Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Biographical information contributed by Adam Martyn (Great Nephew of Sidney Butler) December 2024.

Sidney Butler was born in Bega, New South Wales in 1891 to parents William Henry and Rosina Butler. He was the second oldest of 11 children and attended Eden Public School on the south Coast of N.S.W.

Sid was a 24 year old, single, labourer from Kameruka Estate, near Candelo, N.S.W, when he enlisted on the 8th January, 1916 at Goulburn Depot. Sid was described as having a scar on his left cheek and despite having a plate in his top jaw and missing the small finger on his right hand he was accepted and enlisted with the 47th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force. He was later transferred to the 3rd Reinforcement 55th Battalion on the 30th April 1916. His service number was 1875 and his religion was Church of England. His next of kin was his father, W.H. (Bill) Butler of Kameruka, Bega, N.S.W.

Private Sidney Butler embarked Sydney on HMAT Barambah on the 23rd June 1916. Shortly after, on the 27th June he was admitted to hospital on board, suffering from influenza at sea. He was discharged back to duty after 5 days. After approximately 2 months at sea, Sidney disembarked the Barambah at Plymouth, England on the 25th August 1916.

Australian troops of the Third Division AIF completed training at Lark Hill Camp before serving in France and it was here that Sidney was transferred to the 35th Battalion. It was also here at Lark Hill, Private Sidney Butler absented himself without leave from midnight 20th October till he reported himself to Company Officer of the day room at midnight 22nd October 1916. The awarded punishment was 12 days Field Punishment No. 2. There were two categories of field punishment. Field punishment No. 1 consisted of heavy labouring duties, possibly being restrained in handcuffs or fetters, and being tied to a post or wheel.(Field punishment, Australian War Memorial) Field punishment No. 2 differed, in that the offender was not liable to be attached to a fixed object. (Field punishment, Australian War Memorial) The total fine included 14 days pay. It was unclear why Sidney went AWOL at this moment, but his adventure was about to become a lot more serious. On the 27th November, 1916, Private Sidney Butler left the relative safety of Southampton for the horrors of the trenches of the Western Front.

A harsh winter followed in which the battalion was engaged in a relatively quiet sector. (35th Battalion Australia, Wikipedia) During this time between the 16th and 30th March, Private Butler was admitted sick to hospital in the field. It was not until June 1917 that they were involved in a major battle. On 7 June 1917, the 35th Battalion took part in the fighting around Messines. During the First Battle of Passchendaele the battalion was committed to the attack on 12 October 1917 and suffered heavy casualties as the attack foundered in the mud of the rain soaked battlefield. Of the 508 men that had been fit at the start, only 90 remained at the end. As a result of these losses, the battalion was withdrawn from the front line and placed in reserve for the next five months as they were brought back up to strength. (35th Battalion Australia, Wikipedia) Sid enjoyed leave and a visit to Paris.

On the 26th January 1918, Sidney was again admitted to a French Hospital. On the 11th March he was invalided to England from 56th General Hospital in France. He embarked for England on the HMHS Newhaven and was admitted to the Royal Herbert Hospital at Woolwich, England for Nasal Polyps, Balanitis (Inflamed Glands of Penis) and Syphilis. It seems Sid’s nocturnal sojourn in Paris was catching up with him. Between 12th March till the 6th May, Sidney was hospitalised and treated with injections of Salvarsan 606 and Mercury at the Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, the Military Hospital at Bulford and the CT Depot at Parkhouse before being transferred to Delhi Hospital, Tidworth, dangerously ill with Pleurisy and Pneumonia.

At midnight on the 9thMay 1918, Private Sidney Butler died of Double Pneumonia and Cardiac Failure at Tidworth Military Hospital, United Kingdom. He was 26 years old. Sid who was described as "very popular with both officers and men and whose loss is keenly felt" was buried in the Tidworth Military Cemetery on the 13th May1918 in Plot C Grave 264 under a tombstone inscription that reads HE HATH FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT HIS GOD WILL REPAY HIM R.I.P.

Sidney’s parents received a Victory Medal, a Memorial Plaque, No.344560, a Memorial Scroll and King’s Message. They were also sent Sidney’s personal effects which included letters, photos, cards, wallet, 2 medallions, a ring, a pocket knife and cigarette case. In a final, unfortunate incident bookending a young life, the vessel carrying Sid’s worldly possessions, the SS Barunga was lost at sea, with all cargo, as a result of a German torpedo, 150 miles south west off the Scilly Isles.

Private Sidney Butler is commemorated in the Hall of Memory Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia on Panel 125.