Topic: Gen - Australia
The story of Maud Butler appears unique. Below is an extract from the Sydney Mail of 15 March 1916 taken from page 23 dealing with the arrest of Maud Butler who tried to pass herself off as a soldier and stowed away on a troop ship. It is an interesting story which sows the seeds of doubt.
Sydney Mail, 15 March 1916, p. 23.
[Click on photograph for a larger version.]
Just looking at the photograph, if the young lass wasn't lacking in the knowledge of military identification, she would have had no troubles. She certainly seems to have fooled most men on board the ship.
This was not an incident Maud Butler related to her children and grand children. After this episode, Maud settled down and moved past the derision that inevitabley followed such an action. Maud lived for many years in Campsie, Sydney where she ran a private hospital until retiring. She died in 1987 aged 88 and was buried at the Rookwood cemetery.
Citation: Maud Butler
