STRUTT, Charles Nettleton

Lance Corporal Charles Nettleton Strutt was born in Seotember, 1884. His father, Samuel Shippam Strutt, was a pharmacist, who lived and worked in Powlett St. East Melbourne for 35 years, then retired to St. Kilda. He married Mary Nettleton on 25/7/1883. Samual Strutt became the president of the Pharmacy Board, a JP, and Returning Officer for the electorates of West Richmond and East Melbourne. 

Charles was their first child. He grew up at 167 Powlett St., East Melbourne, and was educated at Scotch Colllege, East Melbourne, where he was a member of the Cadet Corps. After school, he worked for Messrs. Howard Smith and Co. From there, he went to Queensland to learn wool-classing, but returned to Melbourne and was living at 4 Cowdery St., St. Kilda.  He enlisted on 17 August 1914, when he was 29 and 11 months old, and was attached to the 6th Battalion.

The 6th battalion was raised within two weeks of the outbreak of war and embarked two months later on HMAS 'Hororata' A 20. They stopped briefly at Albany, Western Australia, to join the first convoy, the headed to Egypt, arriving on 2 December, 1914.

The 6th Battalion took part in the landing at Anzac Cove, but was then transferred to Cape Helles to join the British Expeditonary Force in the attack on the village of Krithia. The attack was both badly planned and executed. Believing the Turkish units were poorly armed, the troops were ordered to run towards the enemy over open ground. They were met with machine gun fire. Of the 14, 000 allied troops which attacked, 3,000 were casualties. Charles Nettleton Strutt was one, dying in action on 8 May, 1915. The cable informing his parents of his death was sent on 16 June, 1915. His father's death followed shortly afterwards, on 1 July, 1915.

He is bured at Cape Helles Memorial Cemetery and remembered on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial and on Panel 48 in the Commemoration Area.