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Having three Charles Alexander Robson's in a row leads to confusion in explanations - so here I am referring to the elusive father, the son who allegedly served in the Second Boer War and was definitely killed in WW1 having earned a DCM and the grandson who was killed in WW2 having earned an MC - hope that is clear!

Sorry Dave - that 1881 Census record you have listed is not father & son.

This is an extract from the 1921 Census showing, without a shadow of doubt, the grandson born in India and killed in WW2 - note the father killed and his mother was called Alice Helena (nee Heaver)

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Jo is it possible to post the photo(s) of the medal and tell us what is engraved round the rim - there should be his name, regiment (abbreviated) & regimental number.

On this site If you go to the RIF under Unit Info you will see both battalions served in the Second Boer War and there are nearly 5,000 attached records which sounds like pretty comprehensive coverage to me - the only Robson listed is a J Robson Regimental number 5337 - his attestation papers and service records can be found on Find My Past and he is definitely not your man, born about 1873 albeit in Newcastle under Tyne, full name John Joseph Robson. Because he was in the RIF at the time of the Second Boer War does not mean he served in SA, some men always got left at home.

David.

Thanks, I've seen the posts on the Great War forum and will have a search for her tree on Ancestry. I've asked to see the photo, but I'm not sure how good it is! Having the 3 Charles Alexander Robsons certainly makes it confusing, particularly when they swap names around and don't appear to use their real names!

The 1921 census is definitely them

My friend is certain the Boer war medal belonged to the Charles Robson who died in 1917, that's the info I'm going on as to the fact that he served in the Boer war

I have had no luck pertaining to a medal attributed to CAB Robson for service in the Boer War. I have trawled the medal rolls for the RIF. As David has mentioned, a photo of the medal would be very beneficial if possible. With regard to his DCM award, his Army service number was 9776. Having checked that number against the regiments issue date, it would seem number 9776 would have Charles Alexander joining the RIF in January 1907. So, it could be possible that he may have served in another regiment before the Irish Fusiliers. As per my previous post, he had over 17 years in the ranks. Where he was serving before 1907 is proving quite a conundrum.

It definitely is a conundrum! I suspected he wasn't always with the RIF after researching them a little, non-Irish serving with them seemed to be drafted in to fill the ranks as opposed to directly recruited. Thank you for taking the time to find the likely date he joined the RIF, They married in Gravesend, where his wife was born. As that was the year before he moved to the RIF, maybe there's a hint to who he served with? I'm determined not to be beaten by this family!
Would the number be carried through his career? I was informed that these were regimental numbers as opposed to service numbers as we have now, but I don't know an awful lot about how it worked pre WW1

How likely is it that he could have changed from Navy to Army? Just pondering the Kent angle...

Have now found him and family on the 1911 Census residing with the 1st Battalion RIF in St Lucia Barracks, Bordon, Hampshire.

He is listed as Alexander Robson, Sergeant, age 30, born in Newcastle, Northumberland. His wife and two daughters (Charles the grandson was born after 1911) appear on a later page amongst the other wives and children.

Firstly, Cumbrianangel’s born in Kent appears to be a load of malarky.

Secondly, he was known in the RIF as Alexander (perhaps he was commonly called that at home to differentiate him from his father). We only ever look at the one document on the CWGC site – the one Dave has posted an extract from. But in this case there are four others and you can see the transition of the understanding of his true name from A. to C.A. to the Charles A. B. that appears on the headstone. The fourth document deals with the epitaph “Rest in Peace Our Dear One” and this was obviously supplied by Alice (his wife) rather than his father. So has Alice or a CWGC clerk led us up the garden path by not getting his father’s name correct, after all, as Jo originally said, “he does not seem to have existed” and as far as I am aware the only source of his name as Charles Alexander Burleigh, exactly the same as his son's, is the CWGC record.

Then we come to DoB – if we accept he is the Second Lt on Dave’s list, his DoB was 1 November 1879 (or is it 1878?) His age of 30 on the 1911 Census makes him born between 1 April 1880 & 2 April 1881, the CWGC age at death of 36 makes him born between 9 November 1880 and 8 November 1881. One could construe this as meaning he was born between 9 November 1880 and 2 April 1881 and he is not the Second Lt on Dave’s list. However, errors regarding age and DoB are all too common in military records which in effect all three variations come from. One possible “error” is that he suddenly and “miraculously” grew a bit older when he attested.

I had a look at Cumbrianangel's tree and came to the conclusion that we already have more info than her.
He lists his father as Charles Alexander Burleigh Robson on his marriage certificate (deceased) and his profession as "fitter". The address given on the certificate for them both is 11 Brunswick Road, Milton, Gravesend. In 1901 this is occupied by some of his future wife's family. 2 doors down there is a family with the surname of Burleigh. Maybe coincidence? I am highly suspicious that CAB Robson senior doesn't exist at all and that the name "our" CAB Robson was born under a different name.
I dont know if the fact that he wasn't in barracks in 1906 when he married has any relevance; if he joined the RIF in 1907 maybe there was a gap in his service?