William George Bowman BURNS

Badge Number: 7588
7588

BURNS, William George Bowman

Service Number: 1623
Enlisted: 22 March 1916
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 27th Infantry Battalion
Born: Wellington East, South Australia, 11 November 1887
Home Town: Wellington East, The Coorong, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Groom
Died: Welland, South Australia, 23 November 1942, aged 55 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: West Terrace Cemetery (AIF Section)
Section: LO, Road: 6S, Site No: 31
Memorials: Murray Bridge Roll of Honour WW1, Willunga War Memorial
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World War 1 Service

22 Mar 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1623, 43rd Infantry Battalion
9 Jun 1916: Involvement Private, 1623, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: ''
9 Jun 1916: Embarked Private, 1623, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide
11 Nov 1918: Involvement Private, 1623, 27th Infantry Battalion

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Biography contributed by Peter Cates

William Burns was living at Murray Bridge with his wife, Elizabeth Alice (nee Bannon) and had one child at the time of his enlistment. He was a member of the local Roman Catholic church. William had a medium complexion, grey eyes and dark brown hair. He was 5' 6" (168cm) and weighed 127lbs (58kg) when  he embarked on HMAT Afric on 9 June 1916, initially with the 1st/43rd Battalion Reinforcements. He was transferred to 27th Bn in France on 09 September 1916 and on 05 November 1916 received a gunshot wound to the thigh. He returned home on 5 August 1919.

Excerpt from the Book "A Picture of Fortitude" with approval by Willunga Recreational Park.

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