The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (28983) Driver Albert Sutton, 4th Field Artillery Brigade, AIF, Fist World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (28983) Driver Albert Sutton, 4th Field Artillery Brigade, AIF, Fist World War.

28983 Driver Albert Sutton, 4th Field Artillery Brigade, AIF
KIA 19 October 1917
Story delivered 28 December 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Driver Albert Sutton.

Albert Sutton was born on 22 August 1895, one of 11 children born to Frederick and Elizabeth Sutton. Young Albert spent his childhood in Buladelah, New South Wales, where he attended the local public school, and later worked as a blacksmith’s assistant. Around 1915, he married Grace Eliza, and the couple had one child together, Florida.

Sutton enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 27 May 1916. He was one of three Sutton brothers to serve for Australia in the First World War. Thomas Sutton would serve in the 34th Infantry Battalion, and Frederick James Sutton in the 60th. The three Sutton brothers would end up participating in several major battles together throughout the war.

After training at the Broadmeadows camp in New South Wales, Sutton sailed from Sydney aboard the transport ship Borda on 17 October. He arrived in Plymouth, England, on 9 January 1917 and stayed in the United Kingdom for three months to continue his training.

On 16 March, Sutton transferred to France and the war on the Western Front, where he was soon serving as a driver with the 2nd Divisional Artillery Column. On 19 July 1917, he transferred to the 11th Battery of the 4th Field Artillery Brigade which was serving near Dickebush in the Ypres sector of Belgium.

Artillery brigades supported infantry troops by firing high explosive and shrapnel shells onto German positions. This was essential for both defence and attack, but often attracted retaliation fire from German guns.

Sutton joined the 4th Field Artillery Brigade just in time to provide artillery support to some of Australia’s biggest and bloodiest battles of the war. With his unit he provided fire in battles such as Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, and Passchendaele. In each case, at least one of his brothers fought in the same engagement. During the Battle of Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917, a battle in which all three Sutton brothers served, Albert’s older brother Frederick was killed in action.

On 19 October 1917, as the 4th Field Artillery Brigade was serving around Zonnebeke in the Ypres sector of Belgium, Albert Sutton was admitted to the 12th Australian Field Ambulance with severe shrapnel wounds to the legs. He died soon after.

Survived by his young wife and daughter, Albert Sutton was 22 years old. It was the second tragedy to strike the Sutton family in three weeks.
He was buried in the Menin Road South Military Cemetery, where over 1,500 soldiers of the First World War now lie.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Driver Albert Sutton, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section