22314
BURNS, William Henry
| Service Number: | 4744 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 October 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Glanville, South Australia, August 1897 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Sturt Street Public School |
| Occupation: | Hospital Orderly |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Royal Adelaide Hospital WW1 Roll of Honour, Adelaide St Patrick's Parish Honor Board, Adelaide Sturt Street Public School Great War Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Oct 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4744 | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4744, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Mongolia embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 9 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4744, 10th Infantry Battalion, RMS Mongolia, Adelaide | |
| 23 Jul 1916: | Involvement 4744, 10th Infantry Battalion, Battle of Pozieres | |
| 2 Apr 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4744, Forearm Shot Wounded in Action | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Involvement 10th Infantry Battalion, First Battle of Bullecourt | |
| 21 Apr 1918: | Embarked Private, 4744, 50th Infantry Battalion, Embarked from England on the SS Suevic for Australia caused by poor health. | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 4744, 50th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
William Henry Burns was born in Glanville South Australia. Later he lived on Sturt Street, Adelaide and attended Sturt Street State School. He lived with his mother, C. Burns. Before enlisting he worked as a Hospital Orderly and was a Roman Catholic.
Burns enlisted on 21st of October 1915. As indicated in his enlistment papers fhe was 5'8, had brown eyes and dark hair. He trained in Australia for 5 months before embarking on the 9th of March 1916 on the RMS Mongolia from Adelaide to Egypt. After further training he proceeded to France 14 June 1916.
Burns struggled with the difficult conditions he faced, according to his casualty forms Burns went absent without leave on several occasions, including parades and practices while in France. His hernia condition flared in September 1916 and he spent a period of time in a convalescent depot. He returned to his unit in February 1917.
Burns was wounded in action on the 2nd of April 1917. He was transported on the HS Cambria from Boulogne, France, to England. He was admitted on the 5th of April 1917 to the Royal Surrey County Hospital for suffering from a gunshot wound on his arm during action. During the remainder of 1917 and 1918 he served at various depots in England and continued to get into trouble going AWL from training exercises. Thanks to his recurrent hernia condition he was returned to Australia 21st April 1918.
After the war, Burns joined the RSL, and his badge number was 22314. He married May Burns and moved houses to 84th Sturt Street.
Later in 1927, Burns divorced her, as reported in newspaper articles. They were living north of Adelaide in a town called Yongala, South Australia. Ms. Burns left him and came to Adelaide. The reason was that the town was “too lonely” for her. 27 years later, he remarried to Rita Macauley at the Madge Memorial Church on Saturday, February 20th, 1954.