219025, Lieutenant, No.3 Company. 6th Battalion, Grenadier Guards.
Killed In Action on the 10th September 1943 aged 22.
Robert was the son of Major Frederick & Betty Drake.
On the 9th September 1943 the 6th Battalion of the Grenadier Guards tool part in the Allied landings at Salerno in Italy. One the Grenadiers had formed in the assembly area they were ordered to advance and deepen the bridgehead in the direction of Battipaglia. The Grenadiers faced the might of the German 16th Panzer Division and resistance was intense.
Through the day and night No.3 Company fought it's way forward, eventually reaching a network of lanes north of Verdesca where a hail of bullets and hand-grenades brought the advance to an abrupt halt. At dawn the company again attempted to advance and became involved with a group of German tanks and infantry in half-tracks. It was at this point, whilst at the head of his platoon, that Robert Drake was killed outright.
Robert is buried in Salerno War Cemetery War Cemetery, Italy. (2.C.27)