Robert arrived in France on the 25th December 1914. He was commanding No 8 Sanitary Section at the time he died. Robert's obituary is recorded in the Polytechnic Magazine dated October 1918, it reads "It is with deep regret we have to record the death of Captain Robert Jacobs, RAMC, an old Poly Student,, who died in France on July 20th 1918, from wounds cause by an enemy bomb, which fell upon his billet. Jacob joined the Colours on the second day of the war as a private in the City of London Sanitary Company, and in the extraordinarily short space of ten months had risen to the rank of Capt, and was officer commanding a sanitary section of the BEF. He went to the Front on Christmas Eve, 1914, and had been there ever since. His knowledge of bacteriology, and his inventive genius quickly brought him honours and distinction. He was twice mentioned in despatches, and on two occasions was personally congratulated by Sir Douglas Haig. His work was recently referred to in an article in The Times, and his many lectures in Paris appeared in The Medical Bulletin. The following is an extract from a letter received by his mother from Major-General H N Thompson, Director of Medical Services:- "He had become famous in the Army on account of his inventive powers, and his aptitude for teaching. He was an invaluable man at the Army R.A.M.C. School, and it will be very hard to make good his loss. To me, personally, he was an advisor and friend. He recently accompanied me on a mission to Paris, to demonstrate the model of the disinfector invented by him, and which bears his name. He particularly interested the Americans, and they have adopted his 'dry heat' principle of disinfection in their armies. His Sanitary Section has always been thought here the model of what such a unit ought to be, and he will be deeply regretted by hundreds of officers and men who have been his pupils, and who have profited by his knowledge and skill. I twice recently put forward your son's name in the honours list, and I feel certain he would have been awarded a distinction in the next Gazette." " [Information and photograph courtesy of the University of Westminster Archive Services] Robert was the son of James and Ellen Jacobs of "Ashburnham," Whitefields Road, Solihull, Warwickshire.