The AIF Project

Samuel Boley RUSE

Regimental number3211
Place of birthCollector, New South Wales
ReligionChurch of England
OccupationLabourer
AddressCollector, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation34
Height5' 7.5"
Weight145 lbs
Next of kinFather, Robert Ruse, Collector PO, Collector, New South Wales
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date23 October 1916
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll7 October 1916
Place of enlistmentGoulburn, New South Wales
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name55th Battalion, 8th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/72/4
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A29 Suevic on 11 November 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll55th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 4 July 1918
Age at death from cemetery records36
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsAustralian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra.

On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours.

After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
161
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Commemorated in Collector Uniting Cemetery, New South Wales. Headstone inscription reads: 'Duty Done'. Parents: Robert (d. 28 August 1921, aged 74, bu. Collector Uniting Cemetery) and Sarah RUSE (d. 25 August 1929, aged 78, bu. Collector Uniting Cemetery), Collector, New South Wales
Other details

War service: Western Front

Embarked Sydney, 11 November 1916; disembarked Devonport, England, 30 January 1917, and marched into 14th Training Bn, Hurdcott, the same day.

Proceeded overseas to France, 3 May 1917; marched into 5th Australian Divisional Base Depot, Etaples, 4 May 1917.

Proceeded to unit, 7 May 1917; taken on strength of 55th Bn, 8 May 1917.

Killed in action, 4 July 1918.

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, RUSE Samuel Boley

Print format    


© The AIF Project 2024, UNSW Canberra. Not to be reproduced without permission.