Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

William Rutherford (Willie, Bill) was the second son of William and Emma Louisa (née Kearns) Rutherford, and a cousin of the eminent scientist, Lord Rutherford. He was born on 3 August 1881 at Cave, where his father was a butcher, and was baptised on 27 November at St Albans Anglican Church at Pleasant Point. Both William senior and Emma Louisa were born in New Zealand of very early Nelson settlers. Young William was educated at Gleniti (then known as Wai-iti) School, with an almost three-year spell at Waimataitai School from 1892 till 1894. In 1888 at the Wai-iti District School he was awarded a prize for attendance and in 1889 he was first equal in Standard I. And it was in 1890 at Wai-iti that he was awarded a prize in Standard III. In April 1895 he left school to go out to work.

In February 1901, W. Rutherford and twenty-two other men passed the necessary examination at Timaru and were accepted as members of the Seventh Contingent. The men were drilling about half-a-dozen times a day and were putting in very good work. They slept in the Drill-shed. The Timaru section of recruits for the Seventh Contingent left for Wellington direct by the express on the evening of 25th February. For the first time the public of Timaru had the opportunity of seeing what hard work was entailed in “knocking a troop into shape, composed as it is of young men of various callings”, when the men went through the riding test at the Market Reserve. They also demonstrated their smartness at foot drill. Bill Rutherford was 20 years 7 months of age, living at Gleniti and working as a shepherd for the NZ & Australian Land Company at Levels, Timaru. He left with the Seventh Contingent for the South African War on 28 February 1901 after a farewell address from the Mayor, then a march to the railway station. He served with the 7th New Zealand Contingent in the South African War (Regimental No. 4435) where he was wounded twice (slightly on 18 July 1901 at Rundique and gunshot wound in the hip/leg on 5 October 1901 at Pondwana Hill), was hospitalized in June 1902 with acute pain in his leg, suffered weakness and pain in the knee; and he was mentioned in despatches twice. Lord Kitchener’s despatches of 8 December 1901 mentioned W. Rutherford (New Zealand Seventh Regiment) for bringing in wounded under heavy fire. On discharge Private Rutherford was awarded the Imperial South African War Medal, and clasps for Transvaal and Orange Free State.

For twelve years between the South African War and World War One, William was active with the South Canterbury Mounted Rifles. Late in October 1907 he was a sergeant in the S.C.M.R. squads which took part in military displays - described as “somewhat tedious” - and competitions at the Timaru show. Bill’s squad was a bit casual in skills, equipment and dress, although they gained second place in the Lloyd-Lindsay Competition, but he himself made a fine race of the Rescue Race. Bill also took part in a rifle shooting match in February 1908; he represented the Reserve Corps twice in miniature rifle matches in July 1909. And in December 1908 he was one of the volunteers in the S. C. Reserve Corps who was successful in a very thorough course of instruction and so qualified for a certificate. His mother, Emma Louisa Rutherford, died on 8 June 1910 at Timaru, of Milford near Temuka.

Before this war he was a carting contractor for the Canterbury Farmers' Co-operative Association in Timaru. He was one of the first volunteers, having enrolled and passed the examination on 12 August 1914, in a very lively and busy Drill Shed; he was not one of those rejected because they were over age or under-age, insufficiently developed, had no experience, or were overweight. At the medical examination, the doctor described him as “riddled with bullets”. Bill was unaware of the cause of the many marks on his body until it was explained that they had come from the Boers. These bullet marks were on his right upper front and back, his front left thigh, his back left calf, and a bullet scar front at thigh. He stood at 5 feet 7 inches, weighed 151 pounds, and had a chest measurement of 34-37 inches. His complexion was dark, his eyes brown, and his hair black. His sight, hearing and colour vision were all good, his limbs and chest well formed, his heart and lungs normal, but his teeth only fair. He was free from diseases, vaccinated, in good bodily and mental health, and had no physical defects to interfere with efficient performance. Single and Presbyterian, he named his father as next-of-kin – W. Rutherford (Sen), Hobbs Street, Timaru.

Sergeant William Rutherford departed with the Mounted Men by the slow train from Timaru on 17 August 1914, amidst much excitement in the town, whilst their horses were trucked at the Smithfield siding, Waimataitai. The Mayor spoke of the pride in them and said that they were going forward with stout hearts and strong arms. “Be true lads to your King and Empire, to yourselves and your country, and put your trust in God,” he said. Little did they know what lay ahead. Sergeant W. Rutherford embarked with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles of the Main Body, departing from Lyttelton for Suez, Egypt, on 16 October 1914.

The South Canterbury Ex-Contingenters’ Association held their second annual meeting on 20 May 1915. William was named in the annual report as one of the eleven members who had joined the Expeditionary Force. Their comrades wished them luck and looked forward to their safe return. Then at a general meeting at the beginning of November 1915 and again at the third annual meeting in May 1916. it was recorded that he had been killed in action. In fact, William died while at sea on the hospital ship Gascon on 13 July 1915, of wounds to the head received in action at the Dardanelles, Gallipoli. He was not quite 34 years old. His name is inscribed on the Lone Pine Memorial at Anzac, Turkey.

On 28 July 1915 the flag at C.F.C.A. was flown at half-mast. William was on the staff of C.F.C.A. where he was remembered in a photo in a conspicuous place in the public portion of their office, along with photos of other staff members who had lost their lives. Over the frame were the Union Jack and New Zealand Ensign, in miniature, the flags directing special attention to the group-picture. Above the photos were the words “Lest we Forget” and below a verse – “Gone West”. The C.F.C.A., moreover, valued its employees, 38 of whom had enlisted by September 1916, and was generous in endeavouring to pay those on active service half pay. The name of William Rutherford was inscribed on its Roll of Honour. By September 1919, 89 men from the Association and its branches had left for active service, and there were ten who would never return and whose names were affectionately held in remembrance on the Roll of Honour.

W. Rutherford was one of many ex-pupils who had gone or were on their way to the front and whose names appeared on the Waimataitai School “Roll of Honour” drawn up in August 1915. At the Waimataitai School on 31 January 1922, a marble tablet which had been erected on the facade of the school in a commanding position was unveiled by the Mayor of Timaru in the presence of a large assemblage of past and present pupils, relatives of ex-pupils of the school who gave their lives in the war, and others. The tablet which was veiled by a large Union Jack, had been erected in memory of noble ex-boys of the school who had responded to the call of duty. The hymn, “O God Our Help”, was sung, after which Mr Armitage “told the boys and girls that the soldiers had died in order that others might live; they had made the greatest sacrifice that it was possible to make in giving their lives for humanity and they would always be remembered with pride. In their school the foundation of good character had been laid and laid so well that when their country told them that it needed them they were quick to respond without thought of what it might mean to them. Little had they thought when they were pupils at the school that they would ever be called upon to play such a dramatic part in the world’s history as they had played.” The inscription on the tablet reads: “For King and Country. In memory of ex-pupils of the Waimataitai School who gave their lives in the great war 1914—1918.” Some 45 names follow, one of them S. W. Rutherford. This is surely William Rutherford, the confusion arising because both William Rutherford and William Selwyn Rutherfurd attended Waimataitai School and both served in the war (Selwyn with the Canadian Forces and dying of illness). A tribute was paid to the fallen, “The Last Post” was played, the impressive ceremony closed with a verse of the National Anthem.

The Ex-Contingenters’ Association requested the Timaru Borough Council to renovate the inscriptions on the Troopers’ Memorial. When this was done in 1919, additional names were added with this inscription – “This tablet bears the names of the men who served in South Africa and fell in the Great War, 1914-1918.” Ten names were added, including that of Sergeant W. Rutherford. The annual meeting of the Ex-Contingenters’ Association was held in October 1919, when regret was expressed that so many of their members had “gone West”. Their efforts in compiling a Roll of Honour and in getting the Council to renovate and update the Troopers’ Memorial were also noted. Thanks were extended to the Council. And the members who had made the supreme sacrifice and those who had served were honoured.

William Rutherford, 7/115, is remembered on the Timaru War Memorial Wall, the Canterbury Farmers’ Co-operative Association Roll of Honour and the Waimataitai School Roll of Honour. Bill was described as ‘a very fine type of soldier’ and a ‘plucky comrade’. He had many friends in Timaru. His medals – 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal - were sent to his father at Tararua Street, Masterton, where he lived from about 1919. The plaque and scroll were also sent there in 1921. William's mother had died at Timaru in 1910. William Rutherford, senior, died on 4 March 1935 at Masterton, at the residence of his eldest son where he had resided for some years. He was survived by three sons and two daughters. Bill’s second sister, Stella, married at the family’s Gleniti home in 1899, and his older brother, Charles William, married at St Mary’s, Timaru, in 1906. His sister Mary Robertson, married in 1901 and died in childbirth in 1903, and his sister Ethel died on 8 July 1908 at the family home. John Thomas Rutherford, the youngest of the family, served in World War One and came home. The other two of Bill's brothers, Charles William and Douglas George, were listed in the Reserves for World War I, both being married with families.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [18 November 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ ref. AABK 18805 W5515 0004897) [20 November 2013]; CWGC [21 November 2013]; South Canterbury Times, 21 December 1888, 28 February 1901, Timaru Herald, 23 December 1889, 24 December 1890, 28 October 1899, 25 & 26 February 1901, 1 March 1901, 6 April 1901, 27 & 29 July 1901, 11 October 1901, 20 January 1902, 19 April 1906, 31 October 1907 [x 2], 25 February 1908, 20 July 1908, 28 December 1908, 13 & 26 July 1909, 20 June 1910, 13, 18 & 30 August 1914, 19 May 1915, 29 July 1915 (x 2), 30 August 1915, 20 September 1915, 3 November 1915, 27 May 1916, 18 September 1916, 19 July 1919, 29 September 1919, 27 October 1919, 1 February 1922, 14 March 1935, Press, 9 October 1901, 29 July 1915, Otago Witness, 16 October 1901, Dominion, 29 July 1915, North Otago Times, 29 July 1915 [x 2], Sun, 29 July 1915, Wairarapa Daily Times, 5 & 7 March 1935, Auckland Star, 16 March 1935 (Papers Past) [07 & 18 November 2013, 07 December 2013; 23 June 2014; 11 August 2014; 30 & 31 August 2014; 01 September 2014; 19, 20 & 22 March 2015; 14 & 15 February 2018; 19 April 2018; 05 December 2022; 18 & 19 October 2023]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [2014]; School Admission Records (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [2014]; Pleasant Point Anglican Baptisms (South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [2014]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [20 March 2015; 18 & 19 October 2023]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file
• Other military personnel file

Related Documents

• RUTHERFORD William - newspaper clippings (pdf, 75.5 KB updated 10-Nov-2023)

Researched and Written by

Currently Assigned to

TS