NUTTER, Alan Charles
| Service Number: | 9939 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | 9th Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia, 27 September 1896 |
| Home Town: | Killara, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Aircraft accident, France, 15 September 1917, aged 20 years |
| Cemetery: |
Noeux-Les-Mines Communal Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 9939 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 1916: | Involvement Sapper, 9939, 9th Field Company Engineers, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ajana embarkation_ship_number: A31 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked Sapper, 9939, 9th Field Company Engineers, HMAT Ajana, Sydney | |
| 16 Mar 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sapper, 9939, 9th Field Company Engineers, Transferred to the Royal Flying Corps with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
2nd Lieutenant Alan Charles Nutter of the 40th Squadron RFC and formerly AIF was killed in France on the 15th September 1917 when his Nieuport aircraft crashed. During an engine test on 15 September 1917, Second Lieutenant Nutter, flying Nieuport 23 aircraft B1578, spun into the ground from 2,000 feet near the Squadron’s Advanced Landing Ground. He is buried in the Noeux-Les-Mines Communal Cemetery Extension, 6 kilometres south of Bethune, and is the only Australian among the many hundreds in the cemetery. Nutter came from Sydney NSW, enlisted while still only 19 years of age and served in the 9th Field Company Engineers AIF, before transferring to the RFC. His brother, Lawrence Howard Nutter also served in the 5th Field Artillery Brigade, and was severely wounded with shrapnel in the back, both thighs and legs, resulting in him being returned to Australia in late 1917.
It was a right of every AIF man that they received a free passage back to Australia, and by these Australians volunteering for the Flying Corps they actually had to sign a form forfeiting that right.
One man queried this paragraph, 2nd Lieutenant Alan Nutter, 63rd Reserve Squadron RFC, wrote back on 20th May 1917, “Sir, in connection with the form, “Proceedings on Discharge”, stating that no further claim can be made on the Commonwealth Government on discharge. Could you let me know what arrangement has been made in the event of me being disabled due to military service? By what means do you proceed in getting me home again to Australia? As at present no arrangement is shown on form. As my only relations are in Australia, and no arrangement made to proceed home if disabled due to military service. Could you please advise me as to this? Yours faithfully, A.C. Nutter, 2nd Lt. Royal Flying Corps."
He received a rather curt reply from the AIF HQ within 5 days, “Dear Sir, in reply to your letter of the 20th instant, it is intimated that by accepting your discharge from the Australian Imperial Force you relieve the Commonwealth Government of all liability of a free passage to Australia, and that your enquiries should now be submitted to the R.F.C Authorities. Kindly complete and return as soon as possible the form of “Proceedings on Discharge”, yours faithfully, Captain I/C Records AIF”.
In Alan Charles Nutter’s case, he would never require passage back to Australia, as he is buried in Noeux-Les-Mines Communal Cemetery Extension, 6 kilometres south of Bethune.
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