Captain Joseph Burnett

Date of birth	1899-12-26	Singleton, NSW.
Other	1912-12-31	Entered the Royal Australian Naval College.
Other	1917-01-01	Became a midshipman. His first appointment was to the battle cruiser HMAS Australia, serving with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea.
Date promoted	1918-10	Promoted to sub lieutenant.
Other	1920 - 1922	Served in the battleship HMS Royal Oak. After this Burnett specialised in gunnery, undertaking training in the HMS Excellent, the Royal Navy's gunnery training establishment.
Date promoted	1920-01	Promoted to lieutenant.
Other	1924	Appointed gunner officer on HMAS Adelaide.
Date promoted	1928-01-01	Promoted to lieutenant commander. Burnett then saw service in the HMAS Canberra.
Other	1932	Bridges attended Staff College at Greenwich.
Date promoted	1932-12	Promoted to commander.
Other	1933 - 1935	Service at Navy Office as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff and Director of Naval Intelligence.
Other	1936	Served in the HMAS Canberra.
Other	1937	Served in the battleships HMS Royal Oak and HMS Resolution.
Date promoted	1938-12-31	Promoted to captain. Returned to Australia and again served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff.
Other	1939	Completed the Imperial Defence College course.
Other	1940-10	Sent to Singapore as a senior Royal Australian Navy Representative at an Allied conference considering the defence of the Asia/Pacific region.
Other	1941-05-14	Appointed to command HMAS Sydney.
Date of death	1941-11-19	Killed in action. The HMAS Sydney and its entire crew were lost in action off the Western Australian Coast. The HMAS Sydney was engaged with the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran. The Kormoran was also sunk in the action. The loss of HMAS Sydney and all her crew is the greatest Naval disaster in Australia's history.