The Strange Story of Lt R Burns AMGC

[ianw]

Although referred to in a few threads, I thought the story of Lt Burns 90 year progress to a place of honour at the new Fromelles Cemetery is interesting enough to merit a thread of its own.

Lt Burns was aged 28 when he fell at Fromelles. His fate was to be placed by the Germans in the pits at Pheasant Wood. Happily, his remains were recovered in the recent exhumation and have been successfully identified. He now rests with the dignity of a named headstone at position I.F.1 in the new Fromelles Cemetery.

Lt Burns was the son of Colonel Sir James Burns, a noted MP, business man and philanthropist in Australia. Sir James had commanded the 1st Australian Light Horse and was a man of great influence. He was determined that his sons remains if found should receive a decent burial.

Sir James started inquiries at Australia House via the London office of his shipping company Burns Philp & Co. A manager there, Mr Smith was charged with the investigation and had permission to travel to France if required. Lt Burns ID tag had come into the possession of the Australian Graves Service (AGS) presumably via the Red Cross in Geneva. For no very good apparent reason - an anonymous MGC casualty ID maybe? - it was assumed that Lt Burns remains must be buried at Fournes a location where the Germans had buried some Fromelles casualties (both Australian and British) and where a German cross referring to Fromelles had been found.

Mr Smith was given permission by Australia House to travel to France to witness the planned exhumation of Lt Burns. This permission produced consternation and a fair bit of panic when communicated to Majors Phillips and Allan of the AGS. On mature reflection, they probably realised the error. They commenced a plan to frustrate Mr Smiths attendance at the planned exhumation delaying it, being unwell on the planned day etc. However, Mr Smith was not to be diverted and the eventual obviously rather unpleasant exhumation revealed no Australian remains. Mr Smith was most unhappy as was his employer.

Mr Smith lodged a complaint on behalf of mimself and Sir James and an inquiry was instituted. The Australian Defence Minister became involved and the inquiry became a rather general one investigating the doings of the AGS which had become the subject of general concern at a high level e.g Fabian Ware expressed concern.

The rather shocking results of the inquiry reveal that the AGS had gone native in France and Belgium. The job they were doing was poor

and irregularites abounded. The inquiry recommended massive reform and a number of officers and men were sent home. However, Majors Phillips and Allan were perhaps fortuitously cleared of any blame for the problems associated with the Burns exhumation. That said, their failings were as nothing compared to others in the AGS - the inquiry report is linked to in the "searches past and present" thread in this Fromelles section. It's dynamite.

Lt Burns had to wait a further 90 years for his remains to be reverently exhumed at Pheasant Wood and happily then identified. His father's wishes have at last been granted and any omissions of the past made good. I wonder if the current relatives involved in the recent identification are aware of Sir James' problems 90 years ago?

I plan to pay my respects to Lt Burns when I visit Fromelles later this year.

If anyone was has any additional information or corrections to this fascinating story, I would be delighted to hear them. There are questions still to be answered about Fromelles. Meanwhile Lt Burns is a good example of the best and the worst of the affair at Fromelles .

(Photo below courtesy of our Pal Pierre)

[melliget]

Ian.

Tried to send you a message but your inbox must be full.

Well done on your investigations into Lieut. Burns' story. I do recall posting about the subject of his exhumation previously after coming across an interesting NAA document. I never quite understood why the army (the AGS) refused civilian attendance at military exhumations. I think someone mentioned it being tied in with some old statutes. Perhaps their stance is more understandable given the results of the inquiry.

I'm glad to hear that Lieut. Burns' remains were among those recently identified. I wonder if he was represented by any descendants at the recent ceremony at Fromelles. The developments there have been amazing.

regards,

Martin

[ianw]

Martin,

Yes, I am also interested if any relatives attended the ceremony but there are no wreaths or whatever on his grave so maybe not.

I was aware that Lt Burns had been discussed on the Forum before but felt it would be good summarise the information.

I think the military just don't like civilians interfering period - in the case of the exhumations, I suspect they just wanted a free hand to get on with the job in whatever way they saw fit. In the case of Burns, they must have been aware that they were liable to get egg on face about it because it was fairly obvious that he simply was not there. They tried very hard to avoid the embarassment.

Regards Ian

[nigelcave]

Could you explain what the '43' is for in front of his rank?

[ianw]

Nigel,

I think that's his very low army number. This number is associated with his record at the NAA.

I think the explanation is that he enlisted in May 1915 into the 4th Light Horse Brigade staff - with the number 16. He subsequently transferred to the 6th Light Horse Brigade staff and his number changed to 43. He then kept this number when he moved to the Machine Gun Corps.

Of course, his father had commanded a Light Horse brigade until 1907.

Regards Ian

[nigelcave]

Thanks Ian: I thought that was likely it, but it just seems strange to see an army number on an officer's headstone - I cannot recall seeing one before, but then I could be singularly unobservant!

[ianw]

Thanks Ian: I thought that was likely it, but it just seems strange to see an army number on an officer's headstone - I cannot recall seeing one before, but then I could be singularly unobservant!

At Fromelles, there is a mixture with, I think, 3 officers having their number recorded and 5 not.

[Auimfo]

It all depends on those who joined directly as officers and those who rose from the ranks.

Burns was briefly a Private at both the 2nd Div HQ and then the 6th LH Regiment on Gallipoli before gaining his commission in early 1916 after the withdrawal. Hence he actually does have an initial service number - 43.

Cheers,

Tim L.

[ianw]

Thanks for that info , Tim.

Really humble of him as the son of a former Colonel to start as a Private - or perhaps Dad insisted.

Ian

[Auimfo]

Actually, his very, very first service number was '16' when he initially enlisted with the 4th Light Horse Brigade HQ and is the number on his embarkation roll entry. It would seem though that this number was cancelled and was reallocated as '43' which then became his official number.

Cheers,

Tim L.