BURRELL, Moreton
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 January 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 31 August 1894 |
| Home Town: | Indooroopilly, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Brisbane Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Natural causes, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 4 February 1990, aged 95 years |
| Cemetery: |
Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, NSW Crematorium Chapel Gardens, Garden D6, Position 0 |
| Memorials: | Bank of New South Wales Roll of Honour Book |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 26th Infantry Battalion | |
| 29 Jun 1915: | Embarked 26th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Brisbane | |
| 29 Jun 1915: | Involvement 26th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Aug 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 7th Machine Gun Company | |
| 30 May 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 7th Machine Gun Company | |
| 17 Jul 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 7th Machine Gun Company | |
| 31 Mar 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Captain, 2nd Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 28 May 1918: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches | |
| 22 Dec 1919: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain, 2nd Machine Gun Battalion, HT Themistocles, England for return to Australia with wife and sister-in-law - disembarking Sydney 9 February 1920 | |
| 1 May 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Captain, 2nd Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
MORETON BURRELL, the son of Mr. William Robert and Mrs. Edith Burrell, was born at Townsville, Queensland, on 31 st August, 1894. He was educated at the Brisbane Boys’ Grammar School.
On 1st December, 1910, he entered the Bank’s service at Brisbane, and while there joined the Moreton Regiment, C.M.F., in which he held a commission.
When the war broke out he volunteered for active service and enlisted on 26th January, 1915. He left Australia in June, 1915 , as O.C. (with the rank of second-lieutenant) of the Machine Gun Section of the 26th Battalion, 2nd Division. Before leaving for Gallipoli in September, 1915, he was promoted to first lieutenant.
Lt. Moreton Burrell served with credit through the latter part of the campaign on the Peninsula until the evacuation. In connection with this latter operation he was detailed to select sixteen volunteers to remain behind with him during the withdrawal of his brigade. Their duty was to keep up a continuous machine-gun fire until the last man had embarked. This operation was successfully accomplished; but the task of withdrawing his own small section was by no means easy, all the ammunition having been expended and each man having to be lowered, one by one, down the face of a cliff four hundred feet high. However, this difficult task was carried through without a casualty. Later, he saw service in Egypt, and went with his Division to France in 1916. He was wounded on 30th May, 1916, and invalided to England.
After convalescence he was appointed Adjutant of the Command Depot, at Westham, Weymouth, which position he held until his return to France in April, 1917. He was then promoted to second-in-command of the 7th Machine Gun Com¬pany and received his captaincy in June, 1917. A few months later he had command of the 7th Machine Gun Company, and held that post until after the Armistice. For his work during the Somme Campaign of 1918 he was mentioned in despatches by Sir Douglas Haig.
Source Bank of NSW Roll of Honour
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