Trafford

Born during the Mar Qtr 1898 in the Barton on
Irwell R.D. - ref: 8c/682, the 7th son of John
Clement & Elizabeth Ann Rutter, Cotton House,
Queens Road, Ashton on Mersey.     John Clement
Rutter was the son of John L. & Harriett E.
Rutter.  In 1871 J.L.R. was a Solicitor at Penn,
Staffordshire.

1901 Census - Glebelands Road, Ashton upon Mersey
- son - aged: 3 - born: Patricroft, Lancashire.

1911 Census - Coton House, Queens Road, Ashton
upon Mersey - son - aged: 12 - Scholar - born:
Barton on Irwell.

At the time of the 1891 Census the family were
residing at - 87 Cromwell Road, Patricroft, Barton
on Irwell. 

Educated at Sale High School and Denston College
??  Occasionally played for Sale RUFC.

Although 27 pages of his WO363 Attestation Papers
survived the WW2 bombing of London, only a few
pages are still readable.  But from this I have
learned that he enlisted on the 6th December 1916.
  On the 7th December he was transferred onto the
Army reserve list.   He rejoined and was mobilised
on the 19th February 1917 and was drafted to
France on the 12th April 1918.    His MIC does not
state when he entered a theatre of war or even
which theatre, but it does state that he was
originally in the Welsh Regiment - his number then
being 73532.   It is not clear as to why or when
he transferred from the Welsh Regiment to the
Durham Light Infantry.

The 26/05/1916 edition of the local newspaper reports that had been
invalided home from Egypt and was in hospital.

Took part in the Battle of the Marne (Chemin des
Dames Ridge Breakthrough) - At 01.00hrs on the
27th, 4,000 German artillery and mortar pieces,
fired two million shells at the allied forces
along a 30 km stretch of the front line.  At
03.40, Twenty-five German Divisions attacked four
tired French and four weak British Divisions on
the River Aisne between Soissons and Reims.    One
million of the shells fired by the Germans
contained Phosgene and Diphenyl-Chlorosine gas.

During WW1 two of his sisters Ellen Geraldine
Lilian Rutter who in 1911 was employed as a Nurse
at the Austin Street Hospital Bethnal Green,
London and Ethel Theodora Christina Rutter, who in
1912 was a Student Nurse at the Royall Infirmary,
Gloucester, served with the Queen Alexandra's
Imperial Medical Nursing Reserve and four of his
brothers were also in the forces.  An older
brother, Clement Henry Edward Rutter, served with
the London Volunteers Regiment and managed to
survive the war as did another brother George
Leopold Norman Rutter who was also serving with
the Manchester Regiment and invalided home during
the Gallipoli fighting.  Claude Arthur Gordon
Rutter served with the 6th Bn Manchester Regiment
and was killed in action at Gallipoli.  Frederick
William Gabert Rutter was killed in action on 27th
August 1915 at Gallipoli during the Battle for
Sulva Bay. 

The 05/07/1918 edition of the local newspaper
reported that he had been posted as missing
between the 27th & 31st May 1918.

Commemorated on the private family gravestone in
St. Catherine's, Barton on Irwell. Ref: 7l4.    
His father, John Clement died 18/03/1899 aged 51
years and his mother Elizabeth Ann died 16/08/1922
aged 67 years.

He is also commemorated on the Royal Sun Alliance
War Memorial, Ledsham, Cheshire that has now been
re-sited at the Alrewas National Memorial
Arboretum, Staffordshire.

Sale Football Club are unable to locate their WW1 Memorial.