Robert Wishart was born on 19 April 1886 in the Feus of Cauldhame near Luthermuir, Kincardineshire.  He was the third of three children of David Wishart, a local slater, and his wife, Helen Collie. Around 1900 Robert left home and found work as a farm servant in Fettercairn though five years later he left Scotland and headed to London, where he joined the Metropolitan Police on 19 April 1906.  Shortly before leaving Robert began a relationship with a millworker living in Logie Pert named Margaret Lindsay Johnstone, and an illegitimate daughter was born in June 1906.

On 11 February 1913, about eight years after they first met, Robert and Margaret were married in Canning Town. Robert had lived there since at least 1911, and two weeks after the wedding, a son was born at 139 Beckton Road.  At the same time, Robert resigned from the Metropolitan Police Force and began working on the docks and also as a labourer in a rubber factory.

Another son was born in 1914, and by the time the third arrived in February 1916, Robert had enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery.  By late 1916 Robert had been serving on the Western Front with “D” Battery, 150th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.  The Brigade had been part of the 30th Division, which over the summer and autumn, had seen action on the Somme, however, in January 1917 the brigade left the Division to become part of the Army Field Artillery Brigade.

During the second half of 1917 Robert was awarded the Military Medal, perhaps for actions at the Third Battle of Ypres, and on 3 December he died from the effects of mustard gas poisoning at the 47th Casualty Clearing Station.

Robert was buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery,  Poperinge, Belgium.

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