Small, Robert (Lance Sergeant, b.1860 - d.1929) Accession Number: PR06341

Description

Collection relating to the Sudan war service of Lance Sergeant Robert (Bob) Small, during 1885. On 18 February 1885, aged 25 years, Bob Small enlisted in the New South Wales Contingent and was allocated service number 88, with the 4th Company of Infantry. The collection includes Bob Small’s diary, which is a highly descriptive account of his Sudan service. The pages are numbered one to 88, with the first page noting his training at Victoria Barracks, followed by embarkation from Circular Quay, Sydney, on 3 March 1885. Bob Small sailed with an infantry battalion of 522 men and 24 officers, and an artillery battery of 212 men; he writes ‘I may say that the great enthusiasm among the people on our ship leaving was such as I never before witnessed in fact no soldier could expect more’.

The NSW contingent arrived at Sudan’s Red Sea port of Suakin on 29 March 1885. Shortly after arriving they marched as part of a large square formation for Tamai, a village about 30 kilometres inland: Small’s account on page 33 of his diary reads ‘… We marched with between 9 and 10 thousand fighting men and marched in Square, arriving within 2 miles of Tamai on Thursday at 5pm. Such a hard days march. We camped on a rocky hill and I was glad to lie down on the hard stones …’ Over a couple of days, the march was marked only by small battles; and the Australians, at the rear of the square, experienced little action, with guard duty their predominant engagement. The excitement among the soldiers that Small initially described on the opening page of his diary, was not realised.

After Tamai, the greater part of the NSW contingent worked on the railway line between Suakin and Khartoum. Not having participated in any battles, Australian deaths were few, with casualties resulting from disease rather than combat. By May 1885 the British government closed the Sudan campaign, leaving only a garrison in Suakin. The Australian contingent sailed for Sydney on 17 May 1885, arriving on 19 June. Small’s entry on Thursday 18 June reads ‘There are a few rainy clouds about but it is a nice day. I’ve seen numbers of both large and small birds flying round the ship. We were in sight of land yesterday and once also today. Last night we passed Cape Otway about 12pm. The men are all busy washing clothes and otherwise preparing for landing…’.

Interleaved in Small’s diary is a needle work sampler, reading 'When long hence mid other scenes You this token chance to see, Think of her whose fingers traced it, Think kindly, as she will of thee'. Robert Small's initials are in the lower left hand corner.

The collection also includes a letter relating to Small’s subsequent service in the Boer War. He served in South Africa with the 2nd NSW Mounted Rifles under the service number 439. At age 39 he embarked from Sydney, on 17 January 1900, and returned on 29 April 1901. The letter, headed ‘Cape Town, 26 March 1901’, is a letter of reference, written by Captain A.J. Bennett. Bennett writes ‘… As a soldier he is keen for duty, respectful, painstaking and most reliable. I have never had to find a single fault with him and to be able to say this of a man who has never been separated from me for a single day is the highest possible tribute to his worth as a soldier…’.

Details

Conflicts

• South Africa, 1899-1902 (Boer War)
• Sudan, 1885

Units

• New South Wales Contingent - Sudan
• 2nd Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse