Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life before the war:

John Winzor Burdett was born on the 30th of October 1896 in Bolivar, South Australia. Before John joined the army he worked as a dairy farmer. World War I was the first time John applied for the army. When John joined the army the service number he was given was 1033. There wasn’t a lot of information available on John's family, but we know that his mother was Mrs Louisa Burdett. John and his mother lived at the same address. There is no information on whether or not John had any brothers or sisters. When John had his medical examination before joining the army, the doctor reported that he had a scar on his body. Some of John’s physical features were that he was 5 foot 9 inches, which is about 175cm. John also had brown hair and blue eyes. 

Life during the war:

John Winzor Burdett enlisted for the army on the 29th of February 1916. He enlisted in Adelaide, South Australia. John embarked from South Australia on the HMAT A19 Afric on the 9th of June 1916. After training in England John went to the front late in 1916. He was soon promoted, first to Lance Corporal in January and then to Corporal on 23 February. On 19 February John performed the action which won him the Military Medal. His citation reads: "L/Cpl Burdett was a member of a raiding party - he showed great courage throughout whole operation and on returning carried a wounded man to our trenches. He went back on two more occasions and succeeded in rescuing two wounded men under heavy shrapnel fire." On 24 April 1917 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant.

On 31 July 1917 John was wounded in action at Warneton. He was wounded in the knees. While in hospital he was promoted to Lieutenant but he was returned to Australia for medical discharge in November. We know this was the timeline because his next of kin, his mother, received a letter letting her know that John was still improving on the 18th of September 1917.

While John was fighting, he was awarded 2 medals for his service a Military Medal and a Victory Medal. John was awarded the Victory Medal for fighting in the war and to show that the Allied forces had defeated the Central powers. J

After the war:

When John returned from the war he most likely went back to live with his mother as has he returned as an injured soldier. John would have struggled to go back to being a dairy farmer because of the injury he had sustained to his knee. After the war had finished the battalions held weekly dances and catchups where the soldiers from each battalion were able to see each other and check on how each other’s lives were going, and what they had been doing in their post war lives. The weekly dances would have been good for the soldiers to see each other and to try and help them forget about some of the life-changing times they would have seen during the war and enjoy the company of people who had had similar experiences.

John Winzor Burdett died in 1981 which would have meant that he was 84 or 85.