William Ruthven
Encyclopedia
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(21 May 1893 – 12 January 1970) was an Australian soldier and state
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
politician. For actions in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces.
Early life
Born in Collingwood, VictoriaCollingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, William Ruthven was educated locally at the Vere Street State School. He became an mechanical engineer and was employed in the timber industry prior to his enlistment in April 1915.
VC action
He was 24 years old, and a sergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in the 22nd Battalion, (Victoria), 2nd Divn, Australian Imperial Force during the First World War when at Ville-sur-Ancre
Ville-sur-Ancre
Ville-sur-Ancre is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-External links:* * *...
on 19 May 1918, the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The full citation for his actions appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
of 9 July 1918 (dated 11 July 1918):
He was wounded in June 1918 and in July was commissioned as a second-lieutenant. Later in the war he returned to Australia and was promoted to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and campaigned with other VC winners on a recruiting drive. He was demobilised in December 1918.
Later years
During World War II, Ruthven served with the 3rd Australian Garrison Battalion and other garrison units, including those centred at Murchison, Victoria's largest prisoner-of-war camp. He achieved the rank of majorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
.
He was elected a councillor in the Melbourne municipality of Collingwood, and in 1945 was elected as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
. He sat in the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
from 1945 until 1955 as the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member for the Electoral district of Preston
Electoral district of Preston
The Electoral district of Preston is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is currently based around the northern Melbourne suburbs of Preston and Reservoir. It has always been a safe Labor Party seat....
, then following a redistribution, represented the Electoral district of Reservoir
Electoral district of Reservoir
Electoral district of Reservoir was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria.-Members for Reservoir:...
until his retirement in 1961.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
(Canberra, Australia).
The Ruthven Soldiers' Club in Broadmeadows was opened in his honour in 1959, and in 1963 the Ruthven railway station near Reservoir was named after him.
Honours and awards
_ribbon.png)
_ribbon.png)
| Ribbon | Description |
|
Victoria Cross Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.... (VC) |
| 1914-15 Star 1914-15 Star The 1914-15 Star was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.The 1914-15 Star was approved in 1918, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the War between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915 .Recipients of this medal also... |
|
| British War Medal British War Medal The British War Medal was a campaign medal of the British Empire, for service in World War I.The medal was approved in 1919, for issue to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who had rendered service between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918... |
|
|
Victory Medal Victory Medal (United Kingdom) The Victory Medal is a campaign medal - of which the basic design and ribbon was adopted by Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Union of South Africa and the USA in accordance with decisions as taken at the Inter-Allied Peace Conference at... |
Sources
- Monuments to CourageMonuments to CourageMonuments to Courage: Victoria Cross Monuments and Headstones is a two-volume book by David Harvey on the last resting places of 1,322 of the 1,350 recipients of the Victoria Cross. The 896 page book has over 5,000 illustrations and a large index enabling one to cross reference with ease. There is...
(David Harvey, 1999) - The Register of the Victoria CrossThe Register of the Victoria CrossThe Register of the Victoria Cross is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross ever awarded: it provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the awardee and the following details where applicable or available; rank, unit, other decorations, date of...
(This England, 1997) - VCs of the First World War - Spring Offensive 1918 (Gerald Gliddon, 1997)
External links
- Wiiliam Ruthven at VCWeb.
- Sergeant W Ruthven (photo, brief details)