| Accession Number | P07381.002 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Digital file TIFF |
| Maker |
Crown Studios |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney |
| Date made | December 1917 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Studio portrait of 7032 Private (Pte) William (Bill) Norman Burns, 18th Battalion, with his wife ...
Description
Studio portrait of 7032 Private (Pte) William (Bill) Norman Burns, 18th Battalion, with his wife Florence Burns (nee Cook) and children Ronald and Catherine. Born in South Chelsea, England, Burns studied at a private college at Cambridge and worked for the London Times as a proof reader and journalist. Immigrating to Australia with his wife and daughter in November 1911, the family settled in South Hurstville, NSW. He enlisted with the 1st AIF in October 1917, and embarked with the 21st Reinforcements from Sydney aboard HMAT Ulysses on 19 December 1917. Proceeding to France in May 1918, Pte Burns took up duties as an interpreter with the division. On 3 October 1918, in the early stages of the attack on the Beaurevoir Line, Pte Burns was fatally shot in the chest by machine gun fire near the front line of German trenches. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial, France. See also P07381.001