Cross was put forward by Admiral de Robeck who had observed proceedings from HMS Queen Elizabeth
offshore.
During March, in preparation for the landings on the peninsula, Robinson led four sorties into the extensive sea minefields around the beaches and bays of Gallipoli. On one of these, his minesweeper was struck by small calibre shells 84 times and the other operations were scarcely less dangerous but, in spite of Turkish resistance, Robinson was able to clear wide lanes for the invasion forces.
Robinson volunteered in April for an even more dangerous mission, following the Turkish capture of the grounded submarine HMS E15
. All efforts to destroy this craft had so far failed and it was considered vital for naval morale that the submarine not be allowed to remain in Turkish hands. Robinson took command of two picket boats from the battleships HMS Triumph
and HMS Majestic
, each armed with two torpedoes mounted on the gunwales in dropping gear, and entered the Dardanelles under cover of darkness on 18 April. Caught in a blaze of searchlights, and under heavy fire from the Turkish artillery and machine guns, both boats miraculously arrived unscathed. A carelessly-directed Turkish searchlight briefly illuminated E15. The boat from HMS Majestic under the command of Lt. Goodwin seized the opportunity and attacked. The first torpedo missed, and seconds later the boat was struck by a shell that blew away much of her stern, mortally wounding one of her crew and causing her to sink. Undeterred, Goodwin went in again and scored a direct hit with his second torpedo, just forward of the conning tower, wrecking the grounded submarine.
Observing his consort's plight, Robinson did not hesitate, steaming to the stricken vessel and rescuing her crew before escaping downstream to Mudros. It was estimated that the Turks fired at least 500 heavy calibre rounds of ammunition at the two boats in just a few minutes. A German officer present noted that "I have never on the course of the war seen an attack carried out with such pluck and fearlessness". It has also been commented that this action should have brought Robinson a second Victoria Cross, but in the end it was merely added to his previous citation and practically ensured its confirmation. As a reward for this operation, he was promoted to Commander by special decree.
as a naval liaison officer and on his second day there, was badly wounded near the front line, forcing his evacuation to England, where King George V
presented him with his medal at Buckingham Palace
. Returned to the Mediterranean in December 1915 following his recuperation, he took over the coastal monitor
HMS M21
, in which he shelled Turkish positions throughout Egypt
and Palestine
and was awarded another mention in dispatches and the Egyptian Order of the Nile
, 4th Class. Returning to England in the summer of 1917, he narrowly missed selection for Keyes's operations against Zeebrugge
and Ostend
owing to his war wounds, and instead trained crews of coastal torpedo boats, a role which led to a distant posting in the Caspian Sea
during the Russian Civil War
, fighting the Bolshevik forces along the Russian coastline. Robinson commanded a squadron of coastal torpedo boats in the Caspian and forced the surrender of several enemy forts through aggressive tactics. These achievements would later win him the Imperial Russian Order of St. Anne
, 2nd Class. His most notable achievement at this time was leading a small coastal motor boat inside the harbour of Fort Alexandrovsk, where he sank a barge and prompted a mass surrender from the garrison.
Following this period of extended service, Robinson was brought home, appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the King for his Caspian Sea service, promoted again to Captain and posted to HMS Iron Duke
. Robinson then served in a number of training establishments and dockyards, as well as a brief stint with the Far East Fleet, during which he received the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class
for his services. In 1925, he was inducted into the Freemasons and remained a prominent member of the Navy Lodge for the rest of his life. The organisation still commemorates him in their publications. He retired at age 51 in 1933 as a rear-admiral, but when the Second World War broke out, Robinson immediately offered his services and for three years, commanded convoys across the Atlantic Ocean
. For this service, he was later presented with the Norwegian King Haakon VII's Freedom Cross
. Eventually a bout of ill-health caused by a combination of the strain of long service, his age, and the death of his son, Midshipman Edward Cordeaux Robinson, in the sinking of the cruiser HMS Neptune
in December 1941, prompted a second retirement in 1942.
Robinson settled in the village of Langrish
, near Petersfield
in east Hampshire
. He died peacefully at Haslar Naval Hospital, Gosport
, on 20 August 1965 and was laid to rest at St John's, the village church he had served for 20 years as warden. For unknown reasons, his grave was without a headstone until 1998, although a large plaque to him was dedicated by his sister in 1969 and surmounts the altar. Following investigations by the Naval VC Association, his grave was discovered and a Commonwealth War Graves Commission
headstone erected. At the dedication ceremony, attended by over 150 friends, relatives, Masons and servicemen, Admiral Derek Reffell
gave the eulogy which stated: "The admiral was a hero, but more importantly he was a naval man from the finest mould. Now at last we can accord him the dignity he deserves."
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Eric Gascoigne Robinson VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, OBE (16 May 1882 – 20 August 1965) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces. He earned his award with a string of daring operations whilst a Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
with the fleet stationed off the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, including the single-handed destruction of a Turkish naval gun battery and the destruction of a captured British submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
under fire from Turkish shore artillery.
Following these exploits he was badly wounded at the frontline on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but recovered and served continuously for the remainder of the war and into the Russian Civil War. In 1939 aged 57, he again volunteered for military service and spent three more years at war, commanding convoys during the Second battle of the Atlantic
Second Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its...
. During his lengthy career, Robinson remained a highly-regarded officer who served through four wars and amassed a large collection of awards and honours.
Early life
Eric Gascoigne Robinson was born in 1882 at GreenwichGreenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in South-East London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to John Lovell Robinson and Louisa Aveline Gascoigne. John was the chaplain of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich and Eric's youth was spent in preparation for a life at sea. Robinson joined HMS Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
aged just fifteen in 1897 and rapidly progressed to the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS Majestic
HMS Majestic (1895)
HMS Majestic was a Majestic-class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Majestic was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 5 February 1894 and launched on 31 January 1895...
and then the first class protected cruiser
Protected cruiser
The protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
HMS Endymion
HMS Endymion (1891)
HMS Endymion was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on 22 July 1891. She took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China, during which time future rear admiral and VC recipient Eric Gascoigne Robinson served aboard her...
, in which he took part in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in China. It was here, aged 18, that he saw his first action with the relief force, being wounded in action, mentioned in despatches and gaining a reputation as a daring and resourceful officer. He remained in China serving on a Yangtze gunboat for several years before returning to England and becoming a torpedo specialist at HMS Vernon
HMS Vernon (shore establishment)
HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or 'stone frigate' of the Royal Navy. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876 as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch and operated until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.-Foundation...
in 1907.
In 1910, Robinson was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and spent his time between the torpedo school HMS Vernon, the depot ship HMS Thames
HMS Thames (1885)
HMS Thames was a Mersey class second class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. She later served in the South African Navy under the name SATS General Botha as a training vessel.-Royal Navy:...
, the battleship HMS Blenheim
HMS Blenheim (1890)
HMS Blenheim was a Blake class first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890–1926.Launched 5 July 1890, she displaced 9,150 tons and her steel hull measured 375 feet and 65 feet with turning 2 propellers giving a top speed of...
and the cruiser HMS Amethyst
HMS Amethyst (1903)
HMS Amethyst was a third-class protected cruiser of the Topaze class of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1904, served during World War I at the Dardanelles and Gallipoli, in the Mediterranean and the South Atlantic...
on active service. In 1913, he married Edith Gladys Cordeux, with whom he had three children. Robinson was slightly injured in a train accident shortly after his wedding, but soon recovered and was dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
at the outbreak of the First World War on board the old battleship HMS Vengeance
HMS Vengeance (1899)
HMS Vengeance was a Royal Navy predreadnought battleship of the Canopus class.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Vengeance was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 23 August 1898 and launched on 25 July 1899. Her completion was delayed by damage to the fitting-out dock, and she was not...
.
The Gallipoli campaign and the Victoria Cross
John de Robeck
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Michael de Robeck, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG, GCVO was an admiral in the British Royal Navy who commanded the Allied naval force in the Dardanelles during World War I....
, to prepare an assault on the Turkish gun battery at Orkanieh (also known as Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
' Tomb), a position between Kum Kale and Yeni Shehr on the southern shore of the Dardanelles. This position had withstood fire from the battleships of the Allied fleet during the preceding weeks
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
. Robinson was suggested as the leader of a commando force of sailors and Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
who were tasked with destroying the battery and withdrawing in good order on 26 February.
HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913)
HMS Queen Elizabeth was the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth-class of dreadnought battleships, named in honour of Elizabeth I of England. She saw service in both World Wars...
offshore.
The E15 mission
Robinson volunteered in April for an even more dangerous mission, following the Turkish capture of the grounded submarine HMS E15
HMS E15
HMS E15 was an E-class submarine of the Royal Navy, commissioned in 1914.- Service history :During World War I, E15 served in the Mediterranean, participating in the Gallipoli Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. On 16 April 1915, under the command of Lieutenant Commander T.S...
. All efforts to destroy this craft had so far failed and it was considered vital for naval morale that the submarine not be allowed to remain in Turkish hands. Robinson took command of two picket boats from the battleships HMS Triumph
HMS Triumph (1903)
HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...
and HMS Majestic
HMS Majestic (1895)
HMS Majestic was a Majestic-class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Majestic was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 5 February 1894 and launched on 31 January 1895...
, each armed with two torpedoes mounted on the gunwales in dropping gear, and entered the Dardanelles under cover of darkness on 18 April. Caught in a blaze of searchlights, and under heavy fire from the Turkish artillery and machine guns, both boats miraculously arrived unscathed. A carelessly-directed Turkish searchlight briefly illuminated E15. The boat from HMS Majestic under the command of Lt. Goodwin seized the opportunity and attacked. The first torpedo missed, and seconds later the boat was struck by a shell that blew away much of her stern, mortally wounding one of her crew and causing her to sink. Undeterred, Goodwin went in again and scored a direct hit with his second torpedo, just forward of the conning tower, wrecking the grounded submarine.
Later war service
In August, Robinson was sent to Anzac CoveAnzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
as a naval liaison officer and on his second day there, was badly wounded near the front line, forcing his evacuation to England, where King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
presented him with his medal at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. Returned to the Mediterranean in December 1915 following his recuperation, he took over the coastal monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
HMS M21
HMS M21
HMS M21 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. After service in the Mediterranean and the Dover Patrol, she struck a mine off Ostend in January 1918 and sank off Dover.-Design:...
, in which he shelled Turkish positions throughout Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and was awarded another mention in dispatches and the Egyptian Order of the Nile
Order of the Nile
The Order of the Nile is Egypt's highest state honor. The award was instituted in 1915 by Sultan Hussein Kamel to be awarded by Egypt for exceptional services to the nation...
, 4th Class. Returning to England in the summer of 1917, he narrowly missed selection for Keyes's operations against Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge Raid
The Zeebrugge Raid, which took place on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the British Royal Navy to neutralize the key Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge...
and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
owing to his war wounds, and instead trained crews of coastal torpedo boats, a role which led to a distant posting in the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, fighting the Bolshevik forces along the Russian coastline. Robinson commanded a squadron of coastal torpedo boats in the Caspian and forced the surrender of several enemy forts through aggressive tactics. These achievements would later win him the Imperial Russian Order of St. Anne
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
, 2nd Class. His most notable achievement at this time was leading a small coastal motor boat inside the harbour of Fort Alexandrovsk, where he sank a barge and prompted a mass surrender from the garrison.
Peacetime and Second World War service
HMS Iron Duke (1912)
HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, including at the Battle of Jutland...
. Robinson then served in a number of training establishments and dockyards, as well as a brief stint with the Far East Fleet, during which he received the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
for his services. In 1925, he was inducted into the Freemasons and remained a prominent member of the Navy Lodge for the rest of his life. The organisation still commemorates him in their publications. He retired at age 51 in 1933 as a rear-admiral, but when the Second World War broke out, Robinson immediately offered his services and for three years, commanded convoys across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. For this service, he was later presented with the Norwegian King Haakon VII's Freedom Cross
Norwegian orders and medals
This is a list of Norwegian orders and medals, in order of precedence. This list contains all medals approved for wearing on a Norwegian military uniform in ranked order.- Awarded by or approved by H.M. the King of Norway :# War Cross with sword...
. Eventually a bout of ill-health caused by a combination of the strain of long service, his age, and the death of his son, Midshipman Edward Cordeaux Robinson, in the sinking of the cruiser HMS Neptune
HMS Neptune (20)
HMS Neptune was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy during World War II.Neptune was the fourth ship of its class and was the ninth Royal Navy vessel to carry the name...
in December 1941, prompted a second retirement in 1942.
Robinson settled in the village of Langrish
Langrish
Langrish is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.7 miles west of Petersfield, on the A272 road.The nearest main railway station is Petersfield, 2.3 miles east of the village....
, near Petersfield
Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. The town is situated on the...
in east Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. He died peacefully at Haslar Naval Hospital, Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, on 20 August 1965 and was laid to rest at St John's, the village church he had served for 20 years as warden. For unknown reasons, his grave was without a headstone until 1998, although a large plaque to him was dedicated by his sister in 1969 and surmounts the altar. Following investigations by the Naval VC Association, his grave was discovered and a Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
headstone erected. At the dedication ceremony, attended by over 150 friends, relatives, Masons and servicemen, Admiral Derek Reffell
Derek Reffell
Admiral Sir Derek Roy Reffell KCB is a former Governor of Gibraltar.-Naval career:Educated at Culford School, Reffell entered the Royal Navy, qualified as a Navigating Officer in 1954 and progressed through the ranks: he commanded the frigate, HMS Sirius, from her launch in 1966, and served as...
gave the eulogy which stated: "The admiral was a hero, but more importantly he was a naval man from the finest mould. Now at last we can accord him the dignity he deserves."