Maud Butler being fitted with a life belt before being transferred at sea from HMAT Suevic to the ...

Maud Butler being fitted with a life belt before being transferred at sea from HMAT Suevic to the Blue Funnel liner, Achilles. On the evening of Wednesday 22 December 1915, Maud disguised herself as a soldier and snuck on board HMAT Suevic. The ship departed Sydney the following day. For over a day, Maud hid in a life boat on deck but was eventually discovered during a parade. Newspaper reports claimed she had stowed away in order to get to Egypt to help the Red Cross. However, in the record of her interrogation on board the Suevic, she told authorities that she was trying to get to Egypt to be with her younger brother, Maitland. However, Maitland did not enlist until March 1917 and was discharged for being under age. He later successfully enlisted under the alias Frank Emerson. Maud arrived in Melbourne on 25 December 1915, where she was cared for by Miss Dunlop, the Matron of the Young Women’s Christian Association in Melbourne, until she could be transferred home to Sydney.

Maud attempted to stow away again in March 1916, aboard the HMAT Star of England. Feigning drunkeness and dressed in an AIF uniform, she stumbled aboard with other troops returning from leave. She was discovered the following morning during a routine check - her service number did not match any on the officer's list. Following this attempt, Maud was charged and found guilty of having wrongfully worn military uniform. In light of these failures, Maud abandoned the idea of travelling to the front and instead tried to help the war effort by collecting money for charity. On 25 April 1916 she was arrested by Military Police for collecting money while wearing an AIF uniform. Police wrongly assumed she was a soldier contravening a recent military order that men in uniform could not collect money for the war effort. Maud pleaded guilty, escaping a fine and promised never to appear in uniform again.