BRUNTON, Lawrence
| Service Number: | Commissioned Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 10th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Colne Lancashire, England, 9 July 1892 |
| Home Town: | Randwick, Randwick, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Technical School Colne Lancashire |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Le Hamel, France, 4 July 1918, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery Plot XIX, Row F, Grave No. 8 |
| Memorials: | Brewarrina Christ Church WW1 Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 7th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Uganda embarkation_ship_number: A66 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 7th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 4 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 7th Light Horse Regiment | |
| 9 Nov 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 7th Light Horse Regiment | |
| 1 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 2nd Light Horse Regiment | |
| 26 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 10th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 18 Feb 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 4th Divisional Ammunition Column | |
| 29 Jul 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 10th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 29 Jul 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 10th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 10th Field Artillery Brigade , Third Ypres, Wounded in action, 20 September 1917; admitted to No 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, 20 September 1917 (gassed, mustard); transferred to No 6 Ambulance Train, 21 September 1917; to No 6 British Red Cross Hospital (Liverpool Merchants' Hospital), 21 September 1917; to England, 26 September 1917; to No 3 London General Hospital, Wandsworth, 26 September 1917; to No 5 Auxiliary Hospital, 24 October 1917; to No 6 Auxiliary Hospital, 8 November 1917; to Cobham Hall, 15 November 1917; discharged, 7 December 1917, and marched into No 1 Command Depot, Sutton Veny, the same day. Proceeded overseas to France, 9 February 1918; marched into Australian General Base Depot, Le Havre, 10 February 1918. | |
| 4 Jul 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 10th Field Artillery Brigade , Le Hamel - Blueprint for Victory, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 10th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-07-04 |
Bureaucracy
On 9 January 1921, Lawrence Brunton's mother wrote to Senator Pearce in NSW requesting a copy of the 76 page booklet "Where the Australian's Rest" (which gave information about cemeteries in which Australians were buried):
"Dear Sir, as the proud mother of one of God's noble sons who fell for the Cause of Humanity in the Great War will you please favour me with a copy of the brochure, 'Where the Australian's Rest'. My son fell in the Battle of Hamel …"
She received this reply on 28 January 1921: " "I have to advise you that the instructions governing the issue prescribe that one only shall be issued in respect of each soldier and unless good and sufficient reasons exist for varying the procedure it must be transmitted to the lineal next-of-kin. In the case of your son, the late Lieutenant L Brunton MC 10th Field Artillery Brigade, this item has ben transmitted to his widow."
Mrs Brunton refused to accept this reply and wrote back on 21 February 1921 "Can you not in this case depart from the ordinary hard and fast rules of procedure? The only relic I possess is my dear brave son's 'empty military coat'. Life is very hard for me without him. I am in a very poor state of health and have to carry in living. Surely small favours I have asked should not be denied."
The Department replied on 22 February 1921 "It is regretted that the number of copies available of the brochure… is only sufficient to supply the next-of-kin."
Source: Australian Archives, NAA B2445 Brunton L
Submitted 28 May 2025 by David Vernon
Military Cross
Military Cross
'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He succeeded, with another officer, in extinguishing a serious fire which had broken out on an ammunition train near a battery position. The work was carried out at considerable risk from exploding ammunition, and he set a fine example of coolness and devotion to duty.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 110
Date: 25 July 1918
Submitted 22 December 2016 by Daryl Jones
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