2nd Lt
Robert Kelly Pollin
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 16/06/1897 |
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Place of birth: Belfast, Antrim, Ireland, United Kingdom |
General information
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Last known residence: Taunton Avenue, Belfast, Antrim, Ireland, United Kingdom |
Army information
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Country: England, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Second Lieutenant |
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Units: — Royal Irish Rifles, 1st Bn. (Attached) — Royal Irish Rifles, 4th Bn. |
Information about death
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Date of death: 31/07/1917 |
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Place of death: Westhoek, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 20 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: 40E |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Last known residence | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Robert (Bob) Kelly Pollin, a former solicitor's apprentice, was born on 16 June 1897 at Belfast, Antrim, Ireland. He lived at “Albertville”, Taunton Avenue with the eldest son of James Moore and Martha Corbett. On 8th January 1916 Robert enlisted at Belfast City Hall and three days joined the 19th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles at Newcastle, County Down, Ireland. Here he trained as an officer cadet. He was discharged from the 19th Battalion when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. Before the attacks in the summer of 1917, he was attached to the 1st Battalion, part of the 25th Brigade, of the 8th Division.
On 31 July 1917 the 8th Division was at Hooge, occupying the front line in the running from Railway Wood to Zouave Wood. That day they took part on Battle of Pilckem Ridge. The 8th Division attacked with 23rd and 24th Brigade and managed to capture their objective on Westhoek Ridge. The 25th Brigade was in support and had to pass through the other Brigade to capture the final objective. This was a line running from a post west of Zonnebeke to the western edge of Polygon Wood.
At 6 a.m. the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles passed along the area that had been captured by the other Brigades at, arriving at the Westhoek Area at about 8:30 a.m. When they attacked in the direction of Hanebeek Wood, the battalion was met with heavy machinegun and sniper fire, causing heavy casualties. It was found to impossible to advance and the men consolidate their positions. The total casualties of this failed attack were 36 officers and men killed, 152 wounded and 18 missing.
Robert Kelly Pollin was killed on June 31st, 1917. His remains were not recovered or identified after the war. Second Lieutenant Pollin has no known grave and is remembered on panel 40 of the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. After the war, the name of the Pollin family home on Taunton Avenue was changed to “Westhoek”, a reference to the hamlet near which Second Lieutenant Pollin was killed.
In 2009, Robin McBride was jogging along the Annalong River, just 13 kilometres south of Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Here noticed a large headstone-on the riverbed, inscribed with Robert Kelly Pollin’s name. This chance discovery spurred on Robin wife, BBC reporter Julie McCullough, to recover the stone and to research Pollin’s story. She documented this journey for the BBC Newsline Special, "The Soldier and the Stone", with aired on BBC One in the summer of 2010. McCullough found Pollin’s living relatives and made a trip to Belgium to visit the place where Second Lieutenant Pollin was killed. On 31 May 2010 the Pollin family donated the stone to the Passchendaele Museum.
On 31 July 1917 the 8th Division was at Hooge, occupying the front line in the running from Railway Wood to Zouave Wood. That day they took part on Battle of Pilckem Ridge. The 8th Division attacked with 23rd and 24th Brigade and managed to capture their objective on Westhoek Ridge. The 25th Brigade was in support and had to pass through the other Brigade to capture the final objective. This was a line running from a post west of Zonnebeke to the western edge of Polygon Wood.
At 6 a.m. the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rifles passed along the area that had been captured by the other Brigades at, arriving at the Westhoek Area at about 8:30 a.m. When they attacked in the direction of Hanebeek Wood, the battalion was met with heavy machinegun and sniper fire, causing heavy casualties. It was found to impossible to advance and the men consolidate their positions. The total casualties of this failed attack were 36 officers and men killed, 152 wounded and 18 missing.
Robert Kelly Pollin was killed on June 31st, 1917. His remains were not recovered or identified after the war. Second Lieutenant Pollin has no known grave and is remembered on panel 40 of the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. After the war, the name of the Pollin family home on Taunton Avenue was changed to “Westhoek”, a reference to the hamlet near which Second Lieutenant Pollin was killed.
In 2009, Robin McBride was jogging along the Annalong River, just 13 kilometres south of Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Here noticed a large headstone-on the riverbed, inscribed with Robert Kelly Pollin’s name. This chance discovery spurred on Robin wife, BBC reporter Julie McCullough, to recover the stone and to research Pollin’s story. She documented this journey for the BBC Newsline Special, "The Soldier and the Stone", with aired on BBC One in the summer of 2010. McCullough found Pollin’s living relatives and made a trip to Belgium to visit the place where Second Lieutenant Pollin was killed. On 31 May 2010 the Pollin family donated the stone to the Passchendaele Museum.
Sources 4
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1 Battalion Royal Irish Rifles (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), British Army war diaries 1914-1922, WO 95/2502/3). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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107 Infantry Brigade (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), British Army war diaries 1914-1922, WO 95/2502/1). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used |
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Robert Kelly Pollin biography, BBC Newsline, 29.07.2009 http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsline/content/articles/2009/07/16/soldier_biography_feature.shtml Sources used |
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The Soldier and The Stone (BBC News, 31.07.2009). https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsline/soldier_and_stone_index.shtml Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1624504 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=9ca95ca3-94c0-4fdd-93a0-f2549420146d |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3545801 |