Private John Victor Burns
- Rank
- Private
- Service number
- 787
- Unit
- 12 Battalion
- Cause of death
- Killed in Action
- Place of death
- Strazeele, France
- Date of death
- 8 May 1918
- Age
- 24
- Plaque number
- M428A
- Co-located plaques
- M428 - PTE Herbert Clark
- Dedicated by
- Family on 15 May 2021
- More information
Biography presented during plaque dedication:
Private John Victor Burns of 12 Battalion was born in May 1894 in the Victorian gold mining town of Maryborough. John, who was called ‘Jack’ by his family, was the youngest son of John Francis and Mary Ann Burns, and younger brother to sisters Emily, Selina and Ethel May.
In the early 1900’s his sister Ethel, who was the matriarch of this branch of the family, moved from Victoria to Western Australia to work in the Goldfields. The Burns family followed soon after settling in Perth.
Mining was in young Jack’s blood and he followed his sister to the Goldfields to try his luck. His first job was in sandstone in the East Murchison district.
Much of Jack’s early life has been lost to history, but the family wishes that he be remembered as a man dedicated to well and truly serving his sovereign the King in the Australian Imperial Force.
Jack enlisted on the 14 September 1914 at Blackboy Hill where he undertook his initial training. He was allocated to 12 Battalion and sailed from Albany on board HMT Devenba bound for the Gallipoli Peninsular.
12 Battalion took part in the initial landings at Gallipoli on the 25 April 1915 and served until the withdrawal in December 1915.
The unit then transferred to France and the Western Front in March 1916.
Throughout 1916 to mid-1918 the unit took part in various battles from the Somme Valley to the Hindenberg Line.
During this time Private Burns suffered several bouts of illness and time in hospital from wounds received in action, each of which he recovered from. However, it was in May 1918 during an allied offensive that he was killed.
Private John Victor Burns, service number 787 of 12 Battalion, was killed in action on 8 May 1918 at Strazeele in France during a German assault that was successfully defeated.
He was 24 years of age.
He is interred at the Outtersteene Communal Cemetery, Bailleul, France not far from Dunkirk.
His plaque is placed alongside Private Herbert Hollman Clark who served in the same 12 Battalion at the same time.