BACKGROUND

Corkman Robert Stanton followed in his father's footsteps and studied Law at Trinity College, Dublin. He won the prestigious Trinity Gold Medal and graduated in 1907 aged 21. Robert returned to Cork where he spent five years working in his father's legal practice.

A dutiful son, Robert obeyed his father's wishes and did not marry the girl he loved, on the grounds that, 'Such a marriage would not be sound from a health point of view'. However, Robert did leave the firm and practiced Law in Clones between 1912 - 14.

Trinity had its own army Officer Training Corps, of which Robert was a member. In September 1914, Robert received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant of the 6th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Attached to the 10th Irish Division, Robert's Battalion were dispatched to the Dardanelles.

The 6th Battalion of The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was attached to the 30th Infantry Brigade of the 10th (Irish) Division. This was one of the new Divisions comprised of volunteers who joined the Service Battalions of the regular Irish Regiments.

Military training of the time was woefully insufficient to prepare the men for what they faced. On the 27th of June 1915, the 10th (Irish) Division received orders to 'hold itself in readiness for service in the Dardanelles.'

On the 5th of July 1915, as the 10th (Irish) Division set sail from England, some of the men in the ranks sang 'God Save Ireland.' Bad planning had resulted in the Division losing some of its fighting units before departure. The Irish Division called at Malta and Alexandria before arriving at Mudros Harbour on the Island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea.

The Dublin Fusiliers had already been involved in heavy fighting on the 25th of April at Cape Helles at the mouth of the Dardanelles.

This is where the famous Collier ship, The River Clyde, landed the Dublins, Munsters and the Hampshires on the beaches at Cape Helles. The tragic slaughter at Helles ended in stalemate and General Sir Ian Hamilton decided to land elsewhere on the peninsula, choosing Suvla Bay.

After almost a month at sea, the 6th Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers arrived off the southern end of the Dardanelles peninsula from the Aegean island of Mitylene, August 6th, 1915. Early in the afternoon, the 6th Battalion of the Dubs boarded fishing trawlers and channel steamers for the final approach. At sunset, they steamed northward along the coast, passing Achi Baba and Anzac Cove.


Robert was killed in an attack within two days of landing at Sulva Bay and his body was never recovered. The woman his father refused to let him marry on the grounds of her family health died aged ninety-two, having never married.


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