Robert was born on 12th Nov 1884 in Amington. In 1901 he was working in the coal mines as a pony driver. He was working as a carter when he joined the Grenadier Guards in 1905. He would have been recalled early in the war and on 12th Sep 1914 the Tamworth Herald reported that he had joined the Army.

Thrown into the thick of things from the outset, he was among the many experienced soldiers who were taken prisoner by the Germans in the first few months of the war. The Tamworth Herald reported on 14th November 1914:

“Mrs Wood, of 2 School Street, Glascote, has received intimation that her husband, Private Robert Wood, 12214, 1st Grenadier Guards, is a prisoner at Wahn, Schiesyplatz, Germany. He says he is safe and well, but was captured on October 24, “with a lot more of our fellows.”

An updated record was added by the Herald on 31st July 1915:

“Private Robert Wood, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards — 5789 E. Gefangenenlager, Wahn (Rhld), Field 2, Resthaus B.K. [His wife lives at Glascote].”

Robert survived his imprisonment. In 1939 he was living at 1 School Street and was working as a canal cargoman carrying coal.