The name of “H. Rutter” (Hubert) appears as one of 74 on the St. Margaret’s Church of England non-denominational World War One Roll of Honour in Eltham. Hubert Rutter returned safely from the conflict, but research into two names – “D. Rutter” and “D. H. Rutter” – honoured at the Eltham Memorial Hall as casualties of the Second World War reveals that they were in fact Hubert’s sons and thus begins the story of a remarkable family connection to Eltham that has never previously been documented.
Rutter enlisted on January, 1916 at 23 years and 11 months, listed as a Civil Engineer (qualified at the University of Melbourne) with the Victorian Railways, with his wife Mrs Beulah Alice nee Simpson shown at “Yarra Braes”, Eltham.
He embarked on HMAT Benalla from Sydney on 9 November, 1915 with the rank of Second Lieutenant with the 5th Reinforcements for 3 Pioneer Battalion. (A Pioneer Battalion was a non-combatant unit entrusted with construction of roads, drains, buildings, railways, dug-outs and communication trenches; with camp sanitation, burial of the dead. They were made up in part by made up of men not considered suitable for front-line action because of age or debility, but also included those with specialist skills, especially in building or engineering disciplines – as a railway engineer with no discernible military training, Rutter would have be an ideal choice).
Rutter was transferred to France on 20 April, 1917 and served there for around 17 months and was at a Gunnery School in England when the war ended in November.
He was off duty for 92 days with V.D. before embarking for return on 22 August, 1919; the exact date of his arrival home is not recorded, but he was noted as attending and addressing a Welcome Home for 11 soldiers at the Eltham Rechabite Hall on 14 November; he was formally discharged seven days later.
While he was away, his wife wrote a number of letters to the Eltham Shire Council complaining about the state of the road leading to their property; a later application for adjustment of their rates assessed on a valuation of £15 per acre was rejected; she was also shown as giving birth to their birth of the couple’s second child, a daughter June in a private hospital in Armadale on 27 July, 1917, apparently conceived just a week or two before Hubert embarked.
After his return, Rutter was elected unopposed as Councillor for the South Riding of the Shire of Eltham in August, 1924 and later voted in as President of the Shire in September, 1928.
He retained his connection with comrades of the War, becoming President of the Eltham War Memorial League in mid-1926 and vice-president on the formation of the local R.S.S.I.L.A. in May, 1927. The organizer and first president of the R.S.S.I.L.A. was another well-known local identity, Dr. Wilfred Kent Hughes.
It seems likely that his children were educated at the Eltham Higher Elementary School; he was a prominent speaker at Annual Speech nights and along with the headmaster, John Stewart regularly represented the school in discussions with the Department of Education.
He was Secretary of the school’s “Comedy Company” which regularly appeared at entertainments put on by local community groups, and around 1930 when the school was extended to four forms past the basic six years of primary education, two “houses” were established – Rutter and Stewart; the two were rivals on the sporting fields as most of the post-primary students were considered too old to compete against other schools).
Shortly after his elevation to Shire President, Rutter was called away to England on important business on behalf of the company for which he worked and on his return in February, 1929 tendered a shock resignation from the Council, although he remained as President of the War Memorial Fund.
Beulah (who was born nee Simpson in Queenstown, now better known as St. Andrew’s) was noted in 1918 as the Honorary Secretary of the Eltham Red Cross Society and appears to have held the position until around 1938; she was also in later years vice-president of the local branch of the Australian Women’s National League. Wilfred Kent Hughes’ brother, Lieut-Colonel Frederick George Kent Hughes was the National President.
From Hubert’s resignation from the Council, he was noted in Western Australia for a period of 12 months before returning, but whether the couple lived together from that point on is problematical.
On both of his son’s Attestations on enlisting, he was shown in Meekatharra, Western Australia, while there are references in 1942 to Beulah at 43 Orrong-road, Armadale where she died in 1946. Hubert died in Western Australia in 1957 at 74 years, the death registered as in the Shire of Plantagenet.
“Yarra Braes”
Rather less is known of “Yarra Braes”, the family home. It appears to have some little distance from the Eltham township, with many reference to “Rutter’s-road”, which no longer exists under the name.
The property was obviously extensive, with many social and charitable gatherings noted there and with it being lent many times for Girl Guide camps.
The name, Rutter’s representation of the South Riding, and a couple of references to Mrs. Rutter providing bathing gowns for guests and others to “Rutter’s Pool” strongly suggest it was on the Yarra overlooking Templestowe.
The house was unfortunately one of the major properties in Eltham completely destroyed during the tragic Black Friday bushfires of 13 January, 1939.
WILL you please allow us through your columns to tell all those splendid men who were fighting the fire on the 13th how much we appreciate their magnificent efforts to save our homes. It was a losing fight against impossible odds, but they kept going in spite of everything. We are very, very grateful and wish to thank them.
BEATRICE MORRISON.
BEULAH RUTTER,
HERERT RUTTER. (Advertiser (Hurstbridge), 20 January, 1939)
833, David Rutter, 3 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force (Second World War)
David Rutter was born 2 August, 1915 in Armadale (probably the same hospital as June in 1917, seemingly just before his parents (or at least his mother) moved to Eltham. He was working as a mining engineer for Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd. in Broken Hill itself and enlisted at Parafield, South Australia on 4 March, 1940, his mother at 2 Eveline Road, Toorak, but with a suggestion that his father was at Mount James, via Meekatharra in Western Australia.
He gained his degree in Mining Engineering at Melbourne University in 1937, university records suggest he was the Varsity Featherweight boxing champion in all four years he attended, 1934-37. His Attestation seven experience reveals he had spent three years with the Officer Training Corps at Geelong Grammar before enrolling at the University.
David completed his completed flying instruction at Point Cook on 23 September, 1940 and gained the rank of Flying Officer; he was subsequently attached to the training base at Richmond, New South Wales before he embarked for the Middle East on 1 November, 1941.
Tragically, like many young and inexperienced pilots, he met his fate during what was probably one of his first two or three missions in combat – after disembarking in Egypt on 8 November, he was assigned to 3 Squadron, R.A.A.F. on 4 December and posted Missing just five days later. His archive does not make it clear when authorities officially considered him killed in action – in most cases, this would probably not have been until some six to weeks later, by which time he would have been posted as a Prisoner of War if in fact he had been captured.
RUTTER.—David, the beloved son of Beulah and Hubert Rutter, killed in action near Tobruk, December 9, aged 26 years.
The simple Death Notice above appeared on 13 April, 1942; his archive suggested his body was later recovered, hence his burial at the El Alamein War Cemetery, Marsa Matruh, Egypt.
“This officer is well above average. As a Pilot Officer he has carried out the duties of a Flight Commander to the entire satisfaction of the Squadron Commander. The fact that his General ability is assessed as higher than his Particular abilities is justified as his general knowledge is far greater than that of the average officer of his seniority. His general qualifications include an engineering degree”. Wing Commander, Commanding R.A.A.F. Station Richmond, N.S.W.
There was, however, a dissenting opinion … “I consider the C,O’s and Station Commander’s assessment unduly high and show my own assessment in red figures in brackets (Air Commodore, Air Officer Commanding, Southern Area” (The signatures are somewhat indecipherable in both cases).
410262, Donald Hemphill Rutter, 547 Squadron, R.A.F.
Hubert’s younger son was born 5 January, 1922 and was killed while serving with 547 Squadron, R.A.F. while piloting a Hawker Typhoon fighter bomber over Cloppenburg, Germany.
Like his father and older brother, he graduated in Mining Engineering at Melbourne University shortly before he enlisted in the R.A.A.F. on 5 December, 1941.
He went into flying training, firstly at Parafield in South Australia, later in Deniliquin before completing Intermediate and Advanced training on 17 December, 1942.
He continued with Training Squadrons in England in 1943 and transferred to 247 Squadron, R.A.F. in November (although there were R.A.F. Bomber Squadrons made up of Australian crews, the R.A.A.F. as a unit did not operate in the European theatre).
His archives show he was listed as ‘Dangerously Ill’ with head injuries after a motor accident in England in February, 1944, but do not reveal when he returned to service. He was posted Missing 5 April, 1945, just over four weeks before the war ended in Europe, and later confirmed killed in action, the date of the declaration again not shown (no Death Notice traced).
Like David, his archive show his father at Mount James via Meekatharra, W.A. His mother was listed at 43 Orrong Road, Armadale when he enlisted and was still at the address when she died in August, 1946.:
RUTTER. — On August 21, in her sleep, at her residence, 43 Orrong road, Armadale, Beulah, beloved wife of Hubert Rutter.
The Aircraft
Curtiss Tomahawk (R.A.F. and R.A.A.F designation, P-40A and P-40B, U.S.A.F.) designation.
The P-40 first flew in 1938 and became a standard fighter with the U.S. Army Air Corps squadrons late the following year. The model went into service with the R.A.F. in August, 1941 as part of the Lend-Lease program, but was found to lack the power to confer the high altitude performance necessary for fighter operations over Western Europe and was confined in this quarter to low-level tactical reconnaissance operations. Subsequent shipments were diverted to North Africa to equip the Desert Air Force, still mainly as low-level attack aircraft, but renowned for their mechanical reliability in the harsh desert conditions. They were supplanted in Africa from mid-1942 onwards by a later re-development of the model, the Curtiss Kittyhawk (P40-D in U.S. terminology); in British-based squadrons, by the far superior North American Mustang or P-51B.
Hawker Typhoon. The Typhoon was developed by the Hawker Company as a successor to the Hawker Hurricane which in conjunction with the Supermarine Spitfire served Britain admirably during the dark days of the Battle of Britain. It was introduced to operational squadrons in July, 1941 and was the fastest Allied aircraft at the time, but like the Kittyhawk, it lacked the high-altitude performance for its planned role as an interceptor fighter and was also switched to a ground attack role in which it proved an outstanding success as a “tank-buster”, in raids on shipping, enemy airfields, radar stations, German V1 rocket launch sites and railways (one Squadron was credited with the destruction of 100 locomotives for the loss of only two aircraft). Much of its success was due to its immensely strong structure which on introduction allowed to carry 12 machine guns instead of the standard eight, and by the end of the war had four 20-mm cannon instead of the machine guns and carrying 2,000 lb. bomb loads or eight 60 lb. rocket projectiles.
Photo: Donald Rutter, Australian War Memorial Collection
