Robert Matthew Beatham was born on 16 June 1894 in Glassonby, Cumberland, England to John and Elizabeth Beatham. He was educated at a local school and, as a teenager, immigrated to Australia with his brother, Walter.

He was working as a labourer in Geelong, Victoria when he enlisted in the AIF, embarking from Melbourne for Egypt on 17 April 1915.

Six of his brothers saw active service in the First World War; three died, and another spent two years as a prisoner of war. Robert’s younger brother, Walter, also enlisted in the AIF and served with 21st Battalion, surviving the war.

After serving at Gallipoli, briefly returning to Australia through illness, and later fighting on the Western Front—where he was twice wounded at Pozières and Passchendaele—Beatham rejoined the 8th Battalion in February 1918, just months before earning the Victoria Cross.

He was with the Battalion during the Battle of Amiens between the 8th and 11th of August 1918.

On 9 August 1918, as the 8th Battalion advanced towards the high ground near the French village of Lihons, its supporting tanks were knocked out by heavy artillery fire, leaving the men exposed to a line of German machine guns that brought their advance to a halt.

As his company worked its way forward, Private Beatham, assisted by Lance Corporal W. G. Nottingham, rushed the enemy positions, bombing and fighting the crews of four German machine guns, killing ten enemy soldiers and capturing another ten.

Despite being wounded in the right leg, Beatham continued fighting, his actions allowing the Battalion to resume its advance.

On 11 August, as the Battalion approached its objective on the southern slopes of Lihons, German reinforcements once again halted the advance. Despite his earlier wound, Beatham charged another enemy machine-gun position, bombing and silencing the gun before being struck by multiple bullets and killed.

He was just 24 years of age.