William Kirby and Brenda McMahon have submitted the following:-
Robert was the son of Robert (died 1919) and Mary Jane (nee Muse) and was born at Newcastle on June 1st 1893. The couple were married at Newcastle in the winter of 1887.They had 12 children together but sadly 4 died.
His siblings were Albert (died aged 18 months, Mary, Esther, Henry, Isabella, William (died as an infant), Archibald (died aged 13 months), Ethel, Catherine and John William.
In 1901 the family living at 17 Wilkie Street, seemed to be quite well off. Father Robert was a plumber who employed men. They were also able to afford a servant.
Robert first joined the Navy on July 6th 1910 where he served as a boy sailor on HMS Ganges 11. His joining up papers show him to be 5’5” tall. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes with a fresh complexion. Throughout his service his character is noted as being very good. Like his father his trade was a plumber.
C34 was built by Chatham Dockyard for the Royal Navy. She was laid down on 29 March 1909 and was commissioned on 17 September 1910. In 1915 C34 had moved to Harwich and was employed on ‘U-Boat Trap’ patrols in the North Sea. The U-Boat Trap was an attempt to disrupt U-Boats then causing mayhem in the North Sea. It worked by having a bait vessel, usually an armed trawler, towing a submerged submarine. When challenged by a U-Boat, the trawler would transmit orders to the submarine which would slip its tow and attempt to torpedo the U-Boat. On 24th July 1917, C34 was caught on the surface off Fair Isle in Shetland by U-52 and was sunk by gunfire. There was only one survivor, Leading Rating John Capes, who was rescued by U-52 and spent the rest of the war in a German POW camp.
Robert's body was never recovered.
Robert's Pension Record Cards state his mother was living at 45 Rosedale Terrace, Jesmond.
Robert Taylor Gee is remembered at Jesmond on J1.46