BURNS, Edmund Francis
(Service number 54328)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank | Sergeant |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 15 October 1890 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | (1) 24 August 1915; (2) 25 January 1917 | Age | (1) 24 years; (2) 26 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Murray Roberts & Co., Wellington | ||
| Occupation | Wool clerk | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs Mary BURNS (mother), care of Raymond, Raymond, and Campbell, Solicitors, Timaru | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 27th Reinforcements, G Company | ||
| Date | 16 July 1917 | ||
| Transport | Athenic | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Liverpool, Merseyside, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | NZ Rifle Brigade | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 15 August 1944 | Age | 53 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Wellington | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Karori Cemetery, Wellington | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Edmund Francis Burns was born on 15 October 1890 at Timaru, the son of Thomas Joseph and Mary Agnes (née Kenny) Burns. He enlisted on 25 January 1917 at Wellington, having first done so on 24 August 1915 at Trentham. A wool clerk for Murray Roberts and Company, Wellington, single and Roman Catholic, he named his mother as next-of-kin – Mrs Mary Burns, care of Raymond, Raymond, and Campbell, Solicitors, Timaru.
Rifleman E. F. Burns embarked with the 27th Reinforcements, leaving for Liverpool, England per the “Athenic” on 16 July 1917. The casualty lists published in December 1917, reported the case of E. F. Burns, 54328, Timaru, as not severe. Private Burns returned home by Draft 213 (“Matatua”), arriving in February 1919. He was discharged on 21 March 1919 and awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service in Europe.
In 1920, Edmund married Margaret Ann Ward. They had a son, Ernest Thomas Burns, and a daughter, Marie Terese Burns. The family moved from South Canterbury to Wellington in the late 1930s. Edgar Francis Burns died on 15 August 1944 at Wellington, aged 53 years, and was buried in a soldier’s plot at Karori Cemetery. His father had died in 1911 at Timaru and his mother in 1921 at Christchurch, both buried at Timaru with the Kenny family. Margaret Ann Burns died in 1954 and was buried at Karori, her sister with her.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [26 August 2023]; Dominion, 20 December 1917, NZ Times, 12 February 1919, Timaru Herald, 14 February 1919 (Papers Past) [27 August 2023]; Karori Cemetery burial record (Wellington City Council) [26 August 2023]
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC Genealogy Society
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!