A ceremony was held in Belgium on Wednesday 24 Could for World Warfare 1 Royal Flying Corps (RFC) Officer, Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) William Wallace Hutton, who was aged 24 when he was killed.

2nd Lt Hutton, from Cape City, died in October 1917 after his aircraft left Dunkirk on a bombing raid to Saint Denjis Westrem in Belgium.

The ceremony at Commonwealth Warfare Graves Fee (CWGC) Larch Wooden (Railway Chopping) Cemetery, was held after proof was introduced that an unknown grave was his. It was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also called the ‘MOD Warfare Detectives’.

Flowers and tributes at 2nd Lt Hutton’s grave

Tracey Bowers of JCCC stated:

I’m grateful to those that submitted this case. The proof led to us to recognise the ultimate resting place of 2nd Lt Hutton. For such a younger man William had seen a few years of service so distant from his residence in South Africa and we will solely think about how tough this should have been for him and his household, particularly as his brother Albert had been killed in motion only a month earlier than William. We thank them for his or her sacrifice.

2nd Lt Hutton was flying as a crew member on Handley Web page 3122 when he went lacking on 28 October 1917. The Admiralty notified the Warfare Workplace that, in keeping with German sources, Hutton had been killed within the crash, and the 2 different crew members taken prisoner.

As an Officer with earlier service in a unique regiment when he joined the Royal Flying Corps, he was permitted to put on his earlier uniform together with a Royal Flying Corps insignia. This explains why those that initially tried to determine his stays thought he was with seventh London Regiment however couldn’t hyperlink that to a reputation.

RAF representatives attended the service

Reverend (Flight Lieutenant) Robert Hadfield, Chaplain at RAF Lossiemouth, led the service. He stated:

It’s an unlimited privilege for me to have performed a component on this rededication ceremony for Second Lieutenant William Wallace Hutton, whose title is finally etched into stone as an ongoing testomony to the last word sacrifice he made.

Mel Donnelly, CWGC Head of Commemorations stated:

We’re honoured to rededicate the grave of Second Lieutenant William Wallace Hutton right this moment. Marking his final resting place with a brand new gravestone which may now bear his title is very poignant in Warfare Graves Week. It allows the Commonwealth Warfare Graves Fee to resume our dedication to look after the graves and memorials of all those that made the last word sacrifice, in perpetuity.