Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

When Bryan Lambert Burke was born in 1894, in Katamatite, Victoria, his father, John Lambert (1866 to 1954), was 28 and his mother, Minnie, nee Aikenhead (1870 to 1953), was 24. He would have two sisters and one brother; Adrian Lambert (1891 to 1961), Jeannie Beryl Lambert (1893 to 1893) and Marjorie Lambert (1898 to 1962).

At the time of enlisting on the 12 August ,1915, Bryan was a single, 21-year-old overseer of a sheep station. His father, John, was working at the Bank of Australasia in Corryong at the time. His medical examination describes him as standing 5 foot 6 inches tall (168 cm) and weighing 140 lbs (64 kg). His complexion was given as fair, eyes blue and hair light brown. His religious denomination was Church of England and he had no distinctive marks. Bryan was taken on strength with the 11th Reinforcements for the 1st Light Horse Regiment and was allocated the service number 1383.

On the 4 October, 1915, Bryan embarked on HMAT A47 Mashobra at Sydney, New South Wales and sailed for overseas service. Upon arriving at Heliopolis, Egypt he joined his regiment. Early in the new year, Bryan sprained his ankle. He was placed on HMHS Rasheed and taken to Alexandria where he was admitted to the 21st General Hospital. He was discharged from the hospital a few weeks later.

On the 6 July, 1916, he was transferred to the Double Squadron at Serapeum. This was a dismounted squadron formed for the defence of the Suez Canal.

On the 24 August, he was admitted to the 24th Stationary Hospital being seriously ill with bronchial pneumonia. It would be late October before he had sufficiently recovered to rejoin his unit at Moascar. In late November he was detached for duty with the 1st Light Horse Brigade Headquarters, remaining there for about one month.

For the first nine months of 1917, Bryan was on duty with the 1st Light Horse Regiment. During this time the Regiment was part of the Allied advance across the Sinai. Bryan would have been present for the fight to secure the Turkish outpost at Rafa on 9 January. After this, his duties would have included protecting the lines of communications through the Sinai. The Regiment was also involved in the 2nd Battle of Gaza in which the Allied forces aborted their attack after receiving heavy casualties.

On the 4 September, 1917, he was sent to the School of Instruction at Zeitoun to undergo a course on the use of the Hotchkiss machine gun. He rejoined his unit being classified as a 1st class gunner.

From October 1917 to mid-May 1918, Bryan remained with the 1st Light Horse. During this period the Regiment was involved with the attack on Beersheba. It was while this battle was taking place that Gaza was finally captured and the Turkish position in southern Palestine collapsed. The 1st Light Horse, and therefore Bryan, participated in the advance to Jaffa and the clearing and occupation of the west bank of the River Jordan. He would have been involved in the Amman (24 to 27 February) and Es Salt (30 April to 4 May) raids.

On the 17 May, 1918, Bryan was admitted sick to the 26th Casualty Clearing Station and then the 36th Stationary Hospital at Gaza. During 1918 Bryan would be admitted to various hospitals and convalescent depots recovering from illness, although his records do not state the nature of the illness. He would rejoin his unit for short periods of time and be promoted to Lance Corporal.

Bryan returned to Australia on HMNZT Ulimaroa on the 13 March, 1919, and was discharged from the AIF on the 28 September of that year. For his service during the war, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

In 1929 he married Mabel Christina Wilkins (1893 to 1953). They had one child, Ian (1930 to 2004) during their marriage. Bryan passed away in 1969 in Prahran, Victoria, at the age of 75.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.