Robert Alexander Wilson

Engine Room Artificer

Conflict:

WW2

Additional Information:

Son of Robert Henry and Agnes Elizabeth Wilson; husband of Gertrude Mary Doreen Wilson, of Sandringham, Auckland City.

References:

CWGC

NZ WAR GRAVES

Biographical Notes:

“HMNZS Leander was to see more dramatic action in the Pacific War. In July 1943, fighting alongside US ships, the cruiser confronted a Japanese force in the night-time Battle of Kolombangara. After helping to destroy a Japanese cruiser, the New Zealand vessel was hit hard by one of the enemy's feared ‘Long Lance’ torpedoes. The crew performed superbly to save their ship, but 26 seamen were killed. Eventually sent to America for repairs, the Leander would never fight under the New Zealand ensign again.”

[extract from HMNZS Leander, nzhistory.govt.nz/war/hmnzs-leander]

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Casualty

Service Number:

6103

Name:

Robert Alexander Wilson

Rank:

Engine Room Artificer

Date of Birth:

Not known

Date of Enlistment:

Not known

Unit:

Royal New Zealand Navy, HMNZS Leander

Casualty Details

Cause of Death:

Killed in Action

Date of Death:

13 July 1943

Day of Death:

Tuesday

Age at Death:

Conflict:

WW2

Embarkation Details

Text in italics supplied by Cenotaph Online, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cemetery

Cemetery:

Auckland (Waikumete) Cemetery

Cemetery Reference:

Prot. Naval Area C, Row 1, Grave 5.

Cemetery Location:

New Zealand