RUTTER, Walter Leonard
| Service Number: | 5170 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 January 1916, Claremont, Tas. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Sorell, Tasmania, Australia, 27 September 1880 |
| Home Town: | Don, Devonport, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Mouquet Farm, France, 19 August 1916, aged 35 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Hobart Roll of Honour, Kentish Municipality Honour Roll Mural, Sheffield War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5170, 12th Infantry Battalion, Claremont, Tas. | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 5170, 12th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 29 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 5170, 12th Infantry Battalion, RMS Orontes, Melbourne | |
| 23 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5170, 12th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières | |
| 19 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 5170, 12th Infantry Battalion, Mouquet Farm, Killed in action |
Help us honour Walter Leonard Rutter's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Born 27th September 1880 at Port Sorell Tasmania the son of Thomas and Sarah Rutter (nee Cocker) married to Helena O’Donnell a farmer he embarked Melbourne 29th March 1916 on board RMS Orontes with the 12th Infantry Battalion.
For some years he had been living in New Zealand where he married in 1913 and had three children but returned to Tasmania when war broke out and volunteered here. His nickname “Snowie” was for how dark in skin colour he was.
He was killed in action 19th August 1916 at Mouquet Farm when he was hit by a shell and buried where he fell. He is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France.
"At Lower Barrington news was received on Saturday of the death of Walter Rutter who was well known on the coast as a musician and sportsman. As a footballer he was prominent as a member of the North v South teams and also a member of the Tasmanian interstate team on the mainland."
The Weekly Courier 5th October 1916
Source: tasmanianwarcasualties.com
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