The AIF Project

Albert James BUTLER

Regimental number712
Place of birthSorrento, Victoria
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationSurvey assistant
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation32
Height5' 6"
Weight146 lbs
Next of kinBrother, Walter Butler, 59 Draper Street, Albert Park, Victoria
Previous military serviceServed in the 1st Imperial Commonwealth Contingent, South Africa; discharged at war's end, 1902.
Enlistment date4 January 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll3 January 1915
Place of enlistmentHelena Vale, Western Australia
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name10th Light Horse Regiment, 2nd Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number10/15/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A50 Itonus on 19 February 1915
Rank from Nominal RollTrooper
Unit from Nominal Roll10th Light Horse Regiment
Other details from Roll of Honour CircularEnlisted 3 January 1915 - 10th Light Horse Regiment, 2nd Reinforcements. Taken on strength, 10th Light Horse, 16 May 1915.
FateKilled in Action 7 August 1915
Place of death or woundingThe Nek, Gallipoli
Date of death7 August 1915
Age at death33
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 10), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
7
Other details

WESG

Embarked from Alexandria to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Gallipoli, 16 May 1915.

Killed in action, Walker's Ridge (the charge at The Nek), 7 August 1915. Court of Enquiry, 9 August 1915, convened to investigate the deaths at the Nek. In evidence to the Court, which found that that 'all those missing are killed in action' (3 Officers, 5 NCOs, 20 Other Ranks from the 10th Light Horse), Lt Colonel N.M. Brazier testified that he had ordered the assault on the Turkish positions,' although at this time there was a murderous hail of shrapnel, machine gun and rifle fire from the enemy, and [he] felt quite convinced few if any would return', added that 'subsequent to the assault the enemy were seen deliberately firing on the wounded'.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

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