b. 16/06/1894 Glassonby, Cumberland. d. 09/08/1918 Rosieres, France.
Robert Matthew Beatham (1894-1918) was born on 16th June 1894 at Glassonby, Kirkoswald, near Penrith, Cumberland. His father, John, was a paper maker. He married Elizabeth Allison in 1885 in Penrith. Robert had nine siblings, three of whom would also die in the Great War.
Robert was educated at Maughanby School, near Penrith from 1899-1908. He worked as a farm labourer for Richard Brownrigg at Nether Haresceugh, Cumberland before emigrating to Australia with his brother, Walter, in June 1913. He was employed as a labourer in Geelong, Victoria.
Robert M Beatham VC
Beatham enlisted as a Private in the 8th Battalion (Victoria), Australian Imperial Force on 8th January 1915. He embarked on HMAT Hororata from Melbourne on 17th April 1915 for Suez but returned to Australia in August 1915 due to illness (venereal disease). After recuperating he re-enlisted and sailed again seeing one month of active service at Gallipoli before the general evacuation to Alexandria. From there he was sent to France, arriving in Marseilles on 31st March 1916. He was wounded in action for the first time on 18th August 1916, during the early stages of the Battle of the Somme, suffering a gunshot wound to the back.
After recuperation he rejoined his unit on 30 September 1917. He was wounded on the second occasion on 4th October 1917 at Broodseinde during the Battle of Passchendaele and was evacuated to England for treatment and recovery. During his sojourn in England he was found guilty of being absent without leave over the new year of 1918 and was given field punishment and a forfeit of pay.
He rejoined his unit on the Western Front in February 1918. When the great Allied offensive was launched on 8th August 1918, his unit was among those ordered to advance from Harbonnières and capture the high ground of Lihons north of Rosières. On approaching this German strong point on 9th August the 8th Battalion, its supporting tanks knocked out by heavy artillery fire, was halted by a line of machine-guns. Private Beatham’s company worked its way forward to enfilade the enemy position and, assisted by Lance Corporal W. G. Nottingham, he rushed forward and bombed the crews of four guns, killing ten men and capturing ten others. This action enabled the battalion to renew its advance. On 11th August when nearing its objective on the southern slope of Lihons it was again halted by German reinforcements. Beatham, though wounded, rushed another machine-gun and bombed and silenced it, but was riddled with bullets.
He was originally buried just forward of the Green Line in 8th Battalion’ sector. The Germans had a Casualty Clearing Station there, and it is likely he was carried there severely wounded. His remains were exhumed after the war, and he was buried in Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres, France. The VC was presented to his mother by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 8th March 1919. He is commemorated on the VC Recipients plaque in Campbell, ACT, with a display at the Australian War Memorial, with Beatham Street in Wodonga, and on the VC Memorial at Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne. He is also on the VC Memorial in Queen Victoria Building, Sydney, on the North Bondi War Memorial, with Beatham Court in Penrith, and with VC commemorative stone placed on 9th August 2018 at Castle Park, Penrith.
In addition to his VC, he was also awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal 1914-20, and Victory Medal 1914-19. The VC was owned by relatives in London until auctioned by Spink’s on 27th/28th March 1999. The location of the service medals is not known. The VC was sold to Neil Jenman, a Mackay businessman, for A$184,000. The VC and that of Blair Wark VC were held by the United Service Club in Brisbane until 2004, before both were removed to a bank for safe-keeping. The VCs went on loan to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane until February 2017 when they were loaned to the Australian War Memorial until February 2019. The VC came up for auction at Noble Numismatics of Sydney on 1st August 2025, where it was sold for a hammer price of A$495,000. The identity of the purchaser was not revealed.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
BURIAL PLACE: HEATH CEMETERY, HARBONNIERES, FRANCE.
PLOT VII, ROW J, GRAVE 13
Acknowledgements:
Kevin Brazier – Cemetery Map
Thomas Stewart – VC Medal when displayed at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Dan Thompson – Image of the VC Stone in Glassonby, Cumberland.
Samuel – Image of the reverse of the Beatham VC Medal.