item details
NameCaptain Thomas Wyville Leonard Rutherfurd with Military Cross ribbon
ProductionUnknown; photographer; 1917-1918; United Kingdom
Classificationphotographic prints, gelatin silver prints, portraits
Materialssilver, photographic gelatin, photographic paper, metal, wood, paint, glass, ribbon
Materials Summarygelatin silver print, framed
Techniquesblack-and-white photography, photography
DimensionsImage: 78mm (width), 85mm (height)
Registration NumberO.048934
Credit lineGift of Marianne Abraham in memory of T. Wyville Rutherfurd, McKenzie Gibson, Frances and Dorothy Broad, 2019
Overview
This portrait features Captain Thomas Wyville Leonard Rutherfurd (1890-1918) during the First World War (1914-19).
Captain Rutherfurd (Service Number 6/718) was known to family and friends as Wyville. In 1915 he was severely wounded on Gallipoli, but was able to serve in the trenches in France. In 1917, he received the Military Cross for 'conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty' at Messines. A small piece of white and purple Military Cross ribbon has been added to this portrait.
In early 1918, he went with a unit of experienced soldiers to Persia (Iran). In October 1918, he died from disease aggravated by military service, which may have been influenza. He was later buried in the British Military Cemetery in Tehran.