Spong, Robert William
He entered Guys in 1911 and it was not long before he proved himself a keen sportsman as well as a keen student and gained a well deserved popularity amongst all - both medical and dental. Playing for the Hospital at Association Football he proved himself a fast and sound forward and his weight served him well. He gained his hospital blue 1911-1912 for Association Football playing several times for the United Hospitals, after which he forsook Association for the Rugby Code and when war broke out was fast becoming an adept at the game. He was also a good long-distance swimmer and 100 yards sprinter.
When war broke out he had passed the first half of his Final Dental but immediately joined the Middlesex Yeomanry, soon earning corporal's stripes and a commission. He then took a machine gun course at Grantham and was attached to M.G. Corps Cavalry in Ireland and was with them through the Irish trouble in Dublin. He then went to France where he served for some time before coming home in 1917 to take the second half of his Dental Final. He then returned to a Home Station, but owing to illness he was demobilised in October 1917. For a while he carried on his dental work, but feeling he was fit enough he obtained a Dental Commission in the RAF with which force he was serving up to the time of his death. In all his actions - work and sport - he was a typical Guy's man and will be generally missed by all who knew him. Guy's Hospital Reports Vol.LXX, War Memorial Number
Biographical
| Surname(s) | Spong |
|---|---|
| First name(s) | Robert William |
| Family details | Son of H. G. Spong, 4 Wilson Grove, Southsea |
| Previous education | Portsmouth Municipal College |
| College | Guy's Hospital |
| Dates at college | 1910-1914; 1917- |
| Dept / course | LDS |
| Qualifications | LDS 1917 |
| Military unit | Royal Air Force |
| Date enlisted | Outbreak of war Middlesex Yeomanry |
| War / conflict | World War One (1914-1918) |
| Campaigns | France and Flanders July to November 1916 (wounded) |
| Date of death | 30 October 1918 |
| Rank at death | Lieutenant |
| Place of death | Kent |
| Cause of death | Died in Service |
| Burial place | Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Kent |
| Commemoration(s) | Guy's Hospital Memorial |
| Sources | Guy's Hospital Medical School Records, King's College London Archives; Commonwealth War Graves Commission |