Robert Brough hailed from Rutherglen, Scotland, but was living in Queensland when he enlisted on 5 June 1915. At the time he was a furnaceman, while his later marriage certificate listed his occupation as blacksmith. Otherwise, his time in Queensland before the war is unknown. He arrived in Brisbane in mid-1913, and he returned to Brisbane after the war with his bride Elizabeth Black.
His post-war life is also unreported. The earliest confirmed address for the Brough comes from his death notice in the Brisbane Telegraph of 10 May 1954, which lists him as living at Bell St, Windsor. Elizabeth was still living at the same address in 1967 when she wrote to the Department of Army in Melbourne regarding Brough’s medals.
Brough played for an AIF eleven against Corinthians on 26 June 1915, playing as a back as the two teams eked out a 2-all draw. The Daily Standard of 3 July, 1915 stated, “Brough, at full-back, showed out prominently in defence.” Whether Brough played locally before enlisting is unknown, with all but a handful of the 60 teams in Brisbane in 1914 having their line-ups published in the newspapers.
Brough had enlisted on 5 June, and was allocated to the 9th Battalion. He departed Australia in August, but it is unknown whether he arrived in Gallipoli. His record states he joined his unit on 18 November 1918, but the location of Anzac (Cove) was scrubbed out and Mudros, on the island of Lemnos, written instead. His record then jumps forward to Alexandria in January and then onto April when he was sent to Marseilles. In France, Brough was soon sick with scabies, and did not recover until mid-May 1917. The same year he was promoted to Lance Corporal in September but requested demotion to Private two months later.
Brough earned leave in January 1918, when he went to Rutherglen to marry Elizabeth Black. The couple went on to have two children after the war. He was soon back in action, but the final year of the war saw Brough first suffer from influenza in mid-1918, before receiving a gunshot wound to the thigh in August. He was evacuated to England and was sent back to Australia in December.
Brough and Elizabeth cannot be easily tracked after the war. His brothers Thomas and David emigrated to Brisbane in the coming years. David was visible in the 1930s with a series of personal tragedies, including the death of his son in 1931, and his own untimely death due to a workplace accident in 1937. Robert, though, was not even mentioned in David’s funeral notices.
Robert Brough was a grandfather when he passed away in 1954. His funeral was held at the Mt Thompson Crematorium.