{{Short description|English soldier and big game hunter}} {{Infobox person | name = F. Russell Roberts | image = Frederick Russell Roberts.png | birth_name = Frederick Villeneuve Russell Roberts | birth_date = 1 January 1873 | birth_place = Notting Hill | death_date = 1956 | death_place = Hampshire | occupation = Wildlife photographer | spouse = {{Marriage|Ellen Webber|1909}} }}
Captain '''Frederick Villeneuve Russell Roberts''' (1 January 1873 – 1956) was an English soldier, big game hunter and wildlife photographer who served as secretary of the animal welfare organization Our Dumb Friends' League.
==Life==
Roberts was born on 1 January 1873 and attended Rugby School.<ref name="Beachcroft 1962">{{cite book |last=Beachcroft |first=S. P. |date=1962 |title=Clifton College Register, 1862 to 1962 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8NKAAAAYAAJ |publisher=J. W. Arrowsmith |page=28}}</ref><ref name="Michell 1901">{{cite book |last=Michell |first=A. T. |date=1901 |title=Rugby School Register|url=https://archive.org/details/rugbyschoolregis03rugbuoft/page/150/mode/2up |publisher=A. J. Lawrence |page=150}}</ref> He was the second son of Edward Russell Roberts.<ref name="Michell 1901"/> He served as Captain of 10th Royal Fusiliers during World War I.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000560%2F19160229&page=12|title=Muffins Saves His Captain's Life|newspaper=The Daily Mirror |date=February 29, 1916|page=12}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2025|title=Captain Frederick Russell-Roberts The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1082656|website=The National Archives|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 26, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226170239/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1082656|url-status=live}}</ref> Roberts married Ellen Webber in 1909. Their son was born in 1913.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0002285%2F19130726&page=4|title=Births, Marriages and Deaths|newspaper=The Middlesex & Buckinghamshire Advertiser |date=July 26, 1913|page=4}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
In January 1916 he received severe wounds in the German trenches to his legs and lungs. He is described as having crawled in pain a mile and half to an Ambulance Field Hospital.<ref name="Rickmansworth">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000756%2F19160129&page=8 |title=Rickmansworth: Captain F. Russell Roberts Wounded|newspaper=The Hertfordshire Mercury |date=January 29, 1916|page=8}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In February 1916, Roberts sustained wounds from an exploding bomb. He was saved by Private Mauffinades who carried him back to the British trenches.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001727%2F19160228&page=8 |title=Story of British Bravory|newspaper=East Anglian Daily Times |date=February 28, 1916|page=8}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="Birmingham Gazette">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0000669%2F19160228&page=6 |title=The Night Bombers: Thrilling Story of British Bravery|newspaper=Birmingham Gazette |date=February 28, 1916|page=6}} {{subscription required}}</ref> His injuries were so severe that he lost a leg.<ref name="The Tatler">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001852%2F19250325&page=12 |title=Mr. F. Russell Roberts, M.C.|newspaper=The Tatler |date=March 25, 1925|page=12}} {{subscription required}}</ref> In 1917, Roberts was Adjutant of the St. Dunstan's Hostel for Soldiers and Sailors Blinded in the War.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001852%2F19170808&page=42 |title=Captain and Mrs. Russell Roberts|newspaper=The Tatler |date=August 8, 1917|page=42}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
Roberts was appointed secretary of Our Dumb Friends' League on the on 4 January 1922 for a probation period on a salary of £500 a year.<ref name="The Daily News">{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0003212%2F19250205&page=9 |title=Dumb Friends League|newspaper= The Daily News|date=February 5, 1925|page=9}} {{subscription required}}</ref> His position was made permanent in April 1923 and his annual salary was raised to £600.<ref name="The Daily News"/> Roberts resided in Rickmansworth.<ref name="Rickmansworth"/>
He was an ardent fisherman and trained his dog to retrieve fish that he had caught.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=1949-11-21 |title=Fish Retriever |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9kwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Captain+F.+Russell+Roberts%22&pg=PA148 |magazine=LIFE}}</ref>
==Big game photography==
Roberts was a big game hunter and photographer who wrote articles for ''Country Life'' and ''Wild Life''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0001578%2F19140801&page=29 |title=African Big Game|newspaper= The London Illustrated News|date=August 1, 1914|page=29}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F9900007%2F19181102&page=35|title=Nature's Camoflauge|newspaper=Country Life|date=November 2, 1918|page=377}} {{subscription required}}</ref> He attended a big-game shooting expedition at the French Senegambia in January 1910.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F9900007%2F19100129&page=88 |title=F. Russell Roberts|newspaper=Country Life |date=January 29, 1910|page=10}} {{subscription required}}</ref> He was described as one of the pioneers of big game photography.<ref name="The Tatler"/>
==Selected publications==
*{{cite journal|year=1913|title=Sport on the Senegambian Rivers|journal=Country Life|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_country-life_1913-02-15_33_841/page/228/mode/2up|volume=33|issue=841|pages=229–231}} *{{cite journal|year=1914|title=The Black Rhinoceros|journal=Wild Life|url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/141/1412725317.pdf|volume=5|issue=3|pages=59–65}}
==References== {{Reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, F. Russell}}
Category:1873 births Category:1956 deaths Category:Blue Cross workers Category:English animal welfare workers Category:English hunters Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Category:British nature photographers Category:Royal Fusiliers officers Category:People educated at Rugby School