The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (11920) Gunner Joseph Bird Burgess 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (11920) Gunner Joseph Bird Burgess 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, AIF, First World War.

11920 Gunner Joseph Bird Burgess 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, AIF
KIA 4 October 1917
Story delivered 29 October 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Gunner Joseph Bird Burgess.

Joseph Bird Burgess was born in Benalla in 1892, the sixth of seven children of Ernest and Elizabeth Burgess. His father’s job as a teacher took the family to Geelong when Joseph was still very young, and it was here his younger brother Eric was born in 1895. Joseph grew up in Geelong and attended Fyansford and Highton State Schools.

At the age of 18, he took up an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker with J.R. Shear at Moorabool, and was working as a mantle-piece maker when the First World War began.

Joseph Burgess enlisted for service in the artillery on 17 July 1915 at Melbourne. He spent the rest of the year training in depot units in Victoria and it was not until November that he was assigned to the 14th reinforcements to the 1st Divisional Artillery Column, finally leaving Melbourne on 28 January aboard the transport ship Themistocles.

After arriving in Egypt in late February, he had several brief postings over the next two months. He sailed for France in June and after a month at Etaples, he was posted to the 53rd Battery of the 14th Field Artillery Brigade. Burgess’s first major action was firing in support of the infantry during the disastrous attack at Fromelles.

In September, Burgess claimed his brother Eric from the 23rd Battalion. Eric was transferred to the 53rd Battery and posted to the same gun crew as his brother. The brothers served together during the winter of and in were involved in supporting the allied advance to the
Hindenburg Line. In April, Eric was temporarily transferred to another battery and was wounded when faulty ammunition blew up.

Towards the end of April, Joseph Burgess went on leave for two weeks. After rejoining his unit in early May he was involved in the battle of Bullecourt. In July the 53rd moved into Belgium and began practicing barrage fire for the impending 3rd Ypres campaign.

Eric returned to the unit in August and over the following months the Burgess brothers were almost constantly in action as their battery fired in support of the allied operations, including the successful operations to capture Menin Road and Polygon Wood.

On 4 October, Burgess and his brother Eric were at their gun firing in support of the Australian infantry attacking Broodseinde Ridge. During the day, their battery came under fire from German artillery, and a shell landed in the brothers’ gun pit, detonating the ammunition and killing Eric, Joseph, and their crewmates instantly. The brothers were buried side by side in the Huts Cemetery at Dickebusch in Belgium. Joseph was 25 years old, Eric was 22.

Joseph Burgess’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Gunner Joseph Bird Burgess, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section