Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Bill was the second born child of five to William Henry Burlace &Mary Jane Chapman, having been born in Sydney on 1 January 1892

He was working as a farm hand when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at the Rosebury Park Camp in Sydney on 18 September 1914

He was posted as 223 Trooper with the 6th Light Horse Regiments, B Squadron & allocated to C Troop just three days after the units conception. They embarked for the Middle East on board HMAT (A29) Suevic on 21 December 1914 & disembarked in Egypt on 1 February 1915

He embarked for Gallipoli on 16 May 1915 arriving at Anzac Cove on the 20th

The 6th, along with the 5th & 7th LH Regiments were allocated the southern position of Anzac later to be known as Chatham’s Post. During the campaign they fought mainly defensive actions around the Anzac Cove beachhead, until the Allied evacuation from the peninsular in December 1915

Appointed Lance Corporal on 4 October & promoted Corporal on 29 November

He embarked for Egypt on the night of 19 December disembarking at Alexandria on Christmas day

Lieutenant Colonel Colin Dunmore Fuller (6th LH Regt Commanding Officer) recommended Bill, then Corporal for a 'distinguished service award' (though appears never awarded), the recommendation stating - "For general good work at Gallipoli. Did excellent work with ranks at Wilson's Lookout & was present at withdrawal from Anzac on night of 19/20 Dec 1915"

Appointed Lance Sergeant on 28 March 1916 & Temp/Sergeant on 10 July

Involved in, the Battle of Romani & Katia on 3 - 4 August 1916, the First Battle of Gaza on 26 March 1917, the Second Battle of Gaza on 17-19 of April 1917 & the Battle of Beersheba (at Tel el Sakaty) on 31 October 1917

Bill was wounded in action on 9 November 1917, suffering a gunshot wound to his L/thigh at Wadi el Ghueit, Palestine, when the regiment was involved in the pursuit of Turkish forces following the fall of Gaza

Rejoining the regiment after recovering from his wounds on 23 December, he was later involved in the First Battle of Amman fought on 27 - 31 March 1918

During the battle, he was reported missing in action, later wounded & presumed killed

On 28 March 1918, a party of B Squadron (including Bill Burlace) under the command of 746 Lieutenant Francis Leigh Ridgway DCM, made a dismounted attack on a machine-gun post at Amman. Only one man from the B Squadron attacking party returned (736 Trooper Edward John Joseph Ringrose DCM)

An insight into the actions of Squadrons attacking party can be found in a Red Cross Report by 3048 Trooper Roy Clarke, who was taken as a POW during the attack, where he states - "I was taken prisoner at Amman about 50 miles from Jerusalem. My Squadron (B Sqn) was dismounted & had to advance across about 1 mile, over fairly open country. We were under very heavy fire & our men kept dropping out wounded as we advanced & by the time we got about 30 yards of the place we were to take, there were very few of us left. We were ordered to fix bayonets & go on. Something struck me in the stomach & I thought my last hour had come. When I came to again, I was lying about 30 yards from the Turks, in a heap of stones. All was quiet as none of our men had reached the objective. There was no chance of getting away while it was light, so as I could not be very well hit where I was, I intended to wait till dark and try to crawl away back, but it was not to be. The Turks slipped out on each side of us & captured me, they also took 11 others of my Squadron, 10 wounded & one like myself, not very badly damaged. There was also about 25 English Infantry taken at another part of the line"

Sadly, the bodies of the men killed were unable to be recovered immediately due to heavy enemy opposition. It wasn’t until almost 6 months later following the Second Battle of Amman on 25 September 1918, that the bodies of the deceased were able to be recovered. They had been found left on the ground where they had fallen. They were initially buried together in one grave where they were found, though later moved & re-buried at the Damascus British War Cemetery, Bill in Row C, Grave No. 37. He is also commemorated on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Panel 5

Bill’s youngest brother, Christopher Harry Burlace served in the RAAF during WW2 as 26044 Squadron Leader (Flying Instructor) with numerous units, including No.31 Squadron in the Pacific