Lived at 32, Arthur Place and worked for his father, also Robert Colley, before the war as a Carter at Mill House, West Parade and received exemption from military service until October 1916 on the grounds of family hardship.  At this point, he appealed again to a military tribunal to be exempted from military service on the grounds of ill health but this was rejected, and he was conscripted and sworn in on 27^th October 1916 at the Royal Army Service Corps Depot in Bradford; his number was T/306497 Private R. Colley.  This, however, was not to last and he was soon transferred to the 18^th Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps.

Bob passed his training with the ‘Rifleman’ grade indicating he was a crackshot, as this designation means he had attained the highest possible marksmanship grade.  Like most of the army, he was quickly sent out to the trenches and was based on the Ypres-Salient for the two months he was in France.  He was killed in action at the end of July 1917 during the Battle of Pilckem and is remembered on the Menin Gate memorial.  Bob also had two brothers serving; both of these returned home at the end of the war.