Edward John Rutland was born on 14th August, 1900 at 6, Anchor Lane in Aylesbury (where the Upper Hundreds Way relief road is today). He was one of fourteen children, the fourth son of Frederick Rutland and his wife Maria (nee Wallace). Edward attended St John’s School in Cambridge Street (on the site of what is now the BT telephone exchange) and then found work as an apprentice carman at the Hills & Partridge Mill after leaving school at the age of 13. Ten days before his 14th birthday Britain joined World War I by declaring war on Germany.
Edward came from a Naval family. His older brother William Henry Rutland had joined the Navy in 1904 and served throughout the Great War on a variety of ships. Also his brother-in-law Edward Harry Hailey had been a sailor since 1911. So Edward was probably following in the family footsteps, when on his 18th birthday, he boarded a train from Aylesbury to go and enlist in the Royal Navy at Chatham. At the time he was five feet and seven and a half inches tall, he had a 37 inch chest, blond hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion.
Edward set sail aboard HMS Pembroke II, which was a passenger ship the Royal Navy used to carry sailors to and from their postings around the world. Edward’s job was to work as a stoker aboard this ship, which meant spending long hours below deck in a hot and uncomfortable environment. The work was very stressful, and very tiring, and the sleeping quarters for stokers left a lot to be desired.
Shortly after joining the Navy Edward received inoculations against infections that he was likely to come into contact with in his service. Some of these inoculations used to make you ill for a short period afterwards, and it was during this short illness in the cramped conditions on board ship, that Edward developed pneumonia.
Edward died of pneumonia on 25th October 1918, just seventeen days before the end of the Great War. He was still just eighteen years old. He is buried in Aylesbury Cemetery, in a war grave, with a headstone paid for by the Ministry of Defence. He was posthumously awarded War Gratuity, which was a cash payment granted to men and women who had served in the military during the Great War. Although his parents were entitled to claim this money, they never did. Edward’s father died seven years later in 1925, from a heart attack. His mother died in 1947 from old age.
Edward has family (nieces and nephews and their descendants) who live in Aylesbury today, and remember him each time they visit the cemetery.
The cache
The start co-ordinates should lead you to within a few feet of Edward's war grave in Aylesbury cemetery. The cemetery is only open at certain times of the day and the opening times change throughout the year. Check the times on the information board at the main entrance. The cache is not in the cemetery, but is within walking distance, a short walk away.
On Edward's gravestone is a five digit number following the K. These are represented below by the letters ABCDE.
The cache can be found at:
N51 48. [A+D] [BxC] A
W000 47. [A+E] D A
Please be respectful to other people visiting the cemetery. You can leave a floral tribute on Edward's grave, if you wish. You are looking for a small camo'ed clip-lock box with space for small swaps and TBs.