BURNS, Charles
| Service Number: | 2583 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Port Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | St Josephs Catholic School, Surrey Hill, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm labourer |
| Died: | Died of illness, at sea, Colombo, India, 10 May 1919 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2583, 23rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2583, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2583, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 23 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 58th Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 May 1919: | Involvement Private, 2583, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2583 awm_unit: 5th Australian Machine Gun Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1919-05-10 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Charles Burns was the son of Charles and Susan Burns. His mother passed away when he was only three years of age. He gave his next of kin as his sister, Sarah Stubbs, who was married and living in Scotland.
His twin brother, 209 Pte. David Burns 7th Battalion AIF, died of wounds at sea near Gallipoli on 7 June, 1915, age 27. They were both associated with Port Melbourne, Victoria.
Charles served on the Western Front with the 5th Division from June 1916 until he was returned to Australia during April 1919.
Charles was officially reported as having died of acute oedema to the brain and melancholia, on his way home to Australia, near Colombo in present day Sri Lanka, aboard the HMS ‘Wyreema’. He was buried at sea the next day. Although thousands of miles from the Western Front, Charles’s name is remembered on the Australian National Memorial, at Villers-Bretonneux, France.
His father was living at Tullamarine, near Melbourne after the war and he received all of Charles's effects and entitlements.