BURNE, Rainald Knightly
| Service Number: | 129 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 August 1914, Randwick, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 28 March 1879 |
| Home Town: | Marrickville, Marrickville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram driver |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 25 April 1915, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Body was recovered then later lost according to his military record., Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey Panel 13 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Tempe Newtown Tramway Depot Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 129, 1st Infantry Battalion, Randwick, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 129, 1st Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 18 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 129, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Rainald Knightly BURNE, (Service Number 129) was 36-years-old, born on 28 March 1878, when he enlisted in the AIF. This made him one of the oldest men in the Australian force, and one of the minority of men who were married. He had been a tram conductor, and then driver in Sydney since 1902 and enlisted with weeks of the outbreak of the war. He had had a period, from 1 August 1908 to 1 February 1909 away from the trams when he had been dismissed for going on strike. In his attestation papers on enlistment he answers the question ‘Have you ever been convicted by the Civil Power?’, with ‘Yes (Industrial Trouble)’.
He left Australia on HMAT ‘Afric’ in October 1914, and landed at Gallipoli on Anzac Day, 25 April 1915. He is deemed to have died some time over the next four days. It was not until a month later on 24 May that his body was located during the eight hours armistice and buried on the battlefield. Since the exact location of the grave is lost, Burne is commemorated at the Memorial at Lone Pine.
Burne left a widow, Florence Susannah, and a daughter, Ida Theresa Mary.
(NAA B2455-3171415)
Submitted 12 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Rainald Knightley BURNE was born in Ballarat on 28 March 1879, the 7th child of Alfred Bodicote BURNE and Ida Theresa Mary JENNINGS. His father was a police magistrate at Ballarat and then at various places in NSW, including Hill End and then Sydney. His grandfather, the Rev Henry Thomas BURNE had a total of 20 children two of whom rose to the rank of General in the British army and others served in the navy. One aunt married a general. His elder brother and a cousin both served in the Boer war, his brother being a light horseman wth the NSW Bushmen's contingent and the cousin in the British navy commanding a naval gun battery at various (land) battles.
He married Florence Susannah OHLBACH in 1905 and had two children, Ida Theresa born 25 November 1905 and Alfred Frederick born 30 November 1909.
He was therefore steeped in the military traditions of his family and volunteered soon after WW1 began. As he, like his elder brother, would have been country raised and had worked on the land, it is surprising he didn't try out for the Light Horse regiments but joined the 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry Brigade. His death during the first assault on Anzac Cove on 25th April 1915 at the age of 36 left a wife and two children and a large extended family to mourn him.
Here are his obituaries from the Sydney Morning Herald of 14 august 1915 (page 12):
BURNE -- killed in action at the Dardanelles, April 25-29, 1915, Private Rainald Knightly Burne, A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry Brigade, fourth son of the late Alfred Bodicote Burne of Sydney,
and grandson of the late Rev Henry Thomas Burne, of Bath Somerset, England. English papers please copy.
BURNE--April 25-29, 1915, killed at Dardanelles.
Rainalld Knightly fourth son of the late Alfred Bodicote Burne and Mrs Burne of Balmoral, N.S.W. Inserted bv his brother O. T. Burne.
PRIVATE R. K. BURNE.
Private Rainald Knightley Burne, killed in action, was born at Ballarat 37 years ago, and was a son of the late Mr. Albert Bodicote Burne, of Sydney. He came of an old military family. Major-General Sir Owen Tudor Burne, who was secretary to Lord Mayo and Lord Lytton, Viceroys of India, and General Henry Burne being his uncles.. He left Sydney with A Company of the First Battalion. In civil life Private Burne was employed in the Government Tramway service. He resided at Marrickville prior to enlistment. He leaves a widow and two children.
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