BUSSELL, Rupert Duffham
| Service Number: | 3012 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 August 1915, Newcastle |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 56th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia, 27 February 1893 |
| Home Town: | Gunnedah, Gunnedah, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Gunnedah Superior Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Cerebral haemorrhage following a gunshot wound to head, Ampton, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, 25 July 1916, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Ingham (St. Bartholomew) Churchyard, Suffolk, England Inscription -HE ANSWERED DUTY'S CALL |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gunnedah Cenotaph, Gunnedah Public School WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3012, 4th Infantry Battalion, Newcastle | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3012, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Warilda, Sydney | |
| 8 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3012, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Warilda embarkation_ship_number: A69 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 56th Infantry Battalion | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 3012, 56th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), GSW head (severe) | |
| 21 Jul 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3012, 56th Infantry Battalion, Evacuated to hospital in England. | |
| 25 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3012, 56th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Rupert Duffham Bussell's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
56th Bn. Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force.
Two Australian soldiers of the Great War were admitted to Ampton Hall with war wounds, and they succumbed to those wounds there. Ampton Hall, a Jacobean style manor house, became known as Suffolk War Hospital. They were Sergeant William George Sydney Holland and Private Rupert Duffham Bussell.
The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is across the road from the hall but space prohibited interment of war casualties in the churchyard. Instead, all 9 casualties were interred some four miles away in Ingham (St. Bartholomew) Churchyard. Here there is a wargraves plot unusually containing a memorial Cross with 9 names inscribed on the plinth [almost illegible as at May 2020.
Inside the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Ampton is a memorial which was unveiled and dedicated on 15 November 1919 and attended by: Sir Courtenay Warner, BT, CB, MP. This memorial, on the north wall of the chantry, is a wide, rectangular plaque of marble, bordered in dark grey around a cream marble centre, which has a linear gold insert. The memorial bears the names of 40 men who were wounded but died whilst at Ampton Hospital.
The names are in four columns, but read horizontally by date of death, listing their rank, names, initials, unit and date of death. To the right of the plaque is a glazed frame depicting photographs of soldiers at Ampton Hospital.
REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING SOLDIERS, WOUNDED IN THE GREAT WAR, WHO DIED IN AMPTON RED CROSS HOSPITAL. EIGHT OF THEM WERE BURIED AT INGHAM FOR WANT OF SPACE IN AMPTON CHURCHYARD. THE OTHERS WERE BURIED NEAR THEIR HOMES .
"THE LORD GRANT UNTO HIM THAT HE MAY FIND MERCY OF THE LORD IN THAT DAY"
He was 23 and the son of George Robert and Lydia Margaret Bussell, of Henry St., Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia.
Deaths Sep 1916 Bussell Rupert D 26* Bury St E. 4a 829
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in the 4th Battalion and embarked from Sydney for active service abroad on 8 October 1915 per HMAT "Warilda" (A69). He was transferred to the 56th Battalion on 16 February 1916 and his unit relocated to the Western Front, France during late June 1916. Private Bussell was wounded in action near Fleurbaix, France on 20 July 1916 and was evacuated to England with head wounds and died from a cerebral haemorrhage five days later in Suffolk War Hospital.
* error at registration
Family Members
Parents-George Robert Bussell 1863–1939 and Lydia Margaret Brothers Bussell 1871–1937
Biography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick (OAM) – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland”
Rupert Duffham Bussell was born on 27th February, 1893 at Quirindi, New South Wales to parents George Robert & Lydia Margaret Bussell (nee Brothers).
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 1st August, 1915 as a 22 year old, single, Clerk from Henry Street, Gunnedah, NSW.
Private Rupert Duffham Bussell, Service number 3012, embarked from Sydney, NSW on HMAT Warilda (A69) on 8th October, 1915 with the 4th Infantry Battalion, 10th Reinforcements.
He joined his Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt on 21st January, 1916.
On 16th February, 1916 Private Bussell was transferred from 4th Battalion to 56th Battalion.
Private Bussell was sent sick to Hospital at Ferry Post on 28th March, 1916. He was admitted to 1st Australian Stationary Hospital at Ismalia on 28th March, 1916 with blistered feet & was discharged to duty on 7th April, 1916. Private Bussell rejoined his Battalion at Ferry Post on 8th April, 1916.
He embarked from Alexandria on 19th June, 1916 to join B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force) & disembarked from H.M.A.T. Huntsend at Marseilles, France on 29th June, 1916.
Private Rupert Duffham Bussell was wounded in action in France on 20th July, 1916. He was taken to 14th Field Ambulance with wounds to his scalp on 20th July, 1916 then transferred to 13th General Hospital, Boulogne the same day with gunshot wound to neck. Private Bussell embarked for England on Hospital Ship “Jan Brydel” on 21st July, 1916 with a gunshot wound to head (severe).
On 22nd July, 1916 Private Bussell was admitted to Suffolk War Hospital, Bury St. Edmond, England.
Private Rupert Duffham Bussell died on 25th July, 1916 at Suffolk Hospital, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk from Cerebral Haemorrhage following a gunshot wound to head.
He was buried in St. Bartholomew Churchyard, Ingham, Surrey – south side of Ingram Church near path from Rectory and has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/ingham.html
Click images to start slideshow.