Lawrence (Laurence) Rheuben BOUTLE
Year of Birth: 1899
Place of Birth: Dullage (Dulwich), Surry, England
Date of Enlistment: 21 April 1917
Date and Place of Embarkation: 14 June 1917, Sydney New South Wales
Ship: HMAT Hororata A20
Rank: Private
Unit(s): 9th Australian Infantry Battalion
Regimental Number: 7634
Died: 28 March 1918
Pte. Laurence Rheuben Boutle – photo courtesy RSL Virtual War Memorial
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Laurence Boutle was born in Dulwich, Surry, England and was baptized 20 September 1899 with his sister Elsie at St John the Evangelist, East Dulwich. His parents were William Boutle and Jane Ann Davies.
In 1901 his family was living in Peckham, London and Laurence later attended the Council School London. His family, father William aged 45, a packer by trade, mother Jane aged 45 with their children Edwin 18, Elsie 13, and Lawrence aged 11, Philip aged 7 arrived in Brisbane on board the “Perthshire” on the 26 December 1910 as nominated passengers and were contracted to land in Cairns. Possibly nominated by Jane’s family who were cane farmers in Aloomba. After their arrival in Cairns, Laurence attended the State School in Cairns and was living in Hutton Street, the family later moved to Abbott Street Cairns. Laurence was a member of the Senior Cadets. His elder brother, Edwin, joined the army in 1916, was wounded and returned home in May 1918. Laurence’s father William Walter Boutle, a well known member of the Waterside Workers’ Federation, died in 1927 and his mother Jane Ann Davies died in 1951. Both are buried in Martin Street Cemetery. On his enlistment Laurence was 18 years 5 months and his occupation was a farmer, his next of kin was his mother Mrs Jane Ann Boutle of Abbott St., Cairns. He height was 5 feet 7 inches, weighed 134 pounds with fair complexion, brown eyes and fair hair. He gave his religion as Church of England. He arranged from his army pay, to have his father William paid 3 shillings per day. He embarked on the HMAT Hororato on the 14 June 1917 and proceeded from England to France on the 18 December 1917. Laurence Rheuben Boutle was killed in action in France on the 28 March 1918. A memorial is in Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Picardie, France.
HMAT Hororata A20 – photo courtesy Australian War Memorial
Northern Herald (Cairns) 18 April 1918 p4
Online Resources
Photograph Lawrence Reuben Boutle, RSL Virtual War Memorial Photograph of the: HMAT Hororata A20, Australian War Memorial NAA: B2455, Lawrence Reuben Boutle, National Archives of Australia
NAA: B2455 Edwin Rudolph Boutle, National Archives of Australia
Qld State Archives Immigration Records
Northern Herald (Cairns) 18 April 1918 p4
Other Resources
The First Expeditionary Force: the Thursday Island Expedition: a collection of reference documents. Denis Bird, 2015 [CDFHS Library]
Christine Forrester Collection London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1900 – Ancestry.com
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