John Joseph Burns
Biography
John Joseph Burns was born in Peterborough, Ontario in October of 1887. Brought up in a Roman Catholic household, he worked as a machinist before enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in February of 1915 to fight in the first World War. Standing just 5 feet and 4 inches and weighing in at just 115 pounds, he was quickly accepted into the force. He was unmarried and 28 years old when he enlisted.
He served in the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Infantry, which participated in the Battle of Ypres, a famous battle that took place in the Belgian town of Ypres on the Western Front. Private Burns survived the notorious gas attacks at Ypres that claimed the lives of hundreds of Canadian soldiers. In December of 1915 he was brought back to England and hospitalized in Newcastle, where he was diagnosed with gonorrhea, a disease that was not considered uncommon for soldiers at the time. After being released from hospital after a few weeks, he was sent back to the Western Front where he joined the 39th Infantry Battalion.
He would continue to fight on the Western Front in France for several months until he died of wounds on March 15th of 1916, he was 29 years old at the time. He served for a total time of 1 year and 3 months and earned no medals for his service. His body is buried at the Bedford House Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium. His exact gravestone is located in Enclosure No.3 row A. #27. His name was put on display in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on February 16th.
German soldiers operate a machine gun at the Battle of Ypres
1st Battalion (Western Ontario Regiment)
The 1st Battalion was a battalion in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. It was formed on September 4, 1914 with recruits from Western Ontario, which was referred to as Military District 1. The battalion consisted of 45 officers and 1121 men when it arrived in England on October 14th, 1914. It became a part of the 1st Canadian Infantry brigade and saw action at the Battle of Ypres and other battles along the Western Front. The Battalion returned to Canada on April 21st, 1919, was demobilized and later disbanded.
Cemetery
The Bedford House Cemetery is burial ground for the dead of World War I. It was established in 1914 and used as a burial site throughout the war. It is the resting place of over 5000 soldiers, 390 of which are Canadian. Bedford House is located just south of Ypres on what was once the Western Front. During the war, the area that the cemetery now sits on was bombarded by German shells and gas attacks during the battle of Ypres. The cemetery grounds were given to the United Kingdom by Belgium in recognition of the sacrifice of the British Empire in the defence of Belgium during the war.
Topic: The Tank
Tanks are large, heavily armoured, high fire power vehicle designed for front line warfare. The tank was first used in battle in 1916 during World War I at the Battle of Somme. Tanks were first used as a way to break the stalemate of trench warfare on the western front, which had been at a standstill for months. The first prototype, nicknamed Little Willie, was assembled in Lincoln, England during August and September of 1915. The french and British produced and used thousands of tanks during the war, the Germans however, did not consider them very useful and only produced a mere twenty.
Bedford House Cemetery
the original tank concept "Little Willie"