Ancestor Details
Name of Ancestor: William Charles McCutchan
Ancestor's date of birth: 10/05/1879
Ancestor's date of death: 26/05/1947
Cause of Death: Natural Causes
Service and Life Before the Boer War: Paymaster's Escort and worked as a grain sampler in Victoria.
Service Number: 931
Colony or State of enlistment: VIC, Place of Enlistment: Melbourne
Unit: 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles
Rank attained in Boer War: LCPL, Date Effective: 01/01/1899
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): CAPT, Date Effective: 09/11/1917
Murray Page: 286
Contingent: Fifth Victorian
Ship: Orient, Date of Sailing: 16/02/1901
Memorial details: VMR Memorial Melbourne, soldier's grave near Melbourne.
Awards/Decorations/Commendations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Transvaal, South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 clasps. 1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Military Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal, Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Personal Characteristics: Height 167 cm, Weight 61 kg (1914).
Reasons to go and fight: Detail not provided.
Details of service in war: March 1901 - March 1902 in east Transvaal and Natal frontier, including defeat at Wilmansrust where 18 killed and 42 wounded (12 June 1901), and successful intervention at Onverwacht (4 January 1902); heaviest casualties of any Australian contingent, at Wilmansrust suffered the costliest defeat.
Service and life after the Boer War: Continued to work as a grain sampler. Married Abigail, lived at South Yarra, Victoria. Served in the Army, 26th Signal Company Army Engineers. Enlisetd in the AIF as a Sergeant on 19 August 1914. Served at Gallipoli. Awarded Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) 23 October 1915. Commissioned 6 November 1915. Saw action in France with 1 Div Sig Coy where he was wounded in action 26 July 1916. Awarded Military Cross (MC) 19 August 1916. Promoted Captain 19 November 1917. Awarded Member of the British Empire (MBE) 11 February 1918. Returned to Australia 8 November 1918.
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Thomas William Westhead, Seaford VIC
Relationship to Ancestor: Grandson
