NEW WEBSITE

As of early this morning I have made my new website go live!

I have transferred over everything that was on the old site and will be adding new research (information, maps and photographs) about the November 5th 1916 attack. I have expanded my research to all the Australian battalions involved in this attack.

The word is getting out

I received noticed a week ago that findmypast.com.au were going to included the brief summary I wrote about the research I have undertaken / the soldiers of the November 5th 1916 in their ANZAC memory bank.

 This is the image seen by all in the memory bank

When I got to their site I was totally surprised and very pleased to see that this brief overview was the third story, so everyone that visits that part of the site will see what I have found / been doing.

My main hope is that this will give the families that I have not been contact with another avenue to get in touch with me and the website.

Findmypast also put up the poems I have written (they are in another section on this blog), they are on the second page - story number 6.

This is entry for the poems. This also includes a poem found amongst my pop's World War Two items that he had.

The address to view my overview along with all the other stories and memories findmypast have included in their memory bank is: <http://www.findmypast.com.au/articles/anzac-day-stories/page-1>

A lot has happened

Since last posting on here, a lot has happened.

1. I have finished going through all the records/files I had and so I have completed my research.

2. I sent of 'articles' to two magazines about Thomas and the others. But I don't think I will hear back from them (as much as I would love it).

3. Two families have contacted me recently who are related to two of the soldiers with Thomas (a part of the 36).

4. It is coming up to another ANZAC Day without a memorial to the soldiers in France (a part from V-B). Right now I have settled for knowing where they are even though it is not acknowledged.

5. I have completed my website to the soldiers.

6. Contacted locate politician about Thomas and the others.




Even though all this happened I still have some things to do.

1. Finish the interactive CD.

2. Send the CD off to the local politician and the people who have contacted me.

3. Try to get something published about Thomas and the others in the media.

Narrowing Down

I decided that I needed to concentrate on the soldiers that had unknown graves along with Thomas. I needed to stop researching all the 1st Battalion soldiers who died on the 5th November 1916 and just concentrate on those few.

I looked at the information I had already gathered and created a list (which follows).


These men died on November 5th 1916 and where buried (according to the personnel files) about 450yards N.N.W of Gueudecourt, Sheet 57c N.20 D.3.7 and are commemorated at Villers-Bretonneux

B Company
Gordon Bromley (M)
Alic Brown (R M)
William Gibney (M)
Leslie Miller (M)
Robert Miller (M)
Wallis Rankine (M)

C Company
Alan Andrews (* M)
Thomas Bannan (M)
Ernest Clarkson (M)
William Constable (M)
Robert Costellow (M)
Herbert Elmes (R M)
Reginald Flower (R M)
William Graham (M)
Charles Hambling (M)
John Harris (* M)
William Harris (R M)
John Howell (M)
George Jamieson (M)
Joseph Lanyon (* M)
Osswild McGregor (R M)
David Murray (M)
Milton Penketh (R M)
Thomas Rutherford (R M)
Horace Schofield (M)
Leslie Tiedeman (M)
Sydney Todd (R M)
Sydney Vandine (R M)
George Wallgate (* M)
Thomas Whitton (M)

D Company
James Lewis (M)

Company Unknown or Not Sure
Charles Cregan (M)
Edward Fanning (R M)
Thomas Lunn (R M)
Matthew Thorburn (M)
James Henry (M)

* – No Red Cross File

R - Same burial reference as Thomas in their Red Cross File [Buried about 450yards N.N.W. of Gueudecourt, Sheet 57c S.W N.20 D.3.7]

M - Same burial reference as Thomas written on their Military File [Buried about 450yards N.N.W. of Gueudecourt, Sheet 57c S.W N.20 D.3.7]

There were some soliders that I couldn't place on the above list because the records did provide me with the same information.

# Director of graves: Buried 2 ½ miles south of Bapaume

James Charles Simington

# No exact co-ordinate found in any records for burial, just general stuff - can assume with others.

Emanuel Hansen

John Harold McIntyre

Niall Joseph Mullarkey

George Joseph Parr

Great-Granddad's Medals

This past week has been a mix of highs and lows. I have located nearly all of my Great-Granddad's family (all of his brother's family - Glossop, Clark & Beverstock). I now need to track down his sister's family (McLachlan). This was the highs of the week.

In regard to Thomas' medals I had a mix of great highs and lows. I discovered that his brother Charles took loving care of them. Unfortunately after Charles died in 1969, no-one seems to know what happened to them.

I still hold some sort of hope that some day, by some miracle I will hopefully find them.

Introduction

This photo is of Thomas Rutherford.


My pop never new his father (Thomas Rutherford) and the family never knew what had happened to Thomas. They knew Thomas served in World War One and had his serial number - 5207. A couple of years ago I was asked to see what I could find about Thomas' World War One service (as I am the family historian).


I discovered that Thomas served in the 1st Battalion, A.I.F and was a private. I also discovered that he was killed on the evening/morning of November 5th 1916 along with quite a few other Australian soldiers near Gueudecourt, France.


Thomas died near the trees in the middle of the photo. This photo is taken from the A.I.F Cemetery. Gueudecourt is to the right of this photo.




On November 5th 2006 my father and I stood near Gueudecourt looking at the location where my Great-Grandfather was killed exactly 90 years early (to the date, but not the time). We had gone to France to be the first in our family to remember this man none of us knew. Up to this point I had discovered Thomas' personnel file, Red Cross file (as he was reported missing in the war), embarkation roll and honour roll. I also discussed that he was now just a name on the wall at Villers-Bretonneux, France and at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

This photo shows Thomas' name on the wall in Canberra

While in France seeing the Somme area and seeing the different places involved in the wars. I began wanting to discovered Thomas' final resting place, I began wanting to change him from just a name on the wall. I had a little tiny light of hope in that in his Red Cross file (which only contained 5 pages) included a page stating that Thomas was buried near Gueudecourt and the location of his burial. (You can see this page above)

I decided when I got back from France I would try to confirm this location and hopefully get a memorial of some sort erected for Thomas. My following entries will follow my research and show the information I uncover. To start with I will be placing the research I have already undertaken.


One of the main things I realised when undertaking the search is that Thomas died with quite a few other Australian soliders. Also that I am not just looking for Thomas about 40 to 50 Australian soldiers all together. (I will explain in another blog what I mean by this last sentence)