Their Duty Done
A tribute to the men and women of the East Gippsland Region who Died
as a result of their participation in World War One : 1914 - 1919
Their bodies are buried in peace; but their names liveth for evermore.
210 Private William George Burt – Johnsonville
Killed in Action 25 April 1915
….. from chauffeur to soldier
William Burt was the second son of Edward and Alice Burt who settled at
Swan Reach in the late 1880s, and he grew up in Johnsonville area. In late
1914, when he was 22 and earning an income as a chauffeur, William, like
many others, joined up and sailed from Melbourne on 19 October in the
Hororata with McPhee, Brookes, Lane and others. He was in A company of
the 7th Battalion and when he failed to report for roll call on 26 April he
was reported missing. He was held in high regard by the local Johnsonville
community. He was not the only member of the family to fall during the
conflict. His younger brother Frederick was killed in action in September
1918; his older brother Edward and younger brother Jack also served and
returned home. William has no known grave and is remembered at the
Lone Pine memorial.
