Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son, 3829 Pte. Alfred Max Sutton 13th Battalion AIF killed in action Bullecourt 11 April, 1917. Age 21.

Brother 2415 Private George Sutton 1st Battalion AIF died of war wounds 1 November 1919 age 47.

3835 Private Charles Sutton, 13th Battalion, AIF, was killed in action near Mouquet Farm 14 August 1916. His wife, Dolly Sutton, stated on his roll of honour circular, that he was 36 years old at the time of his death. He had been born at Cudal, New South Wales, in 1880 and as a child had attended the Nymagee Public School. Charles had enlisted in August 1915, almost on the same day as his son, 3829 Private Alfred Max Sutton, and both left Australia on the same ship, in the same unit. Father and son both transferred to the 13th battalion in Egypt on the same day and reached France together in June 1916, and Charles, the father, died during the heavy fighting around Mouquet Farm. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Australian Memorial at Villers Bretonneux-France. His son, Alfred, was also in the fighting at Mouquet Farm, and the day after his fathers’ death he was admitted to a dressing station suffering from exhaustion. Whether or not his fathers’ death had caused his distress is unknown, but he rejoined his unit the next day.

Alfred was first reported missing and later confirmed as killed in action, at Bullecourt on the 11 April 1917 while still serving with the 13th Battalion. He also has no known grave and is listed with his father on the Australian memorial at Villers Bretonneux. He was only 21 years of age. His mother Dolly was most upset by the fact that she had several letters to her only son returned, and they had “killed in action” penciled on the outside. This was before she had any official notification of his death, as he was still officially “missing”. In her letters she vented her anger at the carelessness of the army and for someone to please advise her of his situation. Her sense of loss was no doubt aggravated by the fact that she was also still grieving the loss of her husband.

            To add to the loss this family suffered, 2415 Private George Sutton 1st Battalion AIF, a 47 year old brother to Charles was returned to Australia during July 1917 and discharged medically unfit. He was very ill during 1918 and died on the 1 November 1919, supposedly from the effects of mustard gas poisoning. He was buried in Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney and is listed on the Roll of Honour in Canberra.