Cyril Aveling; he was born in 1886 the second son of Gerald Edward Shute, Captain (later, Colonel and Chief Engineer) Royal Engineers. In 1905 he was commissioned into the Durham Light Infantry as a Second Lieutenant from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1908 he transferred to the Indian Army and joined the 107th Pioneers; he was appointed Adjutant in April 1914. In 1913 he married Florence Eugenie Aylmer Lloyd.
He was with his regiment when it moved to France as the pioneer battalion of the Meerut Division, disembarking on 26th September 1914. On 30th October, the war diary records that Captain Shute along with his commanding officer made a night reconnaissance of the trenches at Croix Barbée. On 10th November, whilst putting up wire entanglements at Gorre, the war diary records that Captain Shute was seriously wounded. It is not clear whether he rejoined his regiment after recovering as he was appointed a Deputy Assistant Adjutant General in May 1916 and served with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. He was Mentioned in Despatches in the London Gazette of 6-7-17. He was appointed a Brevet Major in January 1919 and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 1919 "for valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in Egypt".
Major Shute continued his military career after the war and appears to have stayed in the Middle East. When the Transjordan Frontier Force (TJFF) was created in 1926, he was appointed second-in-command to Lieutenant-Colonel FW Bewsher. In 1928, when Lt-Col Bewsher relinquished command, Major Shute took over and commanded the force until 1933. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1931 and appointed a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1933. He retired the same year.
Interestingly, in World War 2, he joined the Royal Air Force (number 72936). He rose to the rank of (Acting) Wing Commander and was Mentioned in Despatches in the London Gazette of 2-6-43. He relinquished his commission due to ill-health on 8-4-43. He died in 1950.
In addition to the British War and Victory medals and the Honours noted above, Lt-Col Shute was also entitled to the Delhi Durbar medal, the 1914 star (with clasp) and World War 2 medals.
Documents available: Delhi Durbar medal roll; Medal Index Card; war diary pages;
London Gazette page(s); probate record
TJFF information is available at: https://homepages.force9.net/rothwell/trans-jo1.htm
Condition: NEF -- note that the medals have been professionally cleaned and mounted for wear; please see photographs for detail
