After he succesfully evacuated over the river Rhine during the night of the withdrawal, Pte. Roberts heard that his comrade and friend had been wounded and had been left behind on the other side of the river. Pte. Roberts went back to get his friend and succeeded in getting him across the river into safety. However it was during this action that he was wounded. They were both taken to a hospital at Nijmegen. His comrade recovered but Pte. Roberts died of his wounds on the 29th in this hospital. In october 1996 a plaque in his memory was unveiled at The Kings Hall in Stoke-on-Trent to remember this heroic act.