Family :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

Following the collapse of the Italian Front in late 1917 a number of British Divisions were sent to Italy to support and stabilise the Italian effort. In March 1918, XIV Corps (the 7th, 23rd and 48th Divisions) relieved Italian troops on the front line between Asiago and Canove, the front being held by two divisions with one division in reserve on the plain. The French held the line to the left, with the Italians to the right.

The front was comparatively quiet until the Austrians attacked in force from Grappa to Canove in the Battle of Asiago (15-16 June 1918). The Allied line was penetrated to a depth of about 1,000 metres on 15 June but the lost ground was retaken the next day and the line re-established. Between June and September, frequent successful raids were made on the Austrian trenches.

In October, the 7th and 23rd Divisions were sent to the Treviso area of the River Piave front. The 48th Division, which remained in the mountains as part of the Italian Sixth Army, played an important part in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto (24 October-4 November 1918) in which the Austrians were finally defeated. By late 1918 the danger had passed and many of the British troops returned to the Western Front.

Detail :

The Gloucester Journal 29th June 1918 picked up the story: "Local Casualties - Captain Basil V. Bruton - Killed in Action. News was received by wire on Tuesday evening that Basil Vassar Bruton, of the Gloucestershire Regiment had been killed in action in Italy on June 15th. This was confirmed in letters to hand on Wednesday, his widow having received a letter of sympathy from his commanding officer, in which he states that Capt. Bruton was killed by a bullet, that death was instantaneous, and that he was buried in the little cemetery on the plateau with others who fell in the same fight. A letter from the Major-General of the Division deplores his loss, and says how greatly he will be missed. The late Capt. B.V. Bruton (who was mentioned in General Plumer's recent despatch) was the third son of Mr H.W. Bruton, of Bewick House, Gloucester, a member of the firm of Messrs. Bruton, Knowles and Co., and a Fellow of the Surveyor's Institution. He married Miss Robertson, eldest daughter of the Rev. S. Richmond Roberston, vicar of St. Catharine's, Gloucester, and leave a daughter and two sons.

Capt. Bruton took a great interest in the Volunteer movement, acting as Secretary to the Committee of the Gloucester Volunteer Training Corps and as Commander of No. 1 Platoon of the City Company. He received a commission in the Gloucestershire Regiment in June, 1915, and went on active service to France at Christmas, 1916, proceeding subsequently with his Battalion to Italy. Recently he was appointed Acting-Adjutant with Captain's rank. The deceased officer was formerly a member of the City Council and chairman of the Park Committee. He was a keen cricketer, and for one season captained the Gloucester Cricket Club. He was joint secretary, with the Hon. Rev. C.A. Sinclair, of the Diocesan Conference, and had been hon. secretary of the Gloucestershire Orchestral Society."

The article goes on to reflect the tribute at a meeting of the City Council at its meeting on the Wednesday. His brother, Sir James Bruton, mayor of Gloucester at the time "I should like on behalf of my niece and my brother to say how deeply they will appreciate this mark of your sympathy."

He is further commemorated on the War Memorial at Hempsted, Gloucester and on the Bromsgrove School WW1 Memorial. Additionally, his name is listed amongst nine names of Freemasons of the Province of Gloucestershire, located at Gloucester Cathedral in the Cloisters, which was reported in the Gloucester Journal 30th October 1920: "WAR MEMORIAL ERECTED IN THE CATHEDRAL. A bronze masonic memorial tablet has recently been erected in Gloucester Cathedral to the memory of Freemasons of the Province of Gloucestershire who fell in the Great War. The tablet which was designed by Mr. N.H. Waller of College Green, Gloucester, and executed by Messrs. Martyn of Cheltenham, ahs been surmounted by masonic emblems, and placed within the cuspated stone panelling of the north wall of the Cloisters- a most appropriate position in view of the fact that the north walk owes its restoration to the munificence of the Freemasons of the county-and it has been deservedly admired by all who have seen it. Nine names are recorded in the order of Lodges to which the deceased respectively belonged."

Masonic :

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley