Colin McMillan has provided the following:
Robert Rogers was born about 1895 in Morpeth. In the 1901 census he was 6-years old and living with his family at 3 Stanley Terrace, Morpeth. The head of the family was his father, 46-year old John Rogers who was married to Elizabeth who was two years younger. Robert’s siblings were his older brothers William, 18 and John, 8. He also had a younger sister, Elizabeth who was 3. John worked as an iron founder and would have been employed by Swinney Brothers whose iron foundry was adjacent to their house and who had had Stanley Terrace built for its employees. Robert’s oldest brother, William was a mechanical engineer and possibly also worked for Swinney’s. The mother was not employed and Robert and the younger siblings were still at school.
Ten years later at the time of the 1911 census, the family were still at 3 Stanley Terrace but changes had taken place: William is no longer with them but they have been joined by Margaret Rogers, 25, who is described as “daughter, single, dressmaker, worker, born in Morpeth”. (Could it be that she was elsewhere during the earlier census?). Jack (formerly John in the 1901 census) is an engineer pattern maker and Robert is, like his father, an iron founder. The youngest child, (like her mother shown as Elizabith – with an “i”), is still at school.
Robert was in the Royal Engineers. The CWGC have him as Sapper, 457709 of 478th Field Company. He died on 24 November 1918 aged 24, nearly two weeks after the Armistice. He is remembered with honour at The Solesmes British Cemetery.
Robert Rogers is remembered in Morpeth on M17.01, M17.02, M17.09, M17.18 and M17.29 /a>
