BUTLER, Roy
| Service Number: | 1153 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 February 1915, An original member of D Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carrathool, New South Wales, Australia, 1897 |
| Home Town: | Gunbar, Carrathool, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Scrubcutter |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1153, 17th Infantry Battalion, An original member of D Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 1153, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 12 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 1153, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney |
Help us honour Roy Butler's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Roy Butler was the son of Henry George and Catherine Butler of Bendigo, Victoria. He had been born and raised at Gunbar, north of Hay, New South Wales. He gave his age as 18 years when he enlisted in the original 17th Battalion.
His two brothers, 2113 Pte William Thomas Butler M.M., 13th Battalion AIF and 6718 Pte Henry George Butler 8th Battalion AIF, both died of wounds in 1918.
Roy arrived on Gallipoli with the 17th Battalion on 17 August 1915. He was shot and wounded in the head only days later. He was taken to Mudros to recover and rejoined his unit on Gallipoli during late September 1915.
After the evacuation of Gallipoli, he was again wounded in action at Pozieres. He rejoined his unit in Belgium during September 1916. On 12 July 1917 he was posted to be batman for Major J.M. Maughan D.S.O. who was sent the 5th Training Battalion in England. At the end of 1917 Butler was sent back to the 17th Battalion at the front. He was shot in the right thigh during April 1918 and was wounded on a fourth occasion, in both thighs, on 3 October 1918. He had been at war for well over three years at this stage and was still only 21 years of age. He returned to Australia in January 1919.
Butler was reported in the Albury Banner during May 1917, to be a very good mate of Private William Jackson V.C., also of the 17th Battalion and from Gunbar, New South Wales. Private Roy Butler, was stated to be well and still facing the enemy. He was reported to have been in action for close on two years, and been twice wounded. He had taken part in some severe engagements in Gallipoli and France. It was also stated he was the only one of the original parties of the 17th Battalion that sailed from Sydney that was still in the fighting ranks.
Click images to start slideshow.