Pte
Ernest Almond Hutchinson

Information about birth

General information

Last known residence:
Landsborough West, Victoria, Australia
Profession:
Labourer
Religion:
Methodist

Army information

Country:
Australia
Force:
Australian Imperial Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
636
Enlistment date:
18/10/1916
Enlistment place:
Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Units:
 —  Australian Infantry, 22nd Bn. (Victoria)  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
05/10/1917
Place of death:
Zonnebeke Château Grounds, Zonnebeke, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
30

Memorial

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 4

#1 Place of birth
#2 Last known residence
#3 Enlistment place
#4 Place of death (approximate)

My story

Ernest Almond Hutchinson, a former labourer, was born in July 1887 in Newcastle on Tyne, England. He was the son of Margaret Emily Hutchinson. On October 18, 1916 he enlisted in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia and embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A20 Hororata on November 23, 1916, with the 18th reinforcement of the 22nd Battalion, part of the 6th Australian Brigade of the 2nd Australian Division.

He was hospitalized in the 7th Canadian Stationary Hospital in Boulogne, France from September 9, 1917 until September 25, 1917 because of food poisoning.

On the 4th of October 1917 the 2nd Australian Division participated in the Battle of Broodseinde, a phase in the Third Battle of Ypres. The 22nd Battalion was part of the 6th Brigade, which attacked on the right of the divisional front. The 22nd Battalion would take the first objective, the red line.
Once they had taken this line, the 24th would pass through the 22nd on the right and the 21st would do the same on the left. The Battalion assembled before the attack at the jumping-off positions in front of Tokio, but soon moved closer to the road leading to Tokio on account of German artillery fire on and around Albania. They made use of shell holes and old trench systems to form a line.

On October 5, the 22nd Battalion was relieved by the 20th Battalion and returned to the support line at Hannebeke Wood., Muhl, and Anzac House. The days which followed were most miserable, the weather was abominable, and regular downpours made the battle ground a quagmire.

Ernest Almond, aged 30, was killed in action on October 5, 1917. Private Hutchinson was mentioned on a cross just south of Zonnebeke Lake (28.D.28.a.40.20). His remains were not recovered or identified after the war. Ernest Almond Hutchinson has no known grave and is remembered on panel 23D of the Menin Gate Memorial.

Sources 4

22nd Battalion Australian Infantry (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/39/26).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources used
6th Brigade Australian Infantry (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/6/26).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources used
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455).
https://www.naa.gov.au/
Sources used
Unit embarkation nominal rolls, 1914-18 War (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM8).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources used

More information 4