The dark haired soldier stood on the deck of HMAT Ulysses as it steamed into the harbour at Fremantle in Western Australia, on the afternoon of 7 March 1916. He had travelled further around the continent than he had expected after he had emigrated from Scotland four years before. Robert Hood was born in Saltcoats in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1887. It was a small coastal village, just north east of Ireland, near the Isle of Arran. His parents had both died, and he had left brothers and sisters at home to try out the prospects in Australia.

We'd gather round the flagpole
On every Monday morn,
And sing with childish fervour
Of King and Country and Call.

We knitted socks for soldiers
And put our names in the toes
And prayed "our boys" would return
After stalling the foreign foes.

The bus trip into High school
Was always full of events
Like when the jolly wheel flew off
Or we were blinded by the dust.

The concerts and the tennis
The football and pie-nights
Kept people in high spirits
Even some in fights.