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It is likely that Fred Robinson could have easily avoided service in the armed forces during the First World War. A childhood sledging accident had left him with a weakened left leg and possibly a limp. Nevertheless, on 14th August 1914 he enlisted into a Territorial unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps in Leeds.
Fred was the second son of Mark and Caroline Robinson. His father was a cabinet maker who manufactured a famous therapeutic chair at his workshop at the junction of Cowpasture Road and Springs Lane, Ilkley. The family home was a large house called 'Rocklands' further up Cowpasture Road which Caroline Robinson ran as a guest house. Fred was a pupil at Ilkley Grammar School and upon completion of his education was employed as a cashier at Garnett and Sons, paper manufacturers in Otley. He was also very much involved with local clubs and societies and was the secretary of Ilkley Rugby Club and the towns Rifle Club.
Within a few weeks of enlisting in the RAMC Fred was posted to France and in November 1914 joined the 7th Casualty Clearing Station in a clerical role. In a letter home Fred described the arduous work of dealing with thousands of badly wounded men especially after an offensive. He also recounted with anger the bombing of the hospital by German bombers and added his personal frustration at being unable to "..take up a rifle and have a go at them".
Promoted to the rank of sergeant in April 1916 he remained with the 7th CCS until mid March 1917 when he was diagnosed with osteomyelitis of the left femur. An infection of the bone it seems almost certain that its onset was related to his childhood sledging accident. For Fred this may have been a recurring and chronic condition which, in the days before the advent of antibiotics, was difficult to treat. Transferred to the 7th General Hospital at St Omer his condition deteriorated and the subsequent onset of gangrene meant that the amputation of his left leg was the only treatment. Despite this radical surgery Fred failed to respond and he died on 18th April 1917. Frederick is remembered on our war memorial in Ilkley.
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