Identity
Person No.
3067
Service No.
Unknown
Last Name
First Name
Basil Ernest
Initials
B E
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
25
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
KIA 14,780
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action. On the 12th October 1916, the 2nd and 4th S.A.I. attacked Snag and Tail Trenches. The assault died away because of machine guns nests, placed well back in prepared positions, which caught the attacking waves at long range
Military Service
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On the Somme battlefield at Thiepval, overlooking the Ancre valley
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
2nd Regiment South African Infantry, photograph 1
Notes
Son of William and Lucy Mary Burne, of 564, Stamford Hill Rd., Durban, South Africa. Also served in German South West Africa in Durban Light Inf. His brother also died on service.
Research notes
Thiepval Memorial, Pier and Face 4 C: named on photograph "2nd Regiment South African Infantry, photograph 1". Photograph: South African War Graves Project.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
K.M. Jordan — DLI research (ABW / WWI ROH)
K.M. Jordan, Durban Light Infantry: WWI Roll of Honour ("Work in Progress" draft, July/Aug 2026; email to John/Bobby, 3 Sep 2026). Local file data/jordan_dli_wwi_roh_2026-08.pdf (Downloads: "1. Durban Light Infantry WWI ROH - July, Aug 2026.pdf"). WWI ROH #17 Captain BURNE, Basil Ernest, age 25, Force No , 1st South African Infantry Brigade: Born Durban 19/9/1891; a clerk for the Durban Municipality; served with the Durban Light Infantry in GSWA 1914-1915; served with the 2nd Regiment in France; killed in action in an unsuccessful attack on German defensive positions at the Butte de Warlencourt, Somme, France. (Body never recovered.) (His brother Dennis also died in WWI – both died on the same day 12/10/1916.) Buried/commemorated: Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France. (Also, on the Weenen County College; the Durban Corporation; the Durban Light Infantry & the Durban Cenotaph WWI Memorials.)
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
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